Part 5 – Planning your QMS
You can identify the risks and opportunities that could affect your organisation by thinking about interested parties within and outside your organisation, and in the context of your organisation what might they expect and need from you.
You can make a list of all the things that come to mind and include ways of addressing any risks and opportunities that occur to you. Make sure you have a detailed plan to address anything major that might disrupt the running of your organisation.
You can identify what you want from of your QMS and make sure the plans you have will achieve what you require for your organisation. For example, make sure it actually improves where it’s intended to and prevents or reduces unwanted effects.
When making your plans to address risk and opportunities, think about how they can be integrated into the current running of your organisation and then implement the actions into the QMS. Remember to evaluate the effectiveness of your planned actions.
Be clear what your quality objectives are, and how you can achieve them. Make sure they are;
- Consistent with your Quality Policy,
- Measurable, monitored, communicated and regularly updated in the QMS,
- Beneficial for the customer.
It is a good idea to use the SMART technique:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Realistic
- Timescale
A good plan will take into account
- What is to be done and why?
- What resources are needed? Where can they be found?
- Who will be responsible?
- When will it be completed?
- How will you evaluate the results?
Any changes to the QMS must be planned. Consider the following things;
- The purpose and consequences of the proposed changes.
- Ensure that the QMS and what it is designed to do won’t be undermined or damaged by the change you are planning.
- Identify what resources you have available.
- Identify the roles and responsibilities of staff members and how they will be affected by any changes you wish to make to your QMS.
If you’re interested in learning a bit more about the standard and how it can fit into your organisation, check out the free ISO 9001 Awareness Course provided by our colleagues over at Lorators.
Or if you think you’re ready to find out more about implementing a Quality Management System to the requirements of ISO 9001, our experienced consultants are ready to help.
Find the rest of the Blog Series Here –
