Stuart Platt 19th August 2016
Have you ever wondered what the benefits of having a Quality Management System are. When we started SOS-Switched Onto Safety we developed and implemented a Quality Management System for two key reasons:
- As neither of the owners of SOS-Switched Onto Safety had any experience in running a business, they decided that they would use the guidance of a Quality Management System to put in place the processes that would form the basis for their Business Management.
- The other reason, was at the time when they were submitting tenders for jobs associated with government departments, one of the key requirements was to be certified to AS/NZS 9001. As we found out, it can be advantageous when tendering for jobs to have such a system
Checking on your quality system
Any quality system an organisation develops and implements should be checked for compliance and suitability to that organisation activities. A quality audit is the process of systematic examination of a quality system carried out by an internal or external quality auditor or an audit team. It is an important part of an organization’s quality management system and is a key element in the ISO quality system standard, ISO 9001.
Quality audits should be performed at predetermined intervals and ensure that an organisation has clearly defined internal system monitoring procedures linked to effective action. This can help determine if the organization complies with its defined quality system processes and can involve procedural, results-based or on a risk assessment outlook (the new ISO 9001:2015)
Audits are an essential management tool to be used for verifying objective evidence of processes, to assess how successfully processes have been implemented, for judging the effectiveness of achieving any defined target levels, to provide evidence concerning reduction and elimination of problem areas.
Here at SOS-Switched Onto Safety our quality audits not only report non-conformances and corrective actions compliance but also highlight areas of good practice. In this way other departments of the organisation may share information and amend their working practices as a result, which also contributes to a continual improvement process
If you need your quality system checked or reviewed contact us for assistance as;
‘we love a good audit’