Amarjeet Singh Bawa - QualityMaster

Things to Consider when Implementing a QMS System

Amarjeet Singh Bawa on June 3, 2022

Manufacturing companies use Quality Management Systems to identify faults in their processes and fix them by optimizing and standardizing them. This blog will guide you in comprehending the concept of quality management as well as the important things to consider for the implementation of QMS system.

Overview

Businesses all around the globe are mounting their confidence in QMS systems to produce high-end quality products. They have recognized the need for an inclusive QMS software and are deploying it with the objective of enhancing the quality of their business processes, staying compliant with the stringent rules, and satisfying the customer demands. They, these days, are proactively assessing and investing in QMS solutions to ensure that quality standards are maintained at every stage of the product lifecycle.

Defining Quality Management System –

Before diving into the subject, here’ a quick brush-up on what a QMS essentially is-

Quality Management System (QMS) is a system that documents processes, procedures, and responsibilities for achieving quality policies and objectives. A QMS helps coordinate and direct an organization’s quality-related activities to meet customer and regulatory requirements and improve its effectiveness and efficiency on a continuous basis. Quality control systems are used by businesses to assess the quality of all factors involved in manufacturing and to ensure that the products or services meet their technical standards.

The implementation of a QMS system results in process improvement and standardization, as well as ensuring product and service quality.

Why a QMS implementation?

Achieves organizational goals.
Reduces costly errors.
Improves customer satisfaction.
Improves documentation.
Identifies issues and rectifies them.
Creates a culture of quality.
Better internal communications.
Consistent products quality.
Improves compliance.

Things to consider when implementing a QMS System –

Implementing a quality management system is not child’s play. It requires a huge amount of effort to put in. Companies need to take inputs from their staff members at all levels, right from the top management (the decision-maker) to the lower management. Once everyone gets on the same page, the aforementioned step should be followed for a QMS Implementation in manufacturing:

Need Analysis: A thorough analysis or an internal audit should be conducted. Companies should gather all the key business requirements and determine the software’s true need. They should calculate the anticipated risks and break down the important areas that will give significant consumer satisfaction. It will give businesses a good understanding of where the current procedures are lagging and what the new system will do.

Planning: Make a list of the gaps in the current processes based on the analysis of the quality management processes. It will enable companies to go on to the next step of gathering resources and establishing an effective implementation strategy. Divide the project into sub projects and assign a deadline for each. Put up a team that monitors if the implementation progress takes place in the specified time frames or not. Any delays should be brought to the notice of top management and should be accounted for.

Bringing team & stakeholders on the same page: Ensure that all the employees from the top to the bottom are involved in the project. They should know about the new system. Furthermore, all stakeholders should be trained on using the new system.

Teamwork: Form a team to deal with the issues related to the software. It should be composed of people from several departments, with someone in charge, ideally from the quality or IT departments.

Selecting the system: Select the appropriate solution after articulating the needs, and search for key business-critical variables. Know about frequent updates, vendor support in terms of training and maintenance, etc.

Deployment phase: Deploy the system and validate that it is compatible with all existing business systems and that it has been configured to meet specific needs. Collecting and migrating existing data to the software’s database is also done at this stage.

Control & Measure: Set some benchmarks for evaluating the new system’s performance. Define the procedures for controlling, measuring, and monitoring outputs to verify that they satisfy quality standards.

Review process for continuous improvement: Schedule product or process audits to ensure that policies and requirements are met. Companies should continue to audit and assess the procedures on a regular basis to ensure that they are evolving.

Summarizing thoughts:

By following the steps mentioned above, businesses can implement an effective QMS system. Contact us to know about an expert partner who can assist you with the implementation of quality management system in manufacturing. Our in-house quality experts at QualityMaster will be pleased to help you.

Quality Management Software Implementation Assessment Checklist

Amarjeet Singh Bawa on March 8, 2022

You’ve come to our blog because you recently purchased a new quality management software system, which is a tremendous step for the growth and success of your business.

The impact of implementing a Quality Management System (QMS) on your entire firm can be enormous. As per one study, the typical QMS deployment delivers a 300 percent return on investment. Additionally, according to empirical studies, organizations implementing QMS also achieve less easily measured rewards, such as a greater consciousness of quality, happier customers, enhanced brand valuation, and more consistent operations.

QMS deployment delivers a 300 percent return on investment.

However, putting it into action is a difficult task that many businesses, including yours, face. As for you, undoubtedly, it is hard to determine how extensive your implementation plan should be. The right implementation will optimize the value of QMS, allowing you to immediately reap the benefits of the software’s offerings.

That’s why we’ve put together a ten-step QMS implementation plan. Regardless of your industry, the following steps will ensure you have a successful implementation and get the most out of your QMS systems. So, read on!

Key steps to QMS implementation checklist

1. Define and communicate the flow of your main business process

Process maps are critical for determining accountability. The creation of process maps will compel the organizations to visualize and define its processes. During this time, you will also be able to determine the interaction sequence of those processes.

2. Establish a Quality Policy

Your Quality Policy defines the organization’s quality expectations. The objective could be exactly what customers require: a high-quality mission. Never forget the importance of being customer-centric (which may be Quality, Customer Satisfaction, and Continuous Improvement) when selecting a quality management system.

3. Define your quality objectives

Objectives are required in all quality management systems. Each employee must be aware of the impact of the defined objectives on quality. Your quality policy defines your quality objectives. It’s measurable and implemented across the business.

The objective could be in the form of key success factors like Product Quality, Process Improvement, Financial Performance, Customer satisfaction, Share of the Market, etc. These performance-based indicators serve as a metric for ensuring if the organization is on track to achieve its objectives or not.

4. Create metrics for tracking and monitoring data.

The Metrics are essential to keep a track of progress once the essential success criteria are identified. Creating the metrics can be done with the use of the data reporting technique that gathers specific data. The analyzed information should be shared with the leaders at all stages. This method’s goal is to raise the customer satisfaction index score. There must be a goal and a metric for identifying whether or not the goal was accomplished.

5. Define defects every process

Non-conformance occur as a result of a product flaw or a process flaw. A flaw must be measured and remedied whenever it arises. So, determining the necessary corrective action is the key. When defining your flaws, keep the following in mind:

Determine the size of the operation.
Determine product and process flaws.
Establish a procedure for recording defects.
Define a procedure for reporting faults in the appropriate forms.

6. Create records and documents

Some documented information and formats are required by the QMS. Begin with the bare minimum of documents and expand as needed.

As per the business strategy, create mandatory document information.
Make quality policies, procedures, and forms a priority.
For each defined process, create documented information and formats (records).

7. Define the Quality Assurance Process

Internal audits, management reviews, corrective and preventative action processes, and communication processes are all part of your quality method.

8. Determine Your Training Requirements

Everyone must demonstrate competence in their job. Training is simply the beginning; it can be conducted on the job, in a classroom, or through e-learning. Internal auditor competency and Corrective Action training are two significant training areas. Also, it must include training on Failure Modes Effects Analysis (FMEA).

9. Make use of the Quality Management System.

The use of a quality management system ensures that the best quality product is produced. During the procedure,

Collect and document non-conformance.
Examine the information in order to take corrective and preventative action.
As and when necessary, review FMEAs for risk and actions.
Conduct management reviews and internal audits.

10. Improve Performance by Measuring, Monitoring, and Implementing Activities

Using a quality management software includes gathering information. Analyze this data to see if it is suitable for usage and if the desired outcomes may be obtained from it or not. For this, you need to:

Keep a track of your Quality Objectives and how they’re performing.

Establish a few new performance benchmarks.
Recognize trends, patterns, or correlations in the data to determine the likelihood of improvement.

It’s time to take action if you’ve discovered trends in your data. The purpose is to improve things, which can be accomplished by:

Organizing your possibilities for improvement
Choosing prospects who make a difference is a difficult task.

Finish Up

Now is the time to implement a QMS system in your company following these steps and work toward preventing corporate failure. If you are interested in learning more about quality management, I highly recommend reaching our experts.