ISO 9001:2015 Process Approach – The Path of Least Resistance
The Path of Least Resistance – The Process-Based Approach
Quality Management System ISO 9001: 2015 Process Approach
As human beings, we like the path of least resistance. The same should apply to business processes. ISO 9001 promotes the process-based approach which encourages adopters of the standard to optimise the flow of your business processes to improve its flow and reduce resistance.
What is the Process Approach
It is a management strategy that combines the plan-do-check-act cycle and risk-based thinking. This means that processes are managed and controlled. It also means that you not only understand what the core processes are, but you also take into account how they fit together.
Why is the Process Approach so important?
Companies are divided into departments that are managed by managers. The manager oversees what comes out of the department. Most managers never communicate with the customer. They are unconnected from how the customer really feels.
If key performance indicators are set by departments this deepens the problems. Managers try to get the most out of the functioning of their departments. This leads to possible damage to other departments further down the line.
This introduces horizontal management, controlling processes that flow across departmental borders. Someone is held responsible from start to finish. They see everything from process start to process finish.
They understand what the interested parties in the process want and have given their permission to act to realise this. Employees’ first loyalty is to their delegated projects, products or services rather than their own departments.
Using an ISO 9001:2015 Process Approach
- Consideration and regularity in meeting needs
- Viewing processes in terms of adding value
- Accomplishing effective process performance
- Refining process performance based on examination and assessment of the data and information
Implementing a Process Approach
ISO 9001: 2015 uses the process approach which includes the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle and risk-based thinking. The company needs to:
- Decide on required process inputs and outputs
- Give tasks and authorisations for processes
- Find risks and chances for processes and plan to address these
Define your Quality Management System processes
ISO 9001:2015 does not give you a list of core processes you need to include. Your company must decide of these for themselves.
Examples for you to include are:
- Training, leadership and performance assessment
- Manufacturing, design, distribution, development, service, delivery and assembly management
- Income guarantees/company process such as subcontracting
- New customer management
- Equipment management
- Supplier approval and re-evaluation
- Risk identification and management
- Contract change or income guarantee management
- Complaint handling
- Information management
- Audits and inspections
- Other Quality, Heath, Safety and Environmental needs
Access if you are continually providing products and services that meet customer, legal and regulatory needs. Are you increasing customer satisfaction?
These are the processes you need to manage. The company must then plan the connections between your core processes.
Use SHEQ software for your Process Approach
An essential part of any process approach is your management system, and software is a great solution to deliver on your requirements. SRM and many of our clients use Mango Compliance Software – www.mangolive.com. Mango makes it easier to get ISO 9001:2015 certification.
Assign responsibilities and authorities for your processes
The company needs to show who oversees what process. Do not focus on functions, but on the process across the department. Take special consideration to the reliance and the connections.
- Involve staff in constructing the process-based Quality Management System
- Train employees so that they know their functions and responsibilities about the core processes to make sure that they see their processes end-to-end
- Rearrange the audit agenda, around processes that do not function
- Teach auditors to follow processes across the departments, taking into account the dependencies and connections
- Supply data that helps the operation of processes and have faith that the processes are being put in place as arranged
- Give procedures and work instructions another name
Find risks and opportunities and plan to address these
Risk-based thinking is an extension of preventative action. Companies need to show risks and opportunities to processes, products and services as well as the Quality Management System. The company needs to take steps to deal with these actions. You need to check and measure the performance of your processes.
In summary
Learn about the Process Approach. Attend training courses or ask for help from a SHEQ Consulting Company. Research some process mapping tools such as affinity diagrams and value stream mapping. Map your processes from beginning to end, making sure that you find the interrelationships between processes. Investigate your processes to learn where decisions are made. This is important in seeing where something can go wrong.
SRM is ISO 9001: 2015: ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018 certified. Let us know if we can help you with the development and implementation of your Quality Management System. Contact our consultants today
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