Just curious as to who in your organization is responsible for developing the Quality Policy. We were originally told that Top Mgmt was responsibile, however I beg to differ. The word used in the QualPol section is "establish"...not "develop" and I feel there is a difference.

Don't get me wrong, Top Mgmt should have input but isn't there a more efficient way to developing a QualPol other than locking Top Mgmt in a room until a concensus is reached or they run out of oxygen (whichever comes first)? :vfunny:

Thanks!

I think it should be a standard statement photocopied world wide.

I mean would one organisations quality policy be to supply defective products ? I think not, a quality policy almost goes without saying, and ISO9001:2000 practically tells you word for word what to put in it.

In my experience, this is normally delegated to a person or team to develop, present to managment, and then mgmt reviews/selects/approves what they want to issue.

This is an effective and acceptable business practice.

Agreed Jim - broader mission statements do have a purpose.

In 30 minutes (approx), I'll be going into a room and explaining the requirements of the Quality Policy to Top Mgmt. I am also providing them with three options (technicall four) for developing it:

1. Top Mgmt has sole responsibility for developing.
2. QA develops a few examples and Top Mgmt votes on them at next Quality Review.
3. Requirements are posted in the next edition of the company newsletter and we hold a contest for employees to come up with ideas, which Top Mgmt will vote on at next Quality Review.
4. Let Top Mgmt come with an idea on how to develop the QualPol.

I'll let you know what the grand poobahs decide. :)

In our case:


I write a draft
The management review meeting approves it (hopefully)
The Site Mgr signs it


And that's about it. Then I distribute it along with a bit of explanation and discussion...

/Claes

Our Quality Policy was written my my boss, the Director of Quality (no longer manager) and approved by top management (GM). It stunk big time. I sent my boss an e-mail referencing the requirements, with explaination, and mentioned things like "measurable" and "continuous improvement". That was mid March. Still waiting for response/change.

That's how the Quality Policy is developed here. :frust:

Don't get caught up in semantics. Who ultimately has to maintain this program ? The guy/gal in charge. I have always facilitated this in conjunction with the Top Dog. As part of Mgmt Resp., they have to sign up for the program and decide what benefits they want. I give them suggestions---- but ultimately they throw the ideas and measurables out there and I construct them into a format. Remember, all levels of the organization need to understand it, so keep it short, user friendly and---

p.s.-- for crying out loud--PLEASE--don't let them talk you into using the term "World Class" or "exceed"..................good luck and have a nice day.............. :bonk: :bigwave:

Foghorn -- I mean, I say I mean, Noboxwine,

As usual, your post is based on good, sensible, real-world advice, especially that last part.

Our Quality Policy isn't so good, but it would be interesting to see some Cove members' Quality Policies if they think they are especially good -- editied for company name if necessary. Heck, even the bad ones would be fun to see!

Quality Policy:

People Striving To Turn Customers Into Fans!:smokin:

Who is responsible for our QP. Well depends on how you look at it. I bounced ideas back and forth with my boss and when we had something we liked we had our ISO Steering Committe vote on it and then it was put in place. We had our President send out a memo stating what it was and what it meant and how we were going to measure our sucess against it. Well actually he didn't write the letter I did. So I guess you could say the President of our Company officially did it, but technically my boss and I did it. I am sure that is pretty much the norm. where ever you go.

Quality Scope
Design and mfg of wine and wine products

Quality Policy
Provide Quality products the first time, every time

Quality Objectives
Supply products in specification
Deliver on time
Reduce waste

:eek:

Al Dyer said:

Quality Policy:

People Striving To Turn Customers Into Fans!:smokin:

Al D.,

Would that be fixed or oscillating?:vfunny:

For you, Mike S.

“energy is committed to maintaining a customer focused Quality Management System that:

—Produces products and services that meet customer/regulatory requirements
—Is communicated from Top Management to all levels of the organization
—Continually monitors to improve all aspects of our Quality Management System”

Of course this comes from the requirements in the standard for a policy, approved by the Steering Committee and like ISO Guy, signed by the CEO and is completely auditable. As for being construed as lip service, the entire QMS will have to be, too. It's also printed out on pocket cards for all employees and two huge posters/signs in the facility in very prominent locations.

So, I've dropped MY drawers. Anybody else? Beat it up, Boys and Girls.:p
:ko: :smokin:

Well, Jim...the suspense is over, but sorry for the delay. After that meeting, a...ahem...."liquid lunch" was in order!!! ;)

The grand poobahs selected the decision I knew they would. Delegation is, after all, why they are where they are...and why I am where I am. I am but the lowly peon (I swear that word needs an extra 'e' to truly match its definition! :) )

However, two things came out of that meeting with regard to the Quality Policy.

1. QA will develop some examples and present to Top Management who will decide, by concensus, which is the "best".
2. While originally slated to be done in May (let's check the date, folks), it has now been bumped to September as Top Management questions whether we need to do this right now ...is there a huge rush on this considering we're not aiming for transitioning until June 2003?

I have no problem developing examples...frankly, I would prefer that QA - who knows the requirements for the QualPol - develop several examples that all meet the requirements and let Top Mgmt vote on which one they think is the best.

However, questioning if it has to be done now.....well, why not? We're just saying do it now for 2003 and get it over and done with. September is a busy month in our organization...why add one extra item to the already full plate? But we lost that battle.

And don't get me going on the discussion we had with regard to Quality Objectives. However, while we're on the subject...would you folks care to share what some of your Quality Objectives are and what tools/methods you have in place to measure if you are meeting them?

After that whole meeting, I'm not certain if :frust: or :bonk: is more adequate...hence the "liquid lunch". To quote a line from the old television series 'Night Court', "But I'm feeling much better now!" :vfunny:

Does anybody agree that the quality policy that mimics the standard is a useless piece of paper until the auditor comes in and wants to see a piece of paper that only regenerates the requirements?

Yes, ABC corporation has a quality audit system led by trained personnel.

Come on, the quality policy statement is the weakest thing in the organization, procedures and work instructions are the heart of any system!

Al Dyer said:

Does anybody agree that the quality policy that mimics the standard is a useless piece of paper until the auditor comes in and wants to see a piece of paper that only regenerates the requirements?

Yes, ABC corporation has a quality audit system led by trained personnel.

Come on, the quality policy statement is the weakest thing in the organization, procedures and work instructions are the heart of any system!

From 9001:2000. Remember that?

"5.3 Quality policy
Top Management shall insure the quality policy,
b) includes a commitment to comply with requirements and continually improve the effectiveness of the quality management system."
No ifs, ands, buts or FANS

As for a) d) and e), that’s our choice to include these, as long as we can back it up.
Try verifying that you turned your customers into Fans
:bonk: :ko: :smokin:

Yep, there's no way to get around including the commitment to continually improve the QMS, yada yada. Quite a few, if not almost all, of the Quality Policies I've seen do not meet this requirement. Also, the policy is supposed to be specific to what you do, so general statements are not supposed to be acceptable either (this comes from a registrar's assessor) - and again, an awful lot of QP's don't meet this "requirement".

Ours is dry,boring, and yukky, but I didn't write it. Our QMS Management Rep did and he likes it just fine. I got him to change a few things and then we sent it round to the other VP's for comment. No comment came back. Then I marched it into our CEO's office and said that I would trade him that document he wanted me to write for his signature on the Quality Policy. He read it, he made some comments, then the CFO read it and made some comments. I incorporated their suggestions (after all, it is their company and their policy) and then resubmitted it to them and they signed.

Here it is:

Canyon Offshore is dedicated to providing our Clients with superior specialty marine services and associated products in a safe and cost effective manner. In order to do so we commit to:

• Providing first class and well maintained equipment to ensure effective work performance and high reliability
• Ensuring that all employees and contractors understand their responsibilities and are suitably qualified and trained
• Formalizing and documenting all key business processes and ensuring that all tools and information are available to execute them correctly
• Auditing and monitoring performance to ensure that standards are maintained at the highest level
• Eliciting and responding to feedback from our customers, vendors, and our employees, and
• Being a learning organization committed to complying with requirements, including statutory and regulatory, and continually improving the effectiveness of our QMS.

In this way, we will attract and retain Clients confident in our ability to meet or exceed their requirements.

[QUOTE] Lucinda said:

Yep, there's no way to get around including the commitment to continually improve the QMS, yada yada. Quite a few, if not almost all, of the Quality Policies I've seen do not meet this requirement.
____________________
Lucinda,

Is it possible that some of the Quality Policies you've seen are still part of, or written for, the 1994 standard, and that's the reason they don't include the "commitment to continually improve the QMS, yada yada" required by 2000? Just wondering...

Lucinda,

My only concern was the age old fear that an Auditor would ask an employee if he knows what the Company's Quality Policy is. I can't even remember mine, that's why the cards got printed, so I couldn't even come close to retaining any of yours. We figured three bullets would get you close. You know, like 2 out of 3 ain't too bad. Me? I would say sure, I carry it with me all the time and read it. What they gonna do? Cite me for not knowing it. I believe if you hit a few of the key statements, you're going to be O.K.. Hey, maybe they don't do that anymore. I'm told that it is a given. A sure thing. Thanks for sticking that neck out!;) :ko: :smokin:

energy,

Oh yes, I know it is very long. If everyone just knows the opening sentence I would be more than pleased since that is really the whole crux of it anyway. Good thing that it is not a requirement for the employees to actually be able to quote the policy,but simply to know that it exists and where they can find it and how they figure they contribute to meeting it. As I keep reminding everyone here, an audit is an open book test. If you don't remember a certain something just open up the QMS network site and find it. The auditor accepts that.

Like I said, I didn't write it. I did provide examples of others that I had gathered from various companies, but I think he based it on the one from where he used to work. At least it should meet all of the criteria.

Mike, I'm positive that the quality policies were written for 1994 version. What I guess I'm getting at is that a whole bunch of companies are going to have to re-write their policy since they do not fit with what is now required. I'm not sure that they have come to terms with that.

Our existing Quality Policy has cute little formula Q = C-cubed or Quality = Customer, Commitment, and Culture. To go along with that formula, is a lovely verbose statement about how we are committed to fostering a culture of commitment and meeting customer requirements through communication, teamwork, etc., etc. Even QA hasn't memorized it....we want some semblance of a life (although, if that were true, I wouldn't be on here at 0640 on a Sunday morning! :ko: )

But to help our employees understand it and be aware of it, we have several tools in our QA belt:


A sticker for their hard hats (I've told folks to be polite when an auditor comes a callin', take off the hard hat and read the sticker)
"Strategic" postings of the QualPol around the facility
Posted in the Company Newsletter
Quality Orientation (new and transferred employees)


The Quality Orientation is where I refer to a matrix that shows all positions on one axis and all the elements along the other. Then QA has determined to what degree each position must be aware of the element (M - Master [usually reserved for IntAuditors and Top Mgmt], U - Use on a daily basis, F - Familiar, N - Not applicable [we're 9002 and due to the nature of business, everyone has N for 4.4, 4.7, 4.19].

I'm not sure if the length of a Quality Policy is of such a concern nowadays. What I focus on is how easy is it to understand. I find most auditors these days (and this is how I train my Internal Auditors, too), ask not "What is your Quality Policy", but rather "What does your Quality Policy mean to you" or "How do you affect the quality of the product?"

Hence that matrix. In that orientation, QA talks about how that individual in their position affects quality of both product and process.

I admit that in a previous ISO-life, our External Auditor gave us a finding on a poor knowledge of the Quality Policy - however this is a pretty grey area. Unfortunately, with the answers he received, I don't blame him. "What does your Quality Policy mean to you?":


"Quality is job one!" - lovely sentiment, but we weren't Ford!
"Quality means I get to keep my job and that's important because I have stock in the company." - okay, we're meeting the requirements of all stakeholders??? *g*
(and my personal favourite) "Quality means that if someone gets killed, it's my fault." - FYI, this individual's job was to hook up the destination sign electronics on the bus...nothing to do with brakes, steering, etc.


Ah, the Quality Policy can be such an entertaining topic. :) And on that note, plus it's now 0653), I'm grabbing a mug of hot cider and going to sit outside.

"We as an organization are committed to provide, both today and into the future, products and services which consistently exceed our customer's total quality requirements."

I know the "exceed" is in there, but I didn't write it I just inherited it with the job. We will be changing it soon when we get together for our next MR meeting. Auditor advised we update it for ISO9K2K.


:bonk:

Al Dyer said:

Come on, the quality policy statement is the weakest thing in the organization, procedures and work instructions are the heart of any system!

Wow, the weakest thing in any orginization. I don't think I can agree with that. The QP or mission statement IMHO is a statement as to where the originzation is headed. It should help employees understand where the company is headed and what the objectives are. IMHO if you have a QP/mission statement that is there to fulfill a requirement then you are probably just paying lip service to the standard/regulations.

Energy, I have never met an auditor that would expect an employee to know the QP word for word. What i look for is that they can explain it in their own words and can they explain how they help achieve/support the QP in their job.

ISO GUY said:

IMHO if you have a QP/mission statement that is there to fulfill a requirement then you are probably just paying lip service to the standard/regulations.

Energy, I have never met an auditor that would expect an employee to know the QP word for word. What i look for is that they can explain it in their own words and can they explain how they help achieve/support the QP in their job.

That's great to hear. When we go through various training from outside sources, they accent that employees have to be prepared to get close to the Policy Statement, if asked. We crafted ours to meet the requirements with full awareness that it is auditable. A couple of more months, we'll find out.:biglaugh:
:ko: :smokin: