This is a common question… and a valid one!
It’s easy to make things complicated, but below, we break down this question in easy-to-understand terms.
What is a quality system?
A quality system is a structured and formalised approach that enables an organisation to manage and maintain the quality of its activities to achieve its objectives and meet relevant requirements. It reflects an organisation’s commitment to meeting applicable requirements and consistently delivering quality products, services, systems and processes in alignment with relevant standards and regulations. A helpful way to think about this is through the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) cycle:
- Plan: Decide what needs to be achieved and how. This includes identifying risks and opportunities, setting quality objectives, defining processes and determining the resources and controls needed.
- Do: Put the plan into practice. Implement the processes, procedures and controls that have been established, and ensure people understand their responsibilities.
- Check: Evaluate whether it is working. Monitor and measure processes and quality performance, review results, identify gaps or issues, and assess whether objectives and requirements are being met.
- Act: Continual improvement. Implement corrective actions to ensure the quality system remains effective and fit for purpose.
So, why have one, and who is responsible?
A quality system is more than just a set of documented procedures and processes. It influences every facet of your organisation’s performance, no matter how big or small you are, therefore driving a quality culture throughout and ensuring everyone is responsible for quality. It’s organic and ever-evolving – it’s not simply a case of implementing it and thinking the job is done. The keyword is ‘continual‘.
Your approach to your quality system should include aspects such as:
- Compliance: Meeting relevant regulations, standards and requirements.
- Communication: Documenting processes and being open to feedback for improvement.
- Continual Improvement: Regularly reviewing and improving the effectiveness of processes, systems and training.
These high-level goals are crucial when implementing a quality system, no matter what size you are or what industry domain you are in.
If you’d like to learn more about how Tower Mains can support your quality system needs, get in touch with our expert team at info@towermains.com.