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.
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A quality audit involves reviewing an existing quality management system (QMS) with a view to improving that system. The audit can be carried out by qualified personnel within the organisation - this is called an internal quality audit - or by an external auditor.
Quality audits should be carried out on a regular basis in order to ensure that the QMS in question is meeting its goals and operating as intended.
Why are quality audits important?
You can't know whether or not your company's quality management system is working without conducting periodic reviews. This is why frequent quality audits are necessary - they give you repeated opportunities to optimise and refine your QMS in order to get better results.
Employing a full-time quality expert to conduct regular quality audits is an expense that many businesses cannot afford right now. Here at NPT Management Systems, we offer a specialist QMS consultancy service on a flexible contract basis - give us a call on 02380 659 867 to find out how we can help you.
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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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In order to weather the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, companies throughout the UK are currently looking for ways to reduce their costs.
If your business can no longer afford to employ a full-time Qualified Person (QP), we at NPT Management Systems can provide flexible QMS maintenance services to help you plug the gap and complete work only when needed.
Our contract quality management service can be tailored to suit your company's needs. The support we provide can be as frequent or as occasional as you wish, and we have experience working with organisations across a variety of different sectors.
As experienced quality consultants, we are able to deliver a wide range of services, including:
- Day-to-day QMS maintenance
- Updates to your quality management system
- Assistance with internal audits and supplier assessment audits
- Resolving product quality issues
- Running improvement programmes and problem solving
Contact NPT Management Systems now to discuss your company's requirements and request a quote for our flexible quality management service.
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A quality management system (QMS) is a requirement for DVSA authorised audit providers.
If you wish to become an authorised audit provider for the DVSA's earned recognition scheme, you must either:
- Have a recognised quality management system in place (e.g. one written in accordance with ISO 9001)
- OR prove that you are working towards implementing a QMS within the next 12 months
We at NPT Management Systems can help you to fulfil this requirement and get one step closer to becoming a DVSA authorised audit provider.
We will work closely with you to devise a quality management system that is perfectly suited to your organisation's requirements. Once your QMS has been implemented, we can also help you to achieve ISO 9001 certification - this will make it easier for you to demonstrate that you meet the DVSA's requirements for audit providers.
Call NPT Management Systems on 02380 659 867 to find out more about our ISO 9001 services.
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Defined as a formalised system that documents procedures, processes and responsibilities for achieving quality policies and objectives, a quality management system (QMS) helps coordinate and lead an organisation’s behaviour to keep in line with customer and regulatory requirements. Improving its efficiency and effectiveness on a continual basis.
The most prominent approach to quality management systems is ISO 9001:2015, the international standard which specifies requirements for a QMS. Often, many people use the term ‘QMS’ to describe the ISO 9001 standard or the group of documents that make up the QMS, however, it actually refers to the system as a whole. The documents only serve to describe the system.
Organisations choose to implement quality management systems for a range of purposes; such as:
- Reducing costs
- Improving systems and processes
- Decreasing waste
- Engaging employees
- Enabling and identifying training opportunities
- Creating organisation-wide goals
Elements of a Quality Management System
Each element of QMS helps to achieve the overall goals of reaching the requirements set by the organisation and its customers. Despite quality management systems needing to address an organisation’s individual needs, each one should consist of the following:
- Organisations quality policy and objectives
- Quality manual
- Data management
- Internal processes
- Procedures, instructions and records
- Improvement opportunities
- Quality analysis
- Customer satisfaction
For professional advice on quality management systems and guidance through the ISO certification process, call NPT Management Systems today on 02380 659 867 or contact us via our online enquiry form.
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