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ISO 9001:2008 section 5
5. Management Responsibility - ISO 9001:2008 section 5.3 Quality Policy
ISO 9001: 2008 5.3 Quality Policy
Top management should use the quality policy as a means of leading the organization toward improvement of its performance.
The standard requires that the quality policy;
a) is appropriate to the purpose of the organization,
b) includes a commitment to comply with requirements and continually improve the effectiveness of the quality management system,
c) provides a framework for establishing and reviewing quality objectives,
d) is communicated and understood within the organization, and
e) is reviewed for continuing suitability.
The first part (after the introduction) of many quality manuals is the organizations quality policy, this is a very important statement, it is about the organizations commitment to it's customers, similar to a mission statement. It should state how the organization intents to meet it's customers requirements in the products or services it provides. The quality policy should be endorsed by the highest level of management, i.e. the Managing Director or Chief Executive Officer, this to show support to both the customer and the quality management system. Often these 'signed' quality policy statements will be extracted from the quality manual and posted at strategic locations throughout the organization, this to allow all interested parties to read and understand.
In writing a policy statement top management should clearly indicate their commitment to their customers, their missions and their visions. This can be best achieved using words such as 'we' or 'to' as shown in the example below.
At company ABC we will involve...
At company ABC we will develop...
At company ABC we will establish...
To maintain effectiveness at company ABC...
To ensure compliance at ABC...
More vague words such as 'shall', 'should' or 'may' really have no place in a quality policy. For example.
company ABC shall involve...
company ABC should develop...
company ABC may establish...
company ABC should maintain effectiveness...
company ABC shall manage compliance...
Clearly the first list forces much more commitment from top management, i.e. It is far less vague.
At the end of the day the quality policy is a high level document that defines the organisations commitment to it's customers and therefore must be appropriate to the products or services offered and preferably not an off the shelf, self customized version.
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