Quality management principles: the foundation of success

As the business world continues to navigate through unknown territories, companies and organizations of all sizes are facing unprecedented pressure. In order to thrive, they must consistently provide excellent quality and customer experience. This means achieving a subtle balance: pursuing excellence while pursuing operational efficiency.

For this, they must be able to rely on a solid foundation and integrate the core principles of quality management into various levels of processes and culture. These principles can be continuously improved to benefit organizations, employees, stakeholders, and customers.

What are the principles of quality management?

The principles of quality management (or QMPs) embedded in the core of any quality management system (QMS) are a universally applicable set of principles extracted from years of theoretical development and practical application. Their structured approach provides guidance for organizations to define goals, establish processes, and develop quality management systems.

They are adaptable and agile, not only suitable for specific industries, but also provide broad applicability and relevance for any organization committed to excellent processes. They are equally beneficial to the manufacturing and service industries, as well as non-profit organizations, public sectors, and government agencies.

Seven Principles of Quality Management

The following core principles of quality management have been developed and updated by ISO/TC 176 (an ISO specialized quality expert group), with the aim of serving as a guiding foundation to support performance improvement in all organizations. The relevance of each quality principle varies from organization to organization, and is expected to change or adjust over time as the organization progresses.

Customer focus: The core goal of quality management is to meet customer requirements and strive to exceed public expectations.

Leadership: Successful leaders establish a unified goal and sense of direction. They constantly create the best conditions for employees to thrive and gain motivation and professional satisfaction in the pursuit of quality goals.

Participation: Motivating and empowering personnel at all levels is crucial for the value delivery process.

Process approach: A well structured and coherent system is an effective container in which consistent and predictable results can be effectively and efficiently achieved.

Improvement: A hallmark of a successful organization is continuous commitment to improvement, from product or service quality to meeting or exceeding customer expectations. This commitment is an important driving force for sustained growth.

Evidence based decision-making: Reliable data analysis and wise strategic decisions can increase the chances of achieving expected results.

Relationship management: The process of establishing strong, clear, and mutually beneficial relationships with all stakeholders and stakeholders lays the foundation for sustained success.

Why are the principles of a quality management system important?

As the cornerstone of building and maintaining excellence, QMP is crucial for the following reasons:

Establish a quality management culture. Promoting quality thinking enables every member of the enterprise to understand, value quality, and contribute to the pursuit of quality.

Promote consistency. Applying quality principles throughout an organization can promote consistency in product design, development, and delivery. This can establish customer trust and public participation.

Promote continuous improvement. Highlighting areas that require continuous improvement helps organizations maintain a leading position in the increasingly competitive global landscape.

Promote customer orientation. Transforming quality into increased loyalty and market growth, transforming satisfied customers into brand advocates.

Encourage team participation. Motivate people from various departments to achieve the highest quality of work, thereby improving workplace satisfaction, team spirit, productivity, and employee retention.

Reduce risk. Early and proactive identification of potential issues can reduce the likelihood of costly errors, customer dissatisfaction, and reputation damage.

Enhance competitiveness. Consolidate the foundation of quality and enhance the competitive position of the organization. Ultimately, this supports the delivery of high-quality products or services.

How should organizations embed quality management system principles into their processes?

The quality management principles of ISO aim to assist organizations in developing safeand effective high-quality products and services. The quality management system principles in ISO 9000 have been carefully designed to easily adapt to the unique blueprints and challenges of each organization. Although the integration process may vary, they are applicable to organizations of different sizes and types, cultures, locations, and social conditions.

As a world-class quality management standard, ISO 9001 describes the basic requirements of a quality management system. The quality management system requirements include a quality manual, quality objectives, organizational structure and responsibilities, data management, internal processes, customer satisfaction, improvement opportunities, and qualitytools for measuring progress. This is to establish a solid foundation so that all processescan be integrated to ensure the quality of the entire organization.

Although adopting QMP requires time, effort, and discipline, the returns are considerable. This includes enhancing performance, improving customer satisfaction, and achievingmarket success. By adhering to these principles, the organization has established a quality culture that not only improves its products and services, but also enhances its customer base and maintains its reputation.

In a world facing global supply chain issues, quality management is the cornerstone of success. As a long-term established principle, QMP has eternal value. They are a trusted roadmap in a challenging global market, pointing the way for organizations committed to enhancing quality management culture and achieving outstanding results. But ultimately, they enable organizations to respond quickly to customer needs, promote innovation, surpass competitors, and ensure leadership in the market.