Clause 5.1 Leadership and Commitment (secrets)

Well, it should be obvious that the subject of leadership is becoming increasingly important whenever ISO 9001 is updated. The most recent list of ISO 9001:2015 requirements for leadership and commitment are admirable in that they are genuine and the standard puts leadership at the forefront of the QMS. By doing this the management system is strongly encouraging you to run your business from the ‘top-down’. This means that top management are expected to be the driving force behind the management system and how it applies to the business.

Clause 5.2 Quality Policy (secret revealed)

The quality policy is the general promise and commitment to quality control and customer focus of top management when it comes to quality. It’s usually a brief paper with less than 100 words. The policy is frequently left to gather dust sitting on a reception wall and never even communicated out.

Clause 5.1.2 Customer Focus (secrets revealed)

importantly, is everyone in the organisation aware of how important your customers are to your business? If the answer to this question is no, then you have something seriously wrong. It seems pretty obvious that any and all businesses would cease to exist without their customers, right?

Clause 5.3 Organizational Roles, Responsibilities and Authorities

Responsibility for the quality management system, surely that lies with the quality manager, doesn’t it? Sadly, this is a common situation and misunderstanding within businesses across the globe. You’ll no longer find the term “management representative” that might be familiar to users of ISO 9001:20

Clause 6.1 Actions to Address Risks and Opportunities

What risks and opportunities I hear you ask? Well, do you remember those risks and opportunities that came from performing a PESTLE analysis at clause 4.1? This clause is asking you now to make plans to address those risks and opportunities. By doing this you are adopting a proactive approach to managing ri

Clause 6.3 Planning of Changes (secrets revealed)

What is meant by changes?
Planning for changes; “what changes?” I hear you ask. Well thankfully, ISO 9001:2015 does not insist that you plan for all changes, only significant changes. How do you decide on what is a significant change?, that is entirely for you to decide. You might begin by asking yourself “what would happen if the change that we are about to implement goes wrong, and causes a negative impact?”. Let’s not forget, in quality management we are always trying to protect the customer from the effects of negative impact.

Clause 7.1 Resource Requirements (revealed)

The general statement at clause 7.1 is a high-level requirement that sets the stage for the more detailed requirements of clauses 7.1.1 to 7.1.6 that follow. This requirement establishes the context and the need for resources that enable the management system to function effectively.

Clause 7.2 Competence Requirements (Secrets)

In my experience as an auditor and trainer, I’ve found that Clause 7.2 ‘Competence’ seems to be every internal auditor’s favourite clause to audit. However, I’ve also determined it is one of the most common clauses that internal auditors misinterpret.

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