Implementing the ISO 9001 standard for Quality Management Systems can help your business strengthen its performance.
At the heart of the standard are the eight ISO 9001 principles that will guide you through the process of continual improvement. Following these principles will help you gain maximum benefit from the ISO 9001 standard:
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Involve your people
Openly discussing issues and sharing knowledge and experience with your team is critical to benefiting from ISO 9001 implementation. It is essential that everyone in the company understands their role and feels valued for their contribution to its success. This will not only help you achieve certification but will also demonstrate your organisation’s commitment to improving quality.
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Focus on your customer
Developing a strong customer focus is an excellent way of demonstrating your commitment to quality. As well as satisfying customers, your business should consider the interests of other stakeholders, whether owners, employees, suppliers, investors or the wider community.
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Develop strong leadership
Strong leadership means you have a clear vision of your company’s future. Communicating this vision effectively will ensure your whole team works towards the same objectives. This shared sense of purpose can help increase employee motivation and productivity.
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Create a process culture
The Plan-Do- Check-Act (PDCA) principle of the ISO 9001 standard will help you promote a process driven culture across your organisation. This is a proven way of ensuring you plan, resource and manage your processes and their interactions effectively.
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Adopt a system approach to management
By managing the processes in your business together, as a unified and interlinked system, you will improve efficiency and make it easier to achieve your objectives. Measuring and evaluating these processes will help you identify areas for improvement.
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Embrace continual improvement
Continual improvement is essential to the ISO 9001 Quality Management System and should be your organisation’s core objective. Following the standard’s mandatory procedures will enable you to react quickly and efficiently to opportunities, so giving you a competitive advantage.
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Base your decisions on facts
Accurate and reliable data is essential for making informed decisions. You should make such information available to all who need it in the organisation. This will improve communications, drive continual improvement and help you reach your business objectives.
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Develop mutually beneficial relationships with suppliers
Your suppliers can be a source of competitive advantage but it requires a relationship built on trust. Creating such lasting relationships means balancing short-term financial gains with long-term, mutually beneficial strategies.
The benefits of the ISO 9001 principles
Implementing these ISO 9001 principles during your certification process can deliver numerous benefits. These include improvements to customer satisfaction and loyalty, increased employee motivation and productivity, and more efficient use of resources. Continually strengthening your processes will also increase revenues and enable you to build market share by responding rapidly to new opportunities.