Development and Introduction Quality Management Systems

Construction of quality management systems and increase its effectiveness will provide your company a new level. 

The Quality Management System (QMS) – is a part of a general management system of the company, which functions for the purpose of ensuring stable quality of made products and rendered services.

The quality management system is an important part of the overall management system. The company must define and standardize their systems and processes to be able to manage and improve them.

The quality management system in the ISO 9000 standards — is the part of a company management system which is based on strictly documentary procedures of management and execution of business processes.

The quality management system assumes, that the company should implement system business process reengineering, mentioning tasks, which in one way or another based on quality management principles laid down in the standards ISO 9000 (strategy, structure, processes, personnel).

The ISO standard series 9000 versions 2000 is based on the 8 principles of Total Quality Management (TQM). The principle of TQM – is a comprehensive and fundamental rule of management, for promotion and company proceeding, the aimed on long-term, continuous increase of the efficiency oriented to consumers in case of accounting requirements of all other concerned parties. 

Eight Quality Management Principles

Eight Quality Management Principles contribute to the achievement of quality objectives.

  1. Customer focus – Organisations depend on their customers and therefore should understand current and future customer needs, meet customer requirements and strive to exceed customer expectations.
  2. Leadership – Leaders establish unity of purpose and direction of the organisation. They should create and maintain the internal environment in which people can become fully involved in achieving the organisation’s objectives.
  3. Involvement of People – People at all levels are the essence of an organisation and their full involvement enables their abilities to be used for the organisation’s benefit.
  4. Process Approach – A desired result is achieved more efficiently when related resources and activities are managed as a process.
  5. System Approach to Management – Identifying, understanding and managing a system of interrelated processes for a given objective improves the organisation’s effectiveness and efficiency.
  6. Continual Improvement – Continual improvement should be a permanent objective of the organisation.
  7. Factual Approach to Decision Making – Effective decisions are based on the analysis of data and information.
  8. Mutually Beneficial Supplier Relationships – An organisation and its suppliers are interdependent, and a mutually beneficial relationship enhances the ability of both to create value.

The quality management system allows you to provide necessary level of control and performance improvement in any area.

Environmental Management – part of the overall management system that ensures the development, implementation, following and observance of environmental policy.

Specialized branch standard, a guide for creation a system of food safety management for companies of the food industry. It is a general derivative of ISO 9000.

Information security – one of priority tasks of any company, it isn’t dependent on pattern of ownership and types of business.

Our company participates in preparation for certification as a part of the leading certified companies on control of compliance Quality management system to HACCP standard requirements.

OHSAS 18000 is an international occupational health and safety management system specification.

Our company is involved in partnership programs associated with the development and implementation of technologies, based on the principles of environmental safety, energy and economic independence with the use of global experience.

What benefits the company receives from quality management system implementation?

  • Increase the efficiency of company management;
  • Expenditure cut on management;
  • Improving the quality of processes;
  • Improving the quality of products and services;
  • Improved understanding of HR goals and objectives of the company;
  • Raising the level of motivation and self-discipline of employees, responsibility for the results of their work and thereby increasing in labour  productivity;
  • Personnel involvement in work on quality, increasing its commitment to idea of quality.

Four characteristics of company business activities, on which to a greater extent construction and effective functioning of quality management system influence:

The quality management system increases transparency of the company regarding its organizational structure, business processes and functions. In case of development of the procedures representing algorithm of activities, connected with quality, are determined or specified also organizational structure (as liabilities, powers and the relations provided in the form of the scheme according to which the company  carries out the functions), both business processes and functions. It should be noted that it doesn’t belong to financial transparency as the quality management system doesn’t mention financial activities.

Steering of the company is improved, due to the development of quality management system; responsibility for accomplishment of procedures is strictly distributed. In the majority of procedures conducting quality records (reports), which are created by responsible persons after accomplishment of the established actions. In the course of system construction, regulations on divisions, duty regulations and job description are reviewed. It also increases company steering.

Dynamics development of the company is caused by several factors. These include increasing competence (mandatory training) staff’s, involvement in the process of system construction, increasing production efficiency by eliminating unnecessary functions and reducing the share of low-quality products, a strong focus on the essential, as well as improving relations with customers and suppliers.

In order to win a place in the market, the authority is not enough merely to demonstrate the ability to produce high quality products. You also need to prove, beyond reasonable doubt , that this ability is not limited to the part, but for all  level of orders.

Document confirming compliance with the quality management system requirements of ISO 9001 is a certificate of conformity issued by the specially authorized for conducting this activity by certification bodies for quality systems. Certificate of quality management system performs independent guarantee the company’s ability to meet the minimum requirements for the quality of consumer goods (services).

What benefits quality management system certification gives to your company?

  • Stabilization of the position in the domestic market;
  • Consumer confidence gain;
  • An additional advantage in tender participating;
  • Increase of company prestige in the domestic and foreign markets;
  • Confirmation of the chosen strategy of business management. 

Construction of Quality Management System the company holds, either independently or with the assistance of a consulting firm specializing in the field. The decision is made by the company management.

Main stages of Quality Management System construction

Organization of works on a Quality Management System includes:

Officials responsible for the organization and work on construction a quality management system should be from top and middle management. As a rule, responsible for the overall organization of work is representative of senior management, and supervisor on the establishment of a system of management – middle manager.

Inspection of a management system operating at the company (and such system exists at any company even if it properly isn’t documented) represents the preliminary analysis of system and estimation of degree of its compliance to requirements of ISO 9001. Inspection is directed to determine the need of introduction into operating system specific changes. The changes connected with organizational structure thus have special value. It is desirable that such changes were included in the initial stages of the plan for implementation of quality management system, developed on the basis of inspection.

Preparing for the implementation of the QMS begins with personnel training. The personnel is both an integrated part, and a developer, and the user of quality management system. As preparation of the personnel shall be continuous, on initial stage of works it is reasonable to provide basic training according to the ISO standards 9000 company executives, starting with their top management, and also employees of quality unit and specialists from other divisions involved to works on system development.

Along with training in case of quality management system construction it is necessary to explain the purposes, company tasks, basic principles of quality management and certain concept of the ISO 9000. It should be noted that forms of accomplishment of these works entirely depend on requirements and interests of the company.

Process Approach to Management

In the ISO 9000 family of standards the principle of the process approach is one of fundamental.

  1. Quality management system processes.
  2. Processes of implementing responsibility of senior management within the quality management system (e.g., strategy and business objectives, business planning and resources).
  3. Resource management (human resources, infrastructure and production environment).
  4. Life cycle processes of products / services.
  5. Measurement, analysis and improvement.

To destination and to a place in quality management system processes are classified on:

– the main;

– auxiliary (has only internal consumers);

In effective quality management system processes are established and are supported in concord. Process is considered established, if:

  • the person responsible for it is appointed;
  • procedures relating to it and techniques are in one way or another documented;
  • necessary resources are determined.

In quality management system it is necessary to coordinate processes, to determine their interrelations, to provide their compatibility.

Interrelations of processes of the company often are difficult and as a result turn into a network of processes. It is very important to allocate a chain of processes and to determine how each process influences on a capability to fulfill requirements of the customer.

Documentation Role

In case of quality management system implementation the significant part is assigned to documentation.

The company shall prepare quality management system procedures which describe the processes necessary for implementation quality management system. The scale and depth of procedures shall be determined by such factors as the size and entity type, complexity and interrelation of the processes, applied methods, and also qualification and extent of preparation of the personnel participating in performance of works.

Documentation of quality management system include

  • documents containing policies and objectives of the company in terms of quality;
  • quality manual – a document outlining the quality policy and describing the quality management system;
  • documented procedures, including documents containing the powers and responsibilities of company personnel, provisions for divisions and job descriptions (supplemented with new responsibilities and authority);
  • documentation of the processes necessary to ensure effective planning, management and improvement;
  • documents containing the results or evidence of activities (quality records) .

These documents should be developed, implemented and have proof of its implementation.

7. Preparation for certification.

The Cost of QMS Construction

The answer to this question depends on many factors. These primarily include the size of the company; the number of personnel; readiness (effectiveness) of the existing quality management system; certifiable business activities; the choice of the certification body.

Each of these factors significantly influences total following components of cost:

  • personnel training cost;
  • cost of development of quality management system;
  • quality management system implementation cost;
  • certification cost;
  • the cost of inspection check-up behind the certified system.