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Quality Policy and Objectives

Discussion in 'ISO 9001:2008 - Quality Management Systems' started by Chris Glover, Aug 18, 2015.

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  1. Chris Glover

    Chris Glover Active Member

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    We are struggling with trying to make our quality policy and objectives relevant. For the most part they are fluff; neither really say anything. We do have objectives (quality and otherwise) defined in our departmental and plant business plans.


    If you can share, what type of items are your quality objectives and how do you tie them all together?
     
    Chris Glover, Aug 18, 2015
    #1
  2. Nikki

    Nikki Well-Known Member

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    Reducing avoidable rejections, on-time delivery, reducing pellet quality rejections
     
    Nikki, Aug 18, 2015
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  3. RoxaneB

    RoxaneB Moderator Staff Member

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    This could easily escalate into a chicken/egg scenario. However, I see 3 possible ways of approaching this so that the entire team believes everything is meaningful and value-add.

    Scenario 1

    Quality Policy is a paraphrased version of the Standard's requirements.
    Quality Objectives are the areas - hopefully through some form of data analysis and possibly a bit of rock-paper-scissors between senior leadership - that the team will demonstrate conformance and alignment to the Quality Policy.
    Metrics exists at all levels showing the achievement - or not - of the Quality Objectives.

    So the Quality Policy says something about "meeting our Customer's expectations".
    The Quality Objectives include "on-time delivery" (borrowing Nikki's example).
    The associated metrics are OTD (for the whole organization)...OTD (for each site, if there is more than one)...OTD (for each crew, if there is 24 hour shipment). This way, people start to see and hopefully understand how they contribute to the whole concept of Quality, at least in terms of OTD in this case.

    Scenario 2

    The Quality Policy describes WHY the organization does what it does, while addressing the Standard's requirements from this section...it is your purpose (not profit), your cause, your belief...give us a reason why we should care about doing business with you.
    The Quality Objectives describe HOW the organization will do this - these Objectives might look different than the norm, especially if your QP is truly inspirational.
    The Metrics are the WHAT, but they should still cascade down and up, so that individuals/teams understand how their actions impact the organization as a whole (and vice versa).

    QP - We are passionate about providing products and services that add value to everyday living.
    QO - On-Time Delivery (+/- 0 days)
    Metrics - Delivery Date Deltas (+/- # of days to the required date...late is not good, early is not good)


    Scenario 3

    Determine your key metrics.
    Make those your Quality Objectives.
    Create a Quality Policy that is aligned with your Quality Objectives.

    In my opinion, most organizations do Scenario 1. Scenario 3 is probably the easiest. But Scenario 2 is the most engaging and meaningful. Hopefully that helps...
     
    RoxaneB, Aug 18, 2015
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    Bill.Pflanz, Tom Waite, tamer_elsayed and 6 others like this.
  4. tamer_elsayed

    tamer_elsayed Member

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    1- Transform the principle clauses of the Quality Policy into meaningful departmental objectives by involving all the concerned departments.
    2- Link the objectives to the relevant KPIs (eg. On Time, Rework%, Score, Perfect Orders, etc.)
    3- Set the target based on the historical data to make sure that it is realistic.

    I think the challenge here is to have a decent Quality Policy. Here the vision of the organization plays the major role.
     
    tamer_elsayed, Aug 20, 2015
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  5. Andy Nichols

    Andy Nichols Moderator Staff Member

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    Meet the agreed upon requirements for product, delivered on time and "right first time". Often, you can work back from established objectives to set a (reasonable) quality policy as a more practical approach. Often, people start with an inappropriate, unattainable Quality Policy of meeting/exceeding customers' expectations. This is, IMHO, totally bizarre. Rarely, if ever do organizations come close - and it's usually NOT what the customer wants. In the new version, the "context of the organization" comes in to play, where it attempts to make management ask what they perceive their place to be in their markets. It's entirely possible the customer simply wants the job done to the spec and delivered when it was agreed, and don't do anything else. Just like McDonalds...
     
    Andy Nichols, Aug 25, 2015
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  6. Tom Waite

    Tom Waite Member

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    I equate a quality policy with a sports team, no teams going into a season will say anything but we want to win the championship, EVEN when they know there is no chance for them. The goal should be strive for greatness and operate in good. You may never reach great but you can certainly reach good if you want to, and it all starts with driving a culture focused on the mission and policies (goals). So the opening line from Andy is a simple explanation of what you need to focus on; "Meet the agreed upon requirements for product, delivered on time and "right first time". I call this First Time Correct processing, anything above the FTC is waste, (like trying to exceed customer expectations or rework), which takes away from resources.

    Do not be afraid to make your quality policy achievable, and sustainable. Making it say we will win the championship every year sounds great - but it won't sell tickets. Performance on the field sells tickets, just like performance in quality, delivery, and productivity sells parts or service.
     
    Tom Waite, Aug 25, 2015
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  7. Bill.Pflanz

    Bill.Pflanz Member

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    I agree with Roxane that Scenario 2 is the best. It also provides flexibility on adding new objectives and metrics to the business as improvements are made and requirements change without making changes to your quality policy.

    Bill
     
    Bill.Pflanz, Aug 27, 2015
    #7