Can anyone clarify for me whether or not a breif description of the company and its products should be included in the quality policy. My common sense and my understanding of the requirement tells me no ..... can anyone help?

permissible , but could deviate focus from the main purpose, you see it is required that the policy reflects the nature of the company's products/services but doesn't necessarily mean putting your entire company profile, i suppose two lines or a small paragraph is ok as long as it doesn't become the main issue highlighted, remember the policy isn't just for the customers, but for the employees as well, and there are other brochures and documents which may describe the company and its activities better.

Try to focus on the directives and promises your top management are making to the customers and employees and basically all the stake holders with regards to Quality, baring in mind mapping this to the nature of your activities, and the inherent characteristics of your product.

Can anyone clarify for me whether or not a brief description of the company and its products should be included in the quality policy. My common sense and my understanding of the requirement tells me no ..... can anyone help?

Jonty,

If you mean the "Quality Manual"; it depends who the intended audience will be for this document. If the intent is to also use the Quality Manual as a possible tool for marketing/sales, yes you could do that.

Stijloor.

Personally I tend not to deviate much from what clause 5.3 requires for the policy. I do put a couple of paragraphs in the manual about the company though, including contact details and website URL etc.

We have just come through our recertification audit, and a couple of times the external auditor advised that maybe we should include a bit more detail concerning our company's services in our quality/enviro policy.

We are reticent to go into too much detail but it is something that I feel should at least cover the industry you work in and a generalisation of your services.

Stijloor asked if you meant the Quality Manual. There it is normal and expected to say something about the business. However, I know of no case where a quality policy gets into specific product details.

Stijloor asked if you meant the Quality Manual. There it is normal and expected to say something about the business. However, I know of no case where a quality policy gets into specific product details.

That is correct. Some companies refer to the QM as the "Policy Manual."
I just wanted to make sure that the OP meant "Quality Manual" instead of "Quality Policy."

Stijloor.