ISO 9001 - 2015, is the Quality Manual needed? Please advise

[LeonelAguilar352]

I was looking through the forums but I didn't find a definitive answer, please refer to me to a discussion if I missed it, or if you can provide me with some assistance I would really appreciate it.

I'm close to having my upgrade to 2015 and I keep getting all this information of some people to keep my Quality Manual and others telling me that the standard no longer requires one... But at the end of the day I want to know if the auditor would be looking for one? I saw some posts where people have reduce their QM to 4 pages... What do you include in those type of manuals? And what would be the best approach for this?

Please advise, any help is appreciate it.

Thank you!

 

[yodon]

Not required; but if it's useful for your organization, no need to eliminate it.

 

[Golfman25]

If your quality manual is just a regurgitation of the standard, then pitch it. If it is a matrix which shows how each requirement of the standard is address, then it may actually be helpful.

Ours is a few pages. Quality policy, some background stuff and the matrix/cross reference.

 

[Marc]

Also read: How important is a Quality Manual - ISO 9001:2008 to 9001:2015

 

[AndyN]

I was looking through the forums but I didn't find a definitive answer, please refer to me to a discussion if I missed it, or if you can provide me with some assistance I would really appreciate it.

I'm close to having my upgrade to 2015 and I keep getting all this information of some people to keep my Quality Manual and others telling me that the standard no longer requires one... But at the end of the day I want to know if the auditor would be looking for one? I saw some posts where people have reduce their QM to 4 pages... What do you include in those type of manuals? And what would be the best approach for this?

Please advise, any help is appreciate it.

Thank you!

Who knows what any auditor is "looking for"? Why wait to find out? Unless they are auditing to what the standard actually requires, then the outcome is unpredictable...

Better to ask yourself: Do we NEED a quality manual? Do our customers/regulatory bodies (if applic) prefer/demand one?

Do it for them and yourselves, not for anyone else. A REAL quality manual is like those "quick start guides" you get with electrical appliances. 4 pages, maybe 6. Tops.

 

[Sidney Vianna]

I agree with Andy. If you do it for extrinsic reasons, you will always be at the mercy of the "auditor du jour".

A quality manual can be very useful if it helps in explaining how product conformity to requirements and customer satisfaction is managed throughout the business processes of the organization.

If a quality manual focuses on the quality department/function, you know, the organization has not seen the light yet.