AUG
23rd
Posted by: Tony Wilkinson
The 7 Quality Management principles
1) Customer focus:
The primary focus of quality management is to meet customer requirements and to strive to exceed customer expectations.
Rationale:
Every aspect of customer interaction provides an opportunity to create more value for the customer. Understanding current and future needs of customers and other interested parties contributes to the sustained success of an organisation.
2) Leadership:
Leaders at all levels establish unity of purpose and direction and create conditions in which people are engaged in achieving the Quality objectives of the business.
Rationale:
Creation of unity of purpose and direction and engagement enables an organisation to align it’s strategies, policies, processes and resources to achieve it’s objectives.
3) Engagement of people:
It is essential for the organisation that all people are competent, empowered and engaged in delivering value.
Rationale:
To manage an organisation effectively and efficiently, it is important to involve all people at all levels and to respect them as individuals. Recognition, empowerment and enhancement of skills and knowledge facilitate the engagement of people in achieving the objectives of the organisation.
4) Process Approach
Consistent and predictable results are achieved more effectively when activities are understood and managed as interrelated processes that function as a coherent system.
Rationale:
The Quality Management system is composed of interrelated processes. Understanding how results are produced by this system, including all its processes, resources, controls and interactions, allows the organisation to optimise its performance.
5) Improvement:
Successful organisations have an on-going focus on improvement.
Rationale:
Improvement is essential for an organisation to maintain current levels of performance, to react to changes in it’s internal and external conditions and to create new opportunities.
6) Evidence based decision making:
Decisions based on the analysis and evaluation of data and information are more likely to produce desired results.
Rationale:
Decision making can be a complex process not without uncertainty.
It is important to understand cause and effect relationships and potential unintended consequences.
Facts, evidence and data analysis lead to greater objectivity and ultimately confidence in decisions made.
7) Relationship Management
For sustained success, organisations manage their relationships with interested parties, such as suppliers / subcontractors.
Rationale:
Sustained success is achieved when an organisation manages relationships with its interested parties to optimise their impact on its performance.
