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Quality Policy - Policy or Statement

Discussion in 'ISO 9001:2015 - Quality Management Systems' started by Glenn0004, Jul 28, 2016.

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  1. Glenn0004

    Glenn0004 Member

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    Whilst conducting supplier evaluation, I have often noted the "vanilla" nature of the "Quality Policy" and questioned if the often one page document is a true policy or a policy statement, noting that the ISO standard requires a "Quality Policy" and not a statement about quality. In our organisation a Policy is a document that dictates at a high level the approach to address how legal and internal requirements are applied across the business and includes the requirements of the policy (standards), practice and guidelines; a Policy Statement is a public statement about the same legal or internal requirement but doesn't address standards, practice or guidelines.

    I have a bee in my bonnet regarding doing things to meet the auditors expectations or doing thing because it's what is expected of us and not what suits the context of the business - if we were to issue a "Quality Policy" (meeting all stated requirements) as opposed to a "vanilla" policy statement would or could an interested party (including external auditor) oppose this more formal approach?
     
    Glenn0004, Jul 28, 2016
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  2. Marcelo Antunes

    Marcelo Antunes Active Member

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    As mentioned by Juran, a policy is "a broad guide to action, a statement of principles".

    Policies should be written in a way that it guides people on how to act (or not act) in certain situations.

    I usually use the ten commandment as examples. "You shall not murder" is a very clear policy, and it's use would be: if, in any situation, the results of your action would be to murder someone, you will not do it.

    Unfortunately, in my experience, most organizations just want to have a catch phrase in their walls, instead of having a real policy. So, anything you do may be acceptable (unless the interested party understands what really a policy means). I've seen very few auditors correctly auditing the quality policy, for example.
     
    Marcelo Antunes, Jul 28, 2016
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  3. MCW8888

    MCW8888 Well-Known Member

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    During my upgrade to ISO9001:2015, the auditor tried to tell me that the Quality Policy does not meet the requirements of the new standard. He was just about ready to trash it when I read the standard with all the buzz words in it. He moved on- did not give a finding on Quality Policy.
     
    MCW8888, Jul 28, 2016
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  4. RoxaneB

    RoxaneB Moderator Staff Member

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    How amusing! I also use a religious example as my way of explaining the purpose behind the Quality Policy. Essentially, if you are faced with a (quality) management system dilemma, you should be able to look to your QP and be pointed in the right direction. Like a religious text, it may not provide all of the answers like 'how' and 'why' and 'when' and 'who', but it's a darn good starting point to determining the right course of action.

    That being said, the QP can be lengthy and wordy and fail to resonate with people. This is where the catchy phrase/slogan - mission statement, if you will - comes in handy.

    Nike's "Just Do It" resonates with people as they find ways to make it relate to themselves. And it's also a good way for Nike to summarize what Nike does - "it" being everything. If you look at their company profile, you'll find "NIKE, Inc. fosters a culture of invention. We create products, services and experiences for today’s athlete while solving problems for the next generation." Who's going to remember that? Not me. But "Just Do It"? Easy peasy.

    It doesn't tell you how to do it...but it points an individual and an organization in the direction where answers can be found.

    Innovation? Just Do It. Solve problems? Just Do It. How? Create products and services and experiences for today's athlete and the next generation.
     
    RoxaneB, Jul 28, 2016
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  5. tony s

    tony s Well-Known Member

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    Regardless if you have a general or detailed statements of the organization's intentions and directions related to quality as long as the requirements in Clause 5.2 are fulfilled. There are times that shorter statements work better as the phrase "If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter".

    Just want to share one of ISO/TC 176 Approved Interpretation, dated Feb 6, 2015:

    QUESTION: Would a Quality Policy that does not specifically include wording addressing a commitment to comply with requirements, or a commitment to continual improvement, be compliant to ISO 9001?
    BACKGROUND: Companies have been found to have slogans implemented as Quality Policies. These slogans often do not specifically have language addressing continual improvement or compliance to requirements, but such interpretation is implied by the slogan. For example, “On Target” or “Do Good Work.”
    ANSWER: No.    ​
     
    tony s, Jul 29, 2016
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