Forward thinking & strategic quality management

For the sake of clarity, it’s important to clearly define the difference between quality management and quality control – as they are quite different things:

• Quality control is defined as: “A part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements.”
• Quality management is defined as: “A part of quality management focused on providing confidence that quality requirements will be fulfilled.”

The subtle difference between the two (and the true value of an effective quality management strategy) is quality control is product and outcome-focused, where quality management is process-focused.

Diagnosis and forward planning are the keys to strategic quality management, and solutions are designed to what is actually occurring at an operational level, rather than what is being produced.

“Diagnosis and forward planning are the keys to effective quality management…”

With this in mind, we have highlighted 4 key areas within organisations where a comprehensive quality management strategy could help.

1. Internal processes

A strategic quality management program is based on real evidence from within your organisation.

With the key aim being to diagnose the possible reasons why things can go wrong, having a detailed quality management plan in place shines the spotlight on internal processes in an attempt to debug the root cause of the issues.

Where many businesses let themselves down is by focusing only on the output. Take a step back and look at the entire end-to-end process to improve the overall operation.

2. Cost reduction

Cost reduction, particularly in large-scale organisations, is often one of the most effective fixes for organisational performance improvement.

Laser-targeting your attention toward inefficiencies in the production and development process can eventually lead to long-term fixed cost reduction.

This can include cost avoidance as well as cost reduction.

3. Environmental effects

In today’s business environment, an environmentally conscious approach is no longer a choice, it’s a necessity. Quality management strategies can help you to analyse your organisation’s effect on the environment, whilst focusing on processes that can minimise your environmental impact.

This aids in positioning your business as being more environmentally conscious in the marketplace and the public eye, and helps you to identify operational inefficiencies that may not have previously been noted.

4. Regulatory compliance

Maintaining compliance is crucial for an organisation of any size. Managers need to be confident that they are satisfying the requirements of industry bodies, government agencies and relevant legislation.

Regulatory compliance can be built into your quality management strategy to ensure all requirements are dealt with proactively.

Taking a forward-thinking approach by implementing a quality management strategy will help your organisation move forward with confidence in a competitive environment.

Our ISO 9001 quality management, and other ISO certifications, can help lead your organisation to success.

Talk to our experienced team today. With over 27 years experience, we can answer any questions.