The ISO 9001:2015 standard requires your organisation address seven key areas to achieve continual improvement:
- Context of the organisation
- Leadership
- Planning
- Support
- Operation
- Performance evaluation
- Improvement
The ISO 9001 standard requires your organisation address seven key areas – also known as clauses – in order to achieve continual improvement within your Quality Management System:
Supported by the quality management principles these requirements help your business to successfully implement an effective Quality Management System.
Clause 4 of the ISO 9001:2015 Standard is where you set out the purpose and strategic direction of your business in terms of quality. It covers the following points:
The ISO 9001 standard recognises that an effective Quality Management System depends on the commitment of your organisation’s senior management. It therefore requires, through clause 5, that your leadership team take responsibility for:
An effective Quality Management System is one that operates on risk-based thinking, putting in place measures to address both risks and opportunities alike. As part of clause 6 therefore, companies must:
The ISO 9001 standard requires, through clause 7, that your organisation provides adequate resources to operate an effective Quality Management System. This includes providing resources for:
The Operation section within ISO 9001:2015, also known as clause 8, describes the work your company must do to develop and deliver goods or services to your customers.
Your processes will set out:
Clause 9 of the ISO 9001:2015 standard requires your organisation to measure and analyse your processes, recording the results in order to:
The final clause in the ISO 9001:2015 standard stresses the importance of continual improvement within a business.
Measures should be put in place to: