ISO 9001 - The Adequacy of Your QMS

While I’ve briefly touched on the topic of QMS adequacy in previous discussions, I decided to commit an entire article to this subject based on its considerable importance. Many organizations experience difficulty with the concept of adequacy as it applies to their QMS; they really don’t have a full understanding of what this term relates to, or more importantly, how to assess whether or not their QMS is meeting this key requirement of the ISO 9001 standard.

Before we go any further, let’s first consider the meaning of the word “adequate”, or as used in throughout this article, “adequacy”:

Adequacy – Sufficient to satisfy a requirement or meet a need*.
*Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

From the definition above, we learn that “adequate” relates to meeting both requirements as well as needs. If we apply this definition within the framework of an ISO 9001 based Quality Management System, we can therefore determine that a quality management system should be capable of satisfying applicable requirements including those specified by the organization, the customer, and any applicable standards and/or regulations.

In developing your QMS, and in the subsequent evaluation of its on-going performance, an adequate QMS means much more than simply addressing the clauses that make up the ISO 9001 standard. In addition to the requirements of ISO 9001, what are the governing codes, standards and/or specifications that the organization is working to? What customer specifications and other requirements does the organization need to meet? Finally, what other policies and other procedures have been established by the organization, and how does this QMS serve to ensure compliance? All of these considerations must to be taken into account when determining whether or not a Quality management System is adequate.

Assessing a QMS for adequacy however, relative to the above considerations, can be problematic for many organizations. With insulated management and silo-like structures, these organizations lack a comprehensive understanding of what requirements they’re actually working to. Such requirements may be known to pockets within the organization, but often they are not known across the organization, so there is little or no global understanding or awareness.

While a single organization, which produces a single product, in accordance with a single set of requirements is most likely a simple case requiring a simple solution, the complexity of many organization's operations makes their identification of these requirements and needs considerably more difficult. Multiple sites, multiple products, multiple standards, multiple sets of customer specifications, etc. all factor into the adequacy of the QMS. Without a good understanding of your entire business, and the corresponding requirements and needs that apply, it is nearly impossible to make a valid assessment of the adequacy of the QMS.

Just because an organization that has a documented system that addresses the requirements of this ISO 9001 standard, this only contributes to its adequacy; it doesn’t totally satisfy this requirement. In order to be totally compliant with ISO 9001, you QMS must not only address each applicable requirement of the standard, but also be in compliance with any additional requirements that may apply to your organization and its products. This means that a typical ISO system audit, in-and-of itself, has limitations as far as this determination is concerned. Product and process data can be used to supplement any conclusion, but as these are typically reactive measures (based on identified nonconformances), they only address issues when noted, rather than evaluating all areas of concern.

So exactly how do you find out what all of these requirements are? - Better start asking, researching and learning. If this is a new QMS or one that's under development, it's always better to find out at the beginning

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Fourteen Points of Total Quality Education

Libyan Labiosa and Philip Cassone from the International Center for Accelerative Learning (ICAL) provided us with the following guest feature, which is an adaptation of Deming's "14 Points for Management" to corporate training and educational processes; the result - Total Quality Education.- M. Randig

Dr. W. Edwards Deming’s principles support the global success of Toyota, Proctor & Gamble, Ritz Carlton, Harley-Davidson, and many other leading organizations. His teachings are essential for the effective application of Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing, Loyalty / Net Promoter and other quality improvement, customer retention and business growth methods.

Deming’s 14 Total Quality Education points were created for the White House Task Force for Education in 2000 and presented to a congressional committee by Libyan Labiosa in conjunction with her position on the board of the National Learning Foundation within the United States Department of Education.

The 14 TQE points are as meaningful today as they were a decade ago. For education to be meaningful in a rapidly changing world, it must adapt. We are in a globalized society and the worldwide education system must adapt to fit the times ahead. To date the results have not been encouraging.

There is an international test from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that measures average mathematics literacy, reading literacy, science literacy, and problem-solving scores of 15-year-olds from over 50 industrialized countries. The highest possible score is 1000.

Currently the highest scoring nation in the world is Finland with a average score of 550 and the USA is in 29th place with an average score of 483.

In the USA, Massachusetts is the highest scoring of all 50 states with only 44% of its students at performing grade level in 4th and 8th grade. Washington DC is dead last with less than 10% of its students performing at grade level.

It is clear that Deming’s 14 points of Total Quality Education bear taking another look at in a time where the best scoring nation in the world is only at 55% and the best scoring state in the USA is at 44%. As Deming so eloquently puts it in his quote at the end of this article, we have no less than our survival at getting our educational systems right.

Fourteen Points of Total Quality Education
(Adapted from Deming’s Total Quality Management principles)

1. Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of education and learning with the aim to prepare learners to be productive in a changing world.
2. Adopt a new philosophy. We are in a new information age. Western educators must awaken to the challenge, must learn new responsibilities, and take on leadership for change.
3. Cease dependence on testing to achieve quality. Eliminate the need for testing as the only way of measuring quality. Ensure that quality is always present in the classroom.
4. End the practice of awarding students on the basis of grades. Instead minimize competition with others. Move toward a goal of learning as a long-term reward in itself.
5. Improve constantly and forever the system of education and learning to improve quality and student productivity.
6. Institute interactive and creative teaching and learning.
7. Institute leadership. The aim of leadership should be to help people do a better job. Leadership of educators is in need of overhaul, as well as leadership of students.
8. Drive out fear so that everyone may work effectively for themselves and their community.
9. Break down barriers between administrators, teachers, parents and students. People in education must work as a team to foresee problems in the educational process.
10. Always expect the best from students.
11. Eliminate minimum requirements for achievement. Each student assumes a proactive role in his/her education.
12. Remove barriers that rob the students of their right to pride in achievement. The responsibility of educators must be changed from sheer information giving to ensuring knowledge through use of global teaching strategies.
13. Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement.
14. Put everyone in the system to work to accomplish the transformation.
    
    “No one has to change. Survival is optional.” Dr. W. Edwards Deming
    

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