Thoughts on Communications relevant to the Quality Management System

[Quality27]

Hi all,

This is quite perplexing to me. How can we show we met this requirement?

"7.4 Communication
The organization shall determine the internal and external communications relevant to the quality management system, including:
a) on what it will communicate;
b) when to communicate;
c) with whom to communicate;
d) how to communicate;
e) who communicates."

Do we need to focus on few items such as Quality Policy, Quality Objectives, Performance, etc? I would like to hear your thoughts/ideas/recommendations.

 

[Eredhel]

Re: Thoughts on Communication?

Our 3 biggest documented forms of communication are the Job Traveler, Purchase Orders, and monthly Shop & Safety Meeting. The traveler and POs cover many areas. We have other ways but those are our big 3.

 

[Ninja]

Re: Thoughts on Communication?

It is perplexing...but in the way of determining how to tie your shoes.
You do it naturally, but start to stumble only when you try thinking about what you're doing.

If you are in business, you've already met these requirements.
You've already decided who needs to know what (a, c, d & e)
When to tell them (initial training, cross training, update meetings, mgmt review, product rollout to sales, etc.) (a,b,c,d,& e)

You fulfill these requirements every time you go to your boss, or call in an employee to address a potential issue (or promotion).

Think through your QMS elements...who knows about them? Who should? How often to review?

 

[Pancho]

Hi all,

This is quite perplexing to me. How can we show we met this requirement?

"7.4 Communication
The organization shall determine the internal and external communications relevant to the quality management system, including:
a) on what it will communicate;
b) when to communicate;
c) with whom to communicate;
d) how to communicate;
e) who communicates."

Do we need to focus on few items such as Quality Policy, Quality Objectives, Performance, etc? I would like to hear your thoughts/ideas/recommendations.

I don't think you should focus only on the few items you mention. How an organization communicates, both internally and externally, is likely key to the delivery of quality service. Thus, the communication aspects of the QMS should go beyond just diffusion of the QMS itself.

Some organizations may have extensive procedures for communicating with clients on the phone. Some may have detailed procedures for submittals. Some may have policies on what kinds of communication tools are used internally.

When starting out, you do not need to develop all the communication documentation right away. Maybe you can start with what you mention, but let your system evolve with continuous improvement. For example, if you find that customers are sometimes unhappy with emails from your project managers, maybe you will develop guidelines for such emails (and such guidelines may be within your project management process, rather than under a "communications" function). As your system matures, the requirement will soon lose its perplexity.

Good luck!