What is a "Quality Policy"?

[John Broomfield]

And here we see Toyota’s Quality Policy:

Customer First and Quality First Measures | ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) Activities | Sustainability | Toyota Motor Corporation Official Global Website

I particularly like the way it leverages its long history of putting the customer and quality first.

And this extract:

“In accordance with our commitment to quality as stated in the Toyota Global Vision, each employee in every area maintains a constant and keen awareness of problems and a sense of ownership over their work. We all make ongoing efforts to implement kaizen and to collaborate closely with people in other fields to improve safety, peace of mind, and satisfaction for our customers.“

Most important, it also has to be true.

 

[Marc]

Modern Marvels - Assembly Lines - Season 7: Episode 32 - Post War Japan - Starting at about 27:30 - Kaizen

The entire episode is very good.

Note that the kaizen concept is about 70 years old and is still significant.

 

[Kirby]

I sure don't claim to be an authority, I generally come on the site to ask or research questions that I have ... but ...
I realize that sometimes we read things into standards that aren't really there, and that over time some common interpretations evolve into "mystery" requirements ( the kind that everyone is sure of but can't really cite the source clearly - sort of a "best practice" understanding) but I kind of interpret 5.2.1 b. to mean that the Q Policy and objectives are related. I know that everything that I read from SMEs seems to indicate that "The Q - Policy shall be supported by the objectives, and status of the objectives shall be measurable and reportable."

I vacillate between 1) avoiding having documents, records, procedures that don't really make us better, but might help only in an audit and 2) playing it safe by maintaining some files that are pretty much useless in day-to-day operations but might be helpful in the audit. I wrote about this in another discussion on this site where I had included provisions for a. thru m. of 8.4.3 in our Supplier Requirements , even though many of these items have not yet, and may never be, items that have been relevant to our operations. I just felt that we should address the items as a contingency and to avoid audit misunderstandings.
Some of the contributors on this site were quite adamant that they did not agree with my approach so maybe I'm wrong with my approach to your issue but I'm not sure why you would object to directly relating your policy to your objectives. Aren't you collecting data to support Clause 9, Performance Evaluation? If so, you could use the things you're tracking as objectives - Example - Your policy might include a statement that you will "meet or exceed customer expectations", so an objective that would support that statement could be "On-time delivery > 98%"

 

[Kirby]

Here is our organization's quality policy.

We (Company Name) are a manufacturer of component parts for the aerospace industry. The overall goal of our quality policy is to provide our customers with high quality parts precisely when they need them. We strive to solve our customer’s problems.

The values expressed below are those values which we believe will support us in reaching our organizational objectives. We believe our organization will reach its goals through…
Employee Ownership
o Empowered employees will develop the necessary skills and knowledge to support our organization’s objectives.
Employee Communication
o Frequent communication leads to greater organizational knowledge and an increased capacity to solve complex problems.
Supplier Development
o Supplier relationships that support our organization’s objectives are critical to our success, and such relationships should be developed and rewarded.
Quality Equipment
o Using and maintaining high quality equipment allows us to produce high quality products.
Measurement and Analysis
o A quantitative approach to measuring processes eliminates ambiguity when improving processes.
Awareness of Risk
o The awareness and mitigation of risks associated with processes or products ensure that our customers receive the right products at the right time.

The established Quality Management System is the tool that will help us achieve our goals. Management remains committed to continually improving the Quality Management System so that it represents our organization’s values and supports our objectives. Through the established Quality Management System, we will meet our objectives and remain compliant with external requirements.

Feel free to tear it apart.

One thing I am concerned with is its length. If this is something needs to be communicated and understood throughout the organization then I would think it should be shorter. Also, I am not certain that the inclusion of company values is appropriate in the quality policy.

Are you missing some elements of 5.2.1? Commitment to continual improvement, commitment to satisfy applicable requirements. I can see where they might be implied but wouldn't it just be more effective to say it in plain language?

 

[Dr. IJ Arora]

I know this is going to sound stupid, but...

What is the "quality policy"?

Every QSM has a section in it labeled "Quality Policy" but it is usually more of a summary or statement.

Is there usually a separate document that is the "quality policy"

Example:
5.3 Quality policy
Top management ensures that the quality policy is communicated to all
employees. It is included in new employee training and training on the QMS.

It is posted in prominent places throughout the facility to maintain high standards within our organization.

Management reviews the quality policy at each management review meeting to determine the policy’s continuing suitability for our organization.

The Quality
Policy is documented on A-500-001, Quality Policy.
_______________________________________________________________________________________

By this example i come away understanding that this section found in a company's Quality Manual is only a statement and it makes reference to the actual tangible "Quality Policy" that is document number A-500-001

Am i correct or way off base?

Can i assume that the "quality Policy" is actually the complete QMS in writing?


Thanks: Russ G

It appears the definition of a functioning management system (MS) starts with policy. However, to be clear when there is doubt on this, my answer would be a question. What is the function of a MS? And perhaps the answer would be to deliver confirming products and services. To ensure that, the processes must function efficiently. Process owners therefore require measurable objectives/ KPI in some cases simply aims and targets and goals. What are they to achieve. Clause 6.2 of ISO 9001. To define objectives you need direction. This direction comes from the quality policy clause 5.2. Please note policy does not only drive creation of objectives in one direction, but both directions. Meaning, if data points to a risk and there is no requirement or the requirements require creation of an objective, the organization would do that, and also update the policy as required. Policy is a dynamic statement of the intent, expectations, and direction of the leadership leading to measurable objectives.