the quality profession challenge and iso 9001 article

7/25/2019 The Quality Profession Challenge and Iso 9001 Article

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The Quality Profession

Challenge and ISO

9001:2015

With the changes to ISO9001 imminent,

Ruth Mortby from Nuvia Ltd and the

Next Generation Network looks at the

CQIs competency framework.

The framework stands as the definition

of what it means to be a quality

professional in a modern business, and

the role we have to play.

The changes to 9001 will re-adjust the

worlds perspective of quality and what

it means to a business.

It follows that the quality professional

of the future will need to be able to

understand and deliver against the

expectations from this new perspective.

So how well do they line up? How do these two tools help us deliver what is right for our businesses

in the modern world?

The sections below come from the CQI guide to ISO9001:2015, particularly around the summary ofprincipal changes.

Leadership

9001 changes what leadership looks like. There is now a need for top management to actively

engage in the operation of their quality management system. However, think for a moment about

what a quality management system isthe system of management designed to deliver the business

objectives. In other words, the quality of the management of the business.

So really, what we are saying is that the management need to engage with what is happening in

their business. This is natural for most businessesotherwise they would not be operating.

What this means for the quality professional is therefore a new perspective on what quality is and its

role in the organisation. Quality has stopped being an isolated entity and has become the way we

do things around here.

The CQI says we need to use our leadership behaviours to maximise influence and develop a culture

of evaluation and improvement.

Use this change in 9001 to be a quality advocate engage with the top management, show them

how the skills behind good governance, agile assurance and evaluation and improvement can helptheir business, and showcase their leadership of their business as what quality is.


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Context

This one is all about the stakeholders. A business must understand its stakeholders, their needs and

expectations, and their potential impact on its ability to deliver.

This makes good business sense know what is coming your way whilst you still have time to do

something about it.

To know how fundamental this is to the role of the quality professional, just count the number of

times the word stakeholder appears in the competency framework (its 12). It underlies all 5

elements of the competency framework. This ability to understand different stakeholders and

communicate with them is core to the skill set of the modern quality professional.

So, go out there and use your skills as a stakeholder advocate. Your business knows its context

and stakeholders. Help them structure and evidence this knowledge and use it as governance to

drive assurance and improvement.

Scope

With the 2015 revision, we see a stronger focus on the scope of the management system.

We have already identified that the management system is now about the organisations approach

to management. The scope of the system is therefore the scope of the business (or part business if

its complicated).

Much of this will already be in place, but this new emphasis gives the quality professional a uniqueopportunity to look across business functions and hierarchies at the whole of the business.

The holistic view of the organisation is essential when defining scope and understanding the

impact it has on the business and its system of management. Use the skills of the systems thinker

to see the bigger picture and help your organisation define the boundaries.

Process Approach

This hinges around clause 4.4 of the new standard and the clarification of what a process

approach looks like in practice.

In reality, what this does is it re-enforces that the management system has to be

appropriate for the business. This brings us full circle to context and scope. Work out what

is right for your business and do that, just make sure you justify the decisions you make.

Engage the management team. Help them understand that processes underlie how they

do business. Making sure the processes are right will reduce waste and cut costs. Use the

CQI leadership competencies of system thinking and motivation to establish a governance

structure that really works.


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Risk Based Thinking

For me, this concept is the one that makes the 2015 version of 9001 different. It is the attitude

change that makes us stand out, and the definition of the profession for the future.

It is no longer acceptable to do something because the standard says so. As quality professionals,

we have to learn to talk the language of risk and opportunity. We have to justify our actions based

on potential costs and benefits and be held to account for the decisions we make.

The key word is appropriate. In this new world, we are expected to plan for quality based on clear

risk analysis and the potential for things to go wrong. Everything we do comes down to the

application of appropriate assuranceknowing how good is good enough.

This move finally forces quality into balance with cost and time it doesnt have to be perfect, it has

to be good enough.

Looking to the competency framework, we see these same themesplanning for quality to prevent

potential problems; Evaluates risk; minimises operational risk; Identifies risks, failures and non-

conformities; Supports the organisation in evaluating any problems and risks.

Look at what you do day to day. Can you justify what you do based on understanding risk and

applying appropriate assurance?

Can you validate your priorities based on the risks your actions mitigate?

Improvement

The standard now recognises different types of improvement and potential triggers. This is

important as it requires a business to understand the concept of improvement in the business wide

context and recognise all the different ways in which it learns and grows.

Within the competency framework, improvement features as one of the five key competency sets

and is one of the three elements of the vision for the profession. This is perfectly aligned with the

standard where this important topic now stands alone in its own clause.

The skills of the quality professional are perfectly placed to support an organisation inunderstanding and managing its improvement processes.

Use the gathering insight and evaluating measures to drive fact-based decision making to

prioritise improvement and motivate people to implement change.

Dont forget the business context and stakeholder needs after all, improvement is about

performance and customer satisfaction.


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External Provision

Procurement now becomes externally provided processes, products and services and re-focuses on

applying risk based thinking.

This re-defines the boundaries of what we think of as supply chain assurance, but brings us back tothe application of appropriate assurance. It is up to the business to decide what is appropriate and it

falls to the quality professional to advise and support.

What does the management of external provision look like in your business? Is it appropriate and

risk based? Use the skills of the quality coach to embed the principles of appropriate supply chain

assurance in your approach.

Documentation

The new revision moves away from documented procedures and quality records. We are now

required to control, maintain and retain documented information and we can do this in any way that

suits our business.

Again, the competency framework re-enforces this concept. Nowhere will you see the skills of

writing procedures or managing records. Instead it talks about the flow down of management intent

and the skills needed to ensure it is implemented in the right way for the business and its

stakeholders.

You dont need to do anything with this. A documented management system is still a good way to

meet the requirements.

However, as a systems thinker, remember that the management system is the way that the

business gets managed the definition of management intent. Is you documented system right

for your business? Does it truly reflect what actually happens? Is it necessary and appropriate?

Does it work?

All of the skills described in the competency framework come together to answer this question

does the system of management deliver what the business needs?

I started out to explore the revision to ISO 9001 and the CQI competency framework. At every turn

we see the parallels and alignment between the two.

The revision to this core quality standard is a big step towards meeting the quality profession

challenge and creating a world with quality at the heart of every organisation.

These two important documents are completely on message with each other, building the

professionals we need to deliver the vision of what quality means.

Our challenge now is to leverage the introduction of the new standard to change historical

perceptions of the profession and establish effective systems and cultures of good governance, agile

assurance and evaluation and improvement.

Welcome to the future.


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Good Luck.

Written by Ruth Mortby, Project Compliance and Quality Manager Nuvia Ltd and Next Generation

Networks Corporate Membership Officer

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