Quality Management Systems

Abstract

The company’s first step toward quality is to identify its critical processes, focusing on its strategy and vision. After this first stage, the process management starts using tools and methodologies to ensure quality, as discussed in this chapter, and thus implementing the concept of continuous improvement. Improvement opportunities will be viable only if the process mapping includes the subprocesses. Another relevant aspect is to define indicators and goals for the processes and subprocesses, which must be periodically monitored. We cannot improve anything if we do not know the results achieved and if we do not compare them to previously defined goals. The ISO 9001 certification (quality management), through its requirements, is an excellent resource because it defines a clear systematic management for continuous improvement. The written procedures and routines provide updated details about the organization operational system and also provide total traceability while maintaining the intellectual capital. Learning the concepts of quality management, processes, standards, tools, and methodologies for quality may seem overwhelming at first, but it is great to see how much is gained and how a company can improve when all is put into practice. Establishing a quality management system may demand hours of work, especially in companies less structured, but it will certainly offer rewarding results.