I believe that it is important to implement an ISO 9001 program into my workplace organization because it could have helped us both in the past and present. ISO 9001 programs are vital for ensuring customer satisfaction. Our company deals with many clients daily and this would allow us to be more customer focused. There have been many cases where we have not seen repeat customers and the implementation of ISO 9001 could have mitigated quality control.
Recently within our company, we have had a high turnover rate mostly due to the minimal engagement of people, lack of leadership and the direction in which the organization is headed. People feel as if there is no clear direction and this has affected the mindset of the employees. ISO 9001 would help us mitigate these issues and would help boost the company’s moral. I would take the following steps to introduce and develop an ISO 9001program for my organization:
Step One
The first step involves gathering a team to plot and brainstorm the requirements, needs of the company and the system. The team would need to understand the full spectrum. This would include costs, legal requirements, time, auditing and why it would be important to implement a standard based system. There would need to be a big management commitment.
Step Two
If we are successful in bringing a team together who is on board with the requirements, then I would suggest to the team the need to work with a consultant and obtain a software program that can help organize documentation. I would explain the PDCA cycle and identify critical processes to address. This would ensure that we are on the right path.
Step Three
The third step would involve gathering all necessary documentation and polices that are involved in the standard. The team may have to modify or develop new programs or procedures to be able to mesh well with ISO 9001. I would be sure to provide the necessary training to all personnel for specified tasks in the organization. I would implement an existing system status survey and make a flow chart about what we have in place, what we do well and where we need to improve and adapt (SWOT analysis). The team would have to graph and monitor all aspects of the of the implementation and organization.
Step Four
I would designate one person to take charge and lead the team into implementation of the program. The team needs to collect all QMS system documents and act on it right away. The team would list areas with errors and improvement needed along with a list of growth factors. Following this designation, the team will make a prioritized list so immanent items are not neglected. This can be a daunting task so all team members will need to support the leader through communication and proper detailed feedback from all employees of the process involved.
Step Five
Continuous confirmation and effort are needed to ensure that the program has been implemented properly and the entire organization has adopted this standard. Auditing should take place and corrective action should follow if there is anything found to be non-conforming. Evaluation of company culture should be documented to ensure that the company followed all QMS, ISO 9001 standards.
