Minimum content required in a Quality Manual as per ISO 9001:2008

Q

qmsboy

Hi There,

What is the minimum required content in a quality manual as per ISO 9001:2008?

As per ISO 9001:2008 clause 4.2 Documentation requirement,the sub clause 4.2.2 Quality Manual states that,

The organisation shall establish and maintain a quality manual that includes,
a)the scope of quality management system,including details of and justification for any exclusions(see 1.2)
b)the documented procedures established for the quality management system,or reference to them,and
c)a description of the interaction between the processes of the quality management system.

Is it mean or true that even the quality manual only contains the above items(ie,Quality policy,Quality objective,Scope of QMS,details of exclusion of clause comes under 7 and it's justification,6 documented procedures,process interaction flow chart) will suffice the requirement of ISO 9001:2008?:confused:

Could you explain a bit more about the content required in a quality manual as per ISO 9001:2008.

Thanks
 
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somashekar

Leader
Admin
Is it mean or true that even the quality manual only contains the above items(ie,Quality policy,Quality objective,Scope of QMS,details of exclusion of clause comes under 7 and it's justification,6 documented procedures,process interaction flow chart) will suffice the requirement of ISO 9001:2008?
Quality policy and Quality objectives are not mentioned in 4.2.2 ... so why do you mention it ?
A quality manual must include the a) b) c) as said in the clause 4.2.2
It does not mean that only these must be present.
You establish and maintain a quality manual befitting your organization in the type and style you prefer.
Again do not establish and maintain a quality manual per ISO9001:2008.
Establish and maintain your quality manual and include in that what the ISO9001:2008 requires to be included.
 
P

Phiobi

I love it when this question is raised.
Only yesterday I went through my companies ISO9001:2008 certification audit with our 1 page quality manual. I had all of the requirements for 4.2.2 and nothing else.
As usual it was a minor debate as the auditor "expected to see", "usually expects", "suggests", "Wants" More or extra things, but once politely pointed in the direction of the standard we came to an agreement that ISO9001 was met.

If you want the quality manual to be more than just a document meeting the standard then do so, but it is not a requirement.

As with all things, you need to make it suit your business. For me it is the home page for all employee's to access the management system, so it suits us to use a 1 page "document"
 

AndyN

Moved On
I love it when this question is raised.
Only yesterday I went through my companies ISO9001:2008 certification audit with our 1 page quality manual. I had all of the requirements for 4.2.2 and nothing else.
As usual it was a minor debate as the auditor "expected to see", "usually expects", "suggests", "Wants" More or extra things, but once politely pointed in the direction of the standard we came to an agreement that ISO9001 was met.

If you want the quality manual to be more than just a document meeting the standard then do so, but it is not a requirement.

As with all things, you need to make it suit your business. For me it is the home page for all employee's to access the management system, so it suits us to use a 1 page "document"

:thanx::thanx::thanx::thanks::agree1::applause::agree::thanx::thanks:
 
Q

qmsboy

Quality policy and Quality objectives are not mentioned in 4.2.2 ... so why do you mention it ?
A quality manual must include the a) b) c) as said in the clause 4.2.2
It does not mean that only these must be present.
You establish and maintain a quality manual befitting your organization in the type and style you prefer.
Again do not establish and maintain a quality manual per ISO9001:2008.
Establish and maintain your quality manual and include in that what the ISO9001:2008 requires to be included.



I agree:agree: with your post regarding a quality manual should be in line with my organisation's business needs.But,my query was purely based on the minimum requirement of a quality manual as per ISO 9001:2008 to get ISO 9001 certification.As you know well that Auditors/inspectors will always look for the conformity with respect to applicable specifications/ codes/standards only. They are not much bothered about any extra information as long as it is not adversely affect the conformity.Extra information in a quality manual may not create any problem,but discrepancy to meet ISO 9001:2008 requirement may lead to failure of certification.Moreover we should know the minimum requirement and the applicable clauses in case of an argument to support our claim.That is why I asked this question.

I had included quality policy and objective in my query due to the chanting of people those who are in certification field.They always say quality policy and objective are part and parcel of a quality manual.But what ISO 9001:2008 standard says?that counts during an argument.

For eg:, If I am fabricating a pressure vessel according to ASME BPV SEC VIII Div-1.Then it should meet the client's contract/ specification and applicable code requirements only( For eg: ASME BPV sec VIII Div-1).If my client or inspector or an auditor need anything extra beyond the scope of contract/spec/code,then they have to produce a revised contract or specification or a revised ASME BPV code.Then only I am bound to follow it as it is a costly affair.But if I am doing some extra work beyond the minimum requirement specified in the contract/spec/code with out expecting anything may not be a problem as long as my extra work is not going to violate any contract/spec/code requirement of the product.

Please correct me if I am wrong

Thanks
 
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Mikishots

Trusted Information Resource
I love it when this question is raised.
Only yesterday I went through my companies ISO9001:2008 certification audit with our 1 page quality manual. I had all of the requirements for 4.2.2 and nothing else.
As usual it was a minor debate as the auditor "expected to see", "usually expects", "suggests", "Wants" More or extra things, but once politely pointed in the direction of the standard we came to an agreement that ISO9001 was met.

If you want the quality manual to be more than just a document meeting the standard then do so, but it is not a requirement.

As with all things, you need to make it suit your business. For me it is the home page for all employee's to access the management system, so it suits us to use a 1 page "document"

Wish I was there to see that. Love it.:popcorn:
 

Quality27

Involved In Discussions
I love it when this question is raised.
Only yesterday I went through my companies ISO9001:2008 certification audit with our 1 page quality manual. I had all of the requirements for 4.2.2 and nothing else.
As usual it was a minor debate as the auditor "expected to see", "usually expects", "suggests", "Wants" More or extra things, but once politely pointed in the direction of the standard we came to an agreement that ISO9001 was met.

If you want the quality manual to be more than just a document meeting the standard then do so, but it is not a requirement.

As with all things, you need to make it suit your business. For me it is the home page for all employee's to access the management system, so it suits us to use a 1 page "document"

I would be very thankful if you could post that ...

Thanks,
 
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