Is your ISO 9001 certification just for the wall?

• ISO 9001 certification is often pursued due to external pressure, leading to superficial compliance rather than genuine quality improvement.
• The draft ISO 9001:2015 standard emphasizes a process approach, leadership involvement, and risk-based thinking.
• Effective implementation requires making quality systems user-friendly and involving employees in their development.

Many organizations pursue ISO 9001 certification primarily due to regulatory or customer pressure, resulting in a certification that serves more as a checkbox than a tool for genuine quality improvement. This approach often leads to management viewing ISO 9001 as a costly and complicated requirement rather than a beneficial framework. Typically, the quality management system only gains attention during audit periods, when last-minute efforts are made to update documents to pass the audit.

The draft ISO 9001:2015 addresses this issue by emphasizing a process approach, where activities and processes take precedence over documentation. This shift encourages cross-functional teamwork and more action-oriented practices. The new standard also stresses the importance of aligning quality management principles with an organization’s employees’ daily, collective learning. This means the quality system should adapt to reflect real-world practices rather than becoming a static set of guidelines that complicates operations.

Management systems are often structured around the ISO frameworks rather than the needs of the people using them. Most people don’t sift through lengthy documents to find relevant guidance. It’s like having the user manual for a complex gadget—you only refer to it when something goes wrong. Instead, you focus on your tasks and seek information when necessary. The (quality) management system should facilitate working in a manner aligned with the organization’s current best practices. It’s about bridging the gap between stated procedures and actual practices. This means eliminating tedious manual change controls and reducing the burden of reporting non-conformities that merely increase your workload.

A significant change in the last ISO 9001 revision is the shift from “management responsibility” to “leadership.” This change aims to involve top management more deeply in quality management processes, ensuring that executives set examples and actively engage with the processes. The focus is on transparency and setting clear, actionable policies that leadership follows, reinforcing that effective processes are critical for the company’s success.

To truly benefit from ISO 9001:2015, organizations must make their quality management systems more straightforward and involve employees in their development. This involves designing management systems around user needs, not just compliance requirements. Involving employees in creating and maintaining these systems ensures they are practical and effective. Encouraging ownership and understanding through involvement can lead to a more genuine and sustainable quality culture.

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