DO YOU KNOW THE SEVEN PILLARS OF THE ISO 9001:2015 QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM?

Do you know the Seven Pillars of the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System? If you already know that the ISO 9001:2008 standard has been revised to ISO 9001:2015 version, then you should also know that the eight anchor quality management principles in the 2008 standard have been reduced (restructured) to seven principles in the 2015 version.

These quality management principles (foundation pillars) have always been a great way for quality practitioners and managers to explain the goals of the ISO 9001 quality management system certification, irrespective of educational, social and professional backgrounds.

The seven new quality management principles of the 2015 standard are:

* Customer Focus
* Leadership
* Engagement of People
* Process Approach
* Improvement
* Evidence-Based Decision Making
* Relationship Management

A major change between the old and new version is that “System Approach”, which was a quality management principle in the ISO 9001:2008 standard, has been removed completely.

This was good news to some quality practitioners, as it was difficult rationalising why a “Systems Approach” was listed as a Management Principle of the old standard since “Systems” are made of “Processes”; hence, by default, the needs of the “System” are addressed by focusing on the “Processes” therein. Call it a Bottoms-Up approach if you like!

The other changes were more subtle yet profound, an example being the replacement of “Mutually Beneficial Supplier Relations” with “Relationship Management”, which has now expanded stakeholder
relationship management from only “Suppliers” to include ANYONE having the capacity to affect and influence an organisation’s ability to achieve its market place goals.

Other changes to the ISO 9001:2008 principles are: “Factual Approach to Decision Making” has been replaced with “Evidence-Based Decision Making”, while “Improvement” as a quality management principle in the 2015 standard replaces “Continual Improvement”.

Leitung Gate is currently working with organisations across different industries to transit their quality management system to the new ISO 9001:2015 standard.

Why not schedule a free presentation to learn about options for transiting your organisation to the new standard.

Benjamin Gii
Leitung Gate Limited