Types of Quality Management Systems and Ways to Implement Them

Summary

The article aims to provide a clear understanding of the different types of quality management systems available globally and how to combine them to create a comprehensive system.

The aim of a quality management system is to ensure a company is successfully meeting the quality expectations of its customer segment. The system is a collection of policies, processes, resources, and documentation to check a company’s ethical conduct of maintaining the quality of the products/services and meeting customer requirements. Considering individual norms and conditions of different industries, quality management systems come in varied categories. The first variant of the system came with the rise of industrial production and consumer awareness. The mission was to fulfill expected outcomes with specialisation and large volumes. Nowadays, different types of quality management standards are used for reducing defects and recognising potential threats so that customer demands and satisfaction can be met quickly.

What are the different types of Quality Management Systems?

Based on different industry segments and their individual operational styles, the quality management standard has been categorised into the following -

● ISO 9001 - All Industries
● ISO 13485 - Medical device production industry
● ISO 22000 - Food Industry
● IATF 16949 - Automotive Industry
● ISO 200000 - Services
● ISO 27001 - IT industry
● AS 9100D - Aerospace industry

What are the main requirements for the successful implementation of a quality management system?

Irrespective of the industry and operations, there are some fundamental aspects, which are the same for each type. Those are -

● Documented quality manual
● The successful conduct of internal processes
● Quality data security and management
● Setting strong quality objectives and policies
● Conducting quality testing and following that with analyses
● Create opportunities for subsequent improvements
● Documentation of the procedure and instruction

All these components cumulatively bring success and a slight flaw in any of these can turn down the entire implementation and certification journey.

How can one successfully implement the systems into operations?

The systematic way to implement the quality management system is by quickly meeting all the requirements. Companies, which look forward to having a modern type of quality control system need a cohesive process involving all the quality components. The modules include -

● Document control - Controlling all the documents that have recorded the processes, training, and resources used by the employees for tracking and organising internal systems.

● Management of assets and equipment - Strict management of all the resources including equipment, which are used, associated, or have a significant role to play in maintaining quality production. Asset management is crucial for the long run success as it records when, how, and which assets have helped to meet customer satisfaction levels.

● CAPA management - CAPA stands for Corrective And Preventive Actions. These actions must be incorporated into the quality management system. For successful incorporation and management, strict monitoring and tracking are done for constant improvement.

● Internal audits - From time-to-time internal audits help to recognise threats and give the opportunity to control them. A proper quality management system must have professionals conduct audits to monitor all the implemented procedures.

● Integrated dashboard - With the help of digitalised system for quality management, today it is easy to track and display compiled data on quality procedures. The integrated dashboards work best when it comes to cumulating all the quality data and using them in the future for better prediction and improvement.

Final words

After a successful implementation of a comprehensive quality management system, deployment, control measures, and review should be attempted for further improvement. All these procedures may seem hectic and complex. However, with professional expertise, all these steps can be streamlined and accomplished with productivity.