Quality Policy

What is a quality policy?

 A quality policy is a brief statement that aligns with your organization’s purpose and strategic direction, provides a framework for quality objectives, and includes a commitment to meet applicable requirements (ISO 9001, customer, statutory or regulatory) as well as to continualy improve. Quality policy is addressed in ISO 9001:2015 Clause 5.2. Often, the quality policy incorporates an organization’s vision or mission statement and core values. Standard Stores has created a form to help you answer “How to write an ISO 9001 Quality Policy”. 

Quality Policy is a requirement defined in the ISO 9001:2015 Standard. Section 5.2 Quality Policy has two subclauses: 5.2.1 Establishing the Quality Policy and 5.2.2 Communicating the Quality Policy. If you are on the track to becoming ISO 9001:2015 Certified, save time and money with our Quality Manual & Procedures.

Quality Policy Example: 

We will consistently provide products and services that meet or exceed the requirements and expectations of our customers. We will actively pursue ever-improving quality through programs that enable each employee to do their job right the first time and every time.

Who is responsible for the quality policy?

Top management is responsible for establishing, documenting, and communicating the quality policy as well as making it available to relevant interested parties. Many organizations will accomplish these requirements by documenting the quality policy within their quality manual, communicating to employees the quality policy during a training session, and posting printed copies of the quality policy throughout the building.

ISO 9001 Quality Objectives:

These measurable steps towards achieving your quality policy are either determined as you create your QMS or in your management reviews. You need to ask yourself: what will you do to meet the goals stated in the quality policy? Knowing that perfection is impossible, you must have some acceptable tolerance defined and measured.

Examples:

• % of on time deliveries
• % of internal scrap
• % defects

Both of these are different for every business. Here is an example:

• Company’s goal: create the word’s best widget
• Your Quality Policy may state they will be 99% defect free (among other things)
• The Quality Objectives put metrics on that, typically in terms of the product or service. What do you consider a defect? (package is broken, product fails, etc.)

When you are working on document control, make sure that you include your quality policy and quality objectives. They must be controlled. Control them by:

• Making them part of a procedure
• Making them part of the quality manual
• Making them their own numbered, controlled document
• You may want to handle the quality policy and quality objectives separately because the quality objectives might change more frequently than the quality policy. This may mean you do not want the objectives in the quality manual.