A quality management system (QMS) is not a set-and-forget strategy that will magically improve your business with zero input from you and your team.

Managing a quality management system (QMS) can be quite time-consuming. If you're in charge of a business and juggling all the responsibilities that entails, there may not be enough hours in the day.

But even if you can't spare the time to implement and maintain a QMS, your company can still get certified to ISO 9001. How? With the assistance of NPT Management Systems!

Regular internal audits are key to ensuring that your organisation is meeting its quality objectives. But as costs continue to rocket up, UK businesses are quite understandably trying to save money wherever they can.

Unfortunately, this means that many companies are not able to employ permanent, full-time quality management specialists right now. The inevitable result: quality management slips down the list of priorities and the organisation falls behind on its internal audit schedule.

If you haven't considered the impact of remote working on your quality management system, now is the time to take action.

Many people across the UK are currently working from home in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. At time of writing (5th November 2020), the governments of all four nations of the United Kingdom are telling businesses to switch to remote working if they can:

• From gov.uk: "Everyone who can work from home must do so."
  
  
• From gov.scot: "Organisations should make every reasonable effort to make working from home the default position."
• From gov.wales: "The most effective way of minimising the risk of exposure to coronavirus in workplaces is to enable some or all staff to work from home, as often as possible."
  
  
• From nidirect.gov.uk: "Carefully follow the strict physical distancing measures put in place by your employer. This includes working from home where possible, using phone, email and teleconferencing to stay in touch."

As a company director, it is your responsibility to keep your employees safe. But you must also consider the implications of some or all staff working from home; it may be necessary to take action in order to keep the business running smoothly.

Don't forget about your quality management system!

If you have a quality management system (QMS) in place, its requirements still apply even when your entire workforce is working from home.

When you switch to remote working, it's important to review your QMS and make sure that you will still be able to achieve continuous improvement regardless of this change. This is especially true if you are ISO 9001 certified, as your organisation will need to pass annual surveillance audits in order to maintain this certification.

If you need help with your QMS during this challenging time, call NPT Management Systems on 02380 659 867 or email enquiries@nptmanagementsystems.co.uk. Our experienced quality consultants have helped countless companies to achieve ISO 9001 certification and pass their surveillance audits.

Contact NPT Management Systems

Delivering a quality service isn't a task that's ever finished. Once you've implemented a quality management system (QMS) and gained ISO 9001 certification, you must keep working hard to meet the requirements of your QMS and achieve continuous improvement.

However, many businesses - especially in the current economic climate - find that they cannot afford to employ a permanent in-house quality manager. If this is the case for you, your organisation may benefit more from working with an external QMS consultant who can provide expert advice and assistance as and when you need it.

What a QMS consultant can do for your company:

• Work with you to use quality management to support the strategic direction of your business
  
  
• Use Lean and Six Sigma tools to achieve process objectives
  
  
• Provide training in internal auditing and continuous improvement to help your staff manage and improve the quality management system

READ MORE: What Does a Quality Consultant Do?

Neil Peattie from NPT Management Systems is a qualified QMS consultant with many years of experience across a variety of industries. Contract and consultancy work welcome - call 02380 659 867 to discuss your requirements.

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Conducting internal audits is crucial if you want your business to meet its quality objectives. But it can be difficult to find the time for regular quality audits, especially if your company is already stretched thin by the challenges of COVID-19.

Instead of conducting your own internal quality audits, it may be better to enlist the services of an external quality management specialist. We at NPT Management Systems have been carrying out quality audits for many years, with experience in many different industries (include recruitment, defence, medical devices and the marine sector, to name but a few).

Why are quality audits important?

If you have a quality management system (QMS) in place, frequent quality audits are a critical part of maintaining your ISO 9001 certification and achieving continuous improvement.

An internal quality audit should evaluate the effectiveness of your QMS and ensure that all parts of your organisation are following the correct processes.

Why choose NPT for your internal quality audits?

Due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis, many businesses are finding that they cannot afford to employ a permanent in-house quality management specialist. To save money, you can instead hire an external quality auditor to conduct audits as and when necessary.

If you need an independent expert to keep you on schedule and make sure you're fulfilling the requirements of your quality management system, NPT Management Systems can help. Internal quality audits are just one of the many services we provide - give us a call on 02380 659 867 to discuss your company's requirements.

Contact NPT Management Systems

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