European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) vs. ISO 9001

I work in the public sector and the particular department I work for has gone through significant change. No issues with that. However, the Senior Management Team are actively encouraging the use of an EFQM model that has been developed by local government. This has led to divisions within the new structure to consider not continuing the registrations to ISO9001. The argument is based on that there is no need for ISO9001.
What does the rest of the world think?

Re: European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM)

A lot of folks probably were unaware of exactly what you meant with the acronym EFQM, so I changed your thread title to reflect it
European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM)

Re: European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM)

I believe that the EFQM is modelled after the Baldridge Quality Award criteria, here in the USA.

Anyone who knows much about ISO 9001 and registration and the (very comprehensive) Baldridge Quality Award criteria would possibly agree with the folks in the UK who are dissenting. There is quite a difference between the two, in my experience, althought the gap was closed with the advent of ISO 9K2K.

What it takes to be evaluated against Baldridge compared to an ISO 9001 compliance audit is substantial and, therefore, if the model is EFQM, maintaining an ISO registration might not seem very value added.

Anyone else got this kind of experience?

Re: European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM)

jamesscs said:

I work in the public sector and the particular department I work for has gone through significant change. No issues with that. However, the Senior Management Team are actively encouraging the use of an EFQM model that has been developed by local government. This has led to divisions within the new structure to consider not continuing the registrations to ISO9001. The argument is based on that there is no need for ISO9001.
What does the rest of the world think?

Click to expand...

Hi jamesscs,

The EFQM model (copy of the original attached for anyone who hasn't seen it) is a continuous improvement tool that applies across a whole business. It measures changes to enablers within the business and measures the effect those changes had on the results as measured by KPI's, C-sat etc...

What I don't understand is why this is seen as something outside of ISO9001 - IMHO, EFQM is an excellent tool to address the CI elements within the standard, but, like six sigma, it is a tool, not a religion, philosophy or panacea. ISO9001 will offer the framework and structure necessary for disciplined delivery of the EFQM model.

Incidentally make sure your management understands that the model is a long term process, a series of P-D-C-A cycles that take months and years to effect substantial change, not days!

I personally like the EQFM model, but with 9001, not on its own,

Jimmy

jamesscs said:

I work in the public sector and the particular department I work for has gone through significant change. No issues with that. However, the Senior Management Team are actively encouraging the use of an EFQM model that has been developed by local government. This has led to divisions within the new structure to consider not continuing the registrations to ISO9001. The argument is based on that there is no need for ISO9001.
What does the rest of the world think?

Click to expand...

I suppose that there are two issues here - is EFQM a good use of time and resource in the public sector, and is ISO9001 certification a good use of taxpayers money?

If you look up the East coast a hundred miles or so, you will appreciate that the recent press coverage of our local council budget overrun would suggest that they need to do something to improve their management. Would either EFQM or ISO9001 help, or is there something more fundamental required?

EFQM is used for self assessment, and I know a few Scottish public sector organisations have found it useful, but others have found it very involved for what they got out of it. Both approaches are (or should be) essentially about "good" process understanding and management - setting objectives, deciding how to achieve them and measuring how well you are doing (and improving if you don't get it right first time round).