If you were reading the instructions outlined an ISO 9001 to implement an effective Quality Management System (QMS), you must have come across the statement that your quality policy should be “well written” and should be “suitable” for the purposes of the products or the services. We have always found this statement a little ambiguous. How can you really know if something is “well written.” For this purpose, this article will talk about ISO 9001 and the importance of the quality policy.

What is ISO 9001

We cannot emphasise the importance of a quality policy, if we do not explain the importance of ISO 9001. This standard was created with the strict purpose of helping all organisations improve their customer satisfaction rates by creating products and services that are of good quality. This is a voluntary standard, implying that organisations that wish to be ISO 9001 certified must implement the recommendations themselves and must undergo evaluation by an accredited certification body.

iso 9001 SMART objectives

What is a quality policy?

The technical description of a quality policy is that it is a brief statement which aligns the papers, mission and strategic direction of the organisation by providing a framework. This framework helps the top management create attainable quality objectives, so that they achieve all customer, statutory and regulatory obligations, as well as continually improve.

ISO 9001 and quality policy

In the 2015 revision of ISO 9001, section 5.2 is dedicated to quality policy. This section dictates that the organisation must have a written and well defined quality policy that is appropriately communicated and adequately understood by everyone within an organisation. 

How is a quality policy created?

The purpose of creating a quality policy is to provide a platform to showcase the company’s and the stakeholder’s commitment to continually improve their products or services. Before developing the quality policy, it is important to verify the organisation’s context, so that the quality policy aims can be clearly defined and are easily aligned with the organisation’s strategic direction. This document showcases the commitment from the management and provide a reference system, so that all objectives can be established to suit the purpose of the organisation. It is with the help of the quality policy that all stakeholders, such as suppliers, customers, shareholders, or employees are made aware of how the company is thinking about day to day practises related to quality management. 

Frequently, the policy is created after consulting with auditors and testing the QMS for its ability to deliver as per the quality objectives or targets. This critical analysis itself helps to assess if the quality policy is consistent with the requirements of ISO 9001 and with its own content. This is why it is extremely beneficial to ensure that the quality policy is not written in a confusing or excessively formal manner, and instead uses simple to understand language.

During the drafting stages, it is important to keep in mind the strategies and specificities that are unique to an organisation. Copying from examples and templates create a rigid quality policy that does not align with the strategic direction or objectives of the organisation, causing your management system to spit out nonconformities during your audits.

iso 9001 qms importance

Quality policy and continual improvement

The quality policy should always aim to achieve continual improvement. So, in other words, the organisation needs to constantly revise the quality policy whenever needed to guarantee that it is adapting to changes in the stakeholder requirements and changes in context of customer demands. The quality policy should be a clear mirror of how the business is progressing and adapting to global demands.

Quality policy and top management

Members of the top management are responsible for the establishment, implementation and maintenance of the quality policy in addition to ensuring that it is appropriately communicated across the organisation. This also means that the management should be completely involved in every step of the policy creation, revision and disclosure. 

Communicating the quality policy

As per the standard, the quality policy needs to be communicated and understood by every employee within the organisation and therefore it is the responsibility of the top management to ensure that the requirements of the quality policy are understood, implemented and maintained within the organisation. The management has many choices in the manner in which they can communicate the quality policy, and this manner can depend upon the individual circumstances of the organisation. Some examples of disclosing and raising awareness about the quality policy include:

  • Writing the vision of the quality policy in a banner at the entrance of the establishment.
  • Providing some details on the description of employee ID badges.
  • Describing it in detail in the company’s website.
  • Distributing controlled copies in locations where there is heavy employee traffic.
  • Using it as the wallpaper on company allocated devices such as cellphones or computers.

Conclusion

Quality policy helps the organisation maintain its focus and deliver products or services that are consistent with its objectives and targets. This document helps to align the strategic direction of the company with its aspirations, thereby showcasing its commitment to continual improvement.