Manufacturing professionals in quality assurance and process improvement are not new to understanding the importance of quality. However, do they know the difference to be made in creating a culture of quality with regards to driving the policies, practices, and processes needed to accomplish an organization’s work?
Quality management systems enable organizations to implement a structured approach to their activities. This allows for continuous improvement enhancing the organization’s efficiency.
Have you noticed that your orange juice may not just be orange juice anymore? While tasty and nutritious, simple orange juice may not always be enough for our increasingly competitive world. Maybe it has added calcium, or extra vitamins; it may even have an optimized amount of pulp for your individual needs.
Last month, we examined the supply chain. The management of this complex system is a daunting task. That’s why, with this month’s column, we will move the discussion from the system to the standard—specifically, the quality management standard, ISO 9001:2015.
ISO 9001:2015 was created as a High Level System (HLS). By virtue of being a HLS, the design of the new standard is for other standards to align themselves accordingly by integrating the elements and changes within the context of the principles required in the elements for 9001.
New changes to ISO 13485, published this spring as EN ISO 13485:2016, mean U.S. medical device companies that sell in Europe will need to integrate risk-based approaches throughout their quality management systems. The emphasis on risk management is the biggest of several changes in the third version of ISO 13485.
The 2015 revision of ISO 9001 has debuted with mixed reviews from smaller registrars and suppliers. The question arises: is there going to be any measureable benefit from these changes other than increased income for the ISO bureaucracy? One of the early reasons for change was to align ISO standards with Annex SL. Not sure all the interested parties are excited with this reason.
The long-awaited revision to ISO 9001 has arrived. The standard will be familiar to those in the quality industry: more than 1.1 million companies are certified to the standard as of 2014, and more than 33,000 certifications in the U.S. Whether you’re in the process of implementing the revision, just planning for it, or curious to see what’s new, here’s a look at the ISO 9001 revision.