Quality management system guide – How to implement ISO 9001: 2015?
How to establish the process of the main processes (sales, service, production, design, service and other processes)?
The ISO 9001 standard requires to identify the processes taking place in our company and their interaction.
I must admitt, in the several years of my work, I have seen only a few companies in which process management took place. They dominated others with organizational order, flexibility, quality, inner peace and certainty of the results of their work. They were better.
The vast majority of companies write in their documents that they manage processes, but it is literary fiction.
So the question is: Since so few companies manage processes, does it mean that it is so difficult?
Answer: No, but it does require a change of mindset and no more looking for others to make decisions for me. It also requires recognition that we are all equal at work, and the only difference between us is our skills.
After this lengthy introduction, I will describe how to identify processes for the needs of ISO 9001. Let me use the example of a production and service company, because it will be easier this way. Let’s assume that the company produces gazebos and garden furniture, and does their assembly and service (maintenance, etc.).
First, answer the question:
What do we do (what production do we do) to earn?
Answer: we produce gazebos, benches and swings. We can mark the first process here, but before we do that, we must answer the question: Is the production process the same? If not, then let’s treat each of these productions as a separate process and this is how we will develop:
- Gazebos production process
- Benches production process
- Swing production process
What do we do (what services do we provide) to earn?
First of all – we sell! We also provide assembly services for our furniture and gazebos, but before we install them, we also deliver them to the customer. When the customer has already installed, we gladly go to him to maintain and repair his purchase. Unfortunately, we also travel sometimes because our furniture breaks down during the warranty period and then we have to repair it. Aha, we also issue invoices after all this! Now let’s extract the processes from this:
- Selling process
- Logistics process (delivery)
- Assembly process
- Warranty and post-warranty service process
- Invoicing and debt collection process (not everyone pays)
We have identified the main processes!
Now it remains for us to answer the question: What are we doing to keep the main processes running? Because:
We need tools – we buy them!
We need materials – we buy them!
We need people – we hire them, we train them!
We need to service and repair our tools – we service them!
We need to handle customer curses – we consider their complaints!
We need to show ourselves to the world – we advertise!
Let’s list the processes:
- Purchasing process (tools and materials)
- HR process (hiring and training)
- Infrastructure supervision process (service and repair of equipment and buildings)
- The complaint process
- Marketing process (we advertise)
Here is the complete list of our processes!
Now we just need to draw them – here is an example of a process map!