There are 8 quality management principles (developed by the ISO/TC 176) upon which ISO 9001 certification is built. These principles, when followed properly, help organisations to improve their quality management systems and overall business relationships.
Let’s take a closer look at the 8 principles of quality management:
- Customer Focus - This principle covers customer needs and customer services. It stresses that businesses should strive to understand their customers & go above and beyond their expectations.
- Leadership - Leadership is an integral part of any business. Without properly-defined leadership goals and objectives, a business will struggle to run smoothly.
- People Involvement - The third principle focuses on efficiency and effectiveness of staff. You can build stakeholder confidence by optimising performance, managing processes and using business resources wisely.
- Process Approach - This principle is about efficiency, effectiveness and consistency. Having a good approach to your processes helps to speed up activities, reduce costs and eliminate waste.
- Systematic Approach to Management - ISO defines this principle as “identifying, understanding and managing interrelated processes as a system contributes to the organisation’s effectiveness and efficiency in achieving its objectives”.
- Continual Improvement - This has to be be an active business objective; businesses should embrace new opportunities and adapt to new market situations.
- Factual Approach to Decision Making - Making a decision based on data and analysis is logical, but in the current climate, most workplace decisions are made in a rush. This principle helps to make sure decisions are made with consideration and clarity.
- Mutually-Benefical Supplier Relations - The final principle deals with supply chains and promotes healthy relationships between a business and its distributors. Building a strong supplier relationship encourages productivity.
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