Management system guidance

Improvement

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Key benefits of improvement

Successful organizations have an ongoing focus on improvement. Improvement may arise from changes in performance, or reacting to changes in internal and external conditons that create new opporunities for improvement. ISO 9000:2015 suggests the following ways in which the 'improvement' can be implemented or observed:

  1. Improved performance, capability and customer satisfaction;
  2. Focus on root-cause investigation and corrective action;
  3. Enhanced ability to anticipate and react to internal and external risks and opportunities;
  4. Enhanced consideration of both incremental and breakthrough improvement;
  5. Improved use of learning for improvement;
  6. Enhanced drive for innovation.

The following actions will help promote the concept of improvement:

  1. Establishing improvement objectives throughout the organization;
  2. Training workers throughout the organization on how to apply basic tools and methodologies to achieve improvement objectives;
  3. Ensuring workers are competent to successfully promote and complete improvement projects;
  4. Developing processes to implement improvement projects;
  5. Tracking, reviewing and auditing the planning, implementation, completion and results of improvement projects;
  6. Integrating improvement considerations into the development of new/modified products, services and processes;
  7. Recognizing and acknowledging improvement.

More information on quality management principles

Customer focus Meeting customer requirements and exceeding expectations
Process approach Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA), sequence and interaction, inputs, activities and outputs
Leadership Establishing strategic direction and operational purpose
Engagement of people Training, knowledge, competence, and empowerment
Evidence‐based decision making Data analysis, process performance assessment, and risk-based thinking
Relationship management Maintaining relationships with intertested and providers in the supply chain
 

More information on PDCA

Planning

Context

ISO 9001:2015
ISO 14001:2015
ISO 45001:2018
4.1 Organizational Context 4.1 Organizational Context 4.1 Organizational Context
4.2 Relevant Interested Parties 4.2 Relevant Interested Parties 4.2 Relevant Interested Parties
4.3 Management System Scope 4.3 Management System Scope 4.3 Management System Scope
4.4 QMS Processes 4.4 EMS Processes 4.4 OH&S Management System

Planning

ISO 9001:2015
ISO 14001:2015
ISO 45001:2018
5.1 Leadership & Commitment 5.1 Leadership & Commitment 5.1 Leadership & Commitment
5.2 Quality Policy 5.2 Environmental Policy 5.2 OH&S Policy
5.3 Roles, Responsibilities & Authorities 5.3 Roles, Responsibilities & Authorities 5.3 Roles, Responsibilities & Authorities
    5.4 Consultation & Participation

Support

ISO 9001:2015
ISO 14001:2015
ISO 45001:2018
6.1 Address Risks & Opportunities 6.1.1 Address Risks & Opportunities 6.1.1 Address Risks & Opportunities
6.2.1 Quality Objectives 6.1.2 Environmental Aspects 6.1.2 Hazard Identifcation
6.2.2 Planning to Achieve Objectives 6.1.3 Compliance Obligations 6.1.3 Legal & Other Requirements
6.3 Planning for Change 6.1.4 Planning Action 6.1.4 Planning Action
  6.2.1 Environmental Objectives 6.2.1 OH&S Objectives
  6.2.2 Planning to Achieve Objectives 6.2.2 Planning to Achieve Objectives
 

Doing

Support

ISO 9001:2015
ISO 14001:2015
ISO 45001:2018
7.1 Resources 7.1 Resources 7.1 Resources
7.2 Competence 7.2 Competence 7.2 Competence
7.3 Awareness 7.3 Awareness 7.3 Awareness
7.4 Communcation 7.4.1 Communcation - General 7.4.1 Communcation - General
7.5 Documented Information 7.4.2 Internal Communcation 7.4.2 Internal Communcation
  7.4.3 External Communcation 7.4.3 External Communcation
  7.5 Documented Information 7.5 Documented Information

Operations

ISO 9001:2015
ISO 14001:2015
ISO 45001:2018
8.1 Operational Planning & Control 8.1 Operational Planning & Control 8.1.1 General
8.2 Customer Requirements 8.2 Emergency Preparedness 8.1.2 Eliminating Hazards
8.3 Design & Development   8.1.3 Management of Change
8.4 Purchasing   8.1.4 Outsourcing
8.5 Product & Service Provision   8.2 Emergency Preparedness
8.6 Release of Products & Services    
8.7 Nonconforming Outputs    
 

Checking

Monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation

ISO 9001:2015
ISO 14001:2015
ISO 45001:2018
9.1 Monitoring & Measurement 9.1.1 Performance Evaluation 9.1.1 Performance Evaluation
9.2 Internal Audit 9.1.2 Evaluation of Compliance 9.1.2 Evaluation of Compliance
9.3 Management Review 9.2 Internal Audit 9.2 Internal Audit
  9.3 Management Review 9.3 Management Review
 

Acting

Improvement

ISO 9001:2015
ISO 14001:2015
ISO 45001:2018
10.1 Improvement - General 10.1 Improvement - General 10.1 Improvement - General
10.2 Nonconformity & Corrective Action 10.2 Nonconformity & Corrective Action 10.2 Incident, Nonconformity & Corrective Action
10.3 Continual Improvement 10.3 Continual Improvement 10.3 Continual Improvement
 

How to apply the latest quality management principles

The latest and current quality management principles (QMPs), stated in ISO 9000:2015, are intended to provide the foundation by which any organization can continually improve its performance.

You can learn to apply the latest quality management principles in the context of your business's own particular operations by reviewing and documenting its activities in the context of each quality management principle.

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Free PDCA guidance

ISO Navigator™ is our FREE online training tool that shows you how to apply the principles of PDCA to your operations. We also offer many helpful templates that get you on the road to documenting your management system, please visit the download page.