Objective: define the most important benefits associated with a project aimed at properly implementing ISO 9001: 2000.
“The companies that manage to put their ideas into practice in a simple, fast and safe way are those that will survive the continuous changes and the instability of the markets” Peter Drucker, writer (Austria 1909 - USA 2005)
What are the benefits of implementing ISO 9000?
The purposes that move an organization to get involved in a project to implement the ISO 9001: 2000 standard, usually include obtaining a competitive advantage, differentiating itself from the competition, demonstrating its concern for quality, starting a project aimed at Total Quality, or simply meet the demand of your customers.
Not as clear as these purposes, the benefits of properly implementing a Quality Management System (QMS) often remain underlying, subordinated to the need to specify, in the shortest possible time, the stated purposes.
It is very useful, then, to establish which are the benefits of greater preponderance in a company with a properly implemented QMS.
Benefits from two points of view: one external and one internal
The analysis necessary to identify the benefits associated with the proper implementation of a QMS can be carried out considering two points of view of different order: one external to the company and the other internal.
The first point of view is explained through the relationship between the organization and its field of activity: its customers (current and potential), its competitors, its suppliers, its strategic partners.
Among the benefits associated with this external point of view, the following can be mentioned:
- Improvement of the business image, coming from adding to the current prestige of the organization the consideration provided by demonstrating that customer satisfaction is the main concern of the company.Reinforcement of trust between current and potential customers, according to the capacity that The company has to consistently supply the agreed products and / or services. Opening of new markets, by virtue of reaching the characteristics required by large customers, which establish as a requirement on many occasions to have a quality management system according to ISO 9000 implemented and certified.Improvement of competitive position, expressed in increased revenue and market share.Increased customer loyalty,through the reiteration of business and reference or recommendation of the company.
Undoubtedly, these mentioned benefits are of enormous importance, but when analyzing the implementation of a QMS from the internal point of view of the company, other benefits emerge that not only make the former possible, but also allow them to be sustained in the future. time, favoring the growth and proper development of the organization.
The most relevant internal benefits are:
- Increase in productivity, caused by improvements in internal processes, which arise when all the components of a company not only know what they have to do but are also oriented to do it towards greater economic use. Improvement of internal organization, achieved through more fluid communication, with established responsibilities and objectives.Increased profitability, as a direct consequence of lowering the production costs of products and services, from lower costs due to reprocessing, customer complaints, or loss of materials, and to minimize work cycle times, through the effective and efficient use of resources. Orientation towards continuous improvement, which allows identifying new opportunities to improve the objectives already achieved.Greater responsiveness and flexibility in the face of changing market opportunities.Improvement in staff motivation and teamwork, which are the determining factors for an efficient collective effort by the company, aimed at achieving the goals and objectives of the organization. Greater ability to create value, both for the company and for its suppliers and strategic partners.
The application of the principles of a QMS not only provides the direct benefits already mentioned, but also contributes decisively to improve cost and risk management, considerations that are of great importance for the company itself, its customers, its suppliers and other parties. interested.
Proper implementation
Quoted at the beginning of this article, Peter Drucker identified as the companies "that will survive the continuous changes and the instability of the markets" to those "that manage to put their ideas into practice in a simple, fast and safe way".
The proper implementation of a QMS can be one of these ideas, and the simple, fast and safe way to put it into practice requires the company to follow a series of steps:
- Define what is the purpose of the company Determine what are the key processes that define "what" is what is done Establish how these processes work and interact within the company Reach agreement on these processes throughout the company, determining responsibilities, objectives, resources, working methods.
This QMS implementation process consists of creating a new organizational reality by modifying its essence, not simply applying makeup, and it must be understood as a determined intervention by the Company's Management aimed at creating and developing new ideas, as a deliberate effort to improve the system, which allows generating new possibilities for action, based on new concepts for the organization's operating patterns.
The adoption of a QMS constitutes a strategic decision of the company's senior management, whose design and implementation are influenced by the different needs, the particular purposes, the products or services it provides, the processes it employs, and the size and structure of the organization.
In many cases, business leaders know what they must do to properly implement a QMS, but they do not.
In general, some of the various causes of this behavior are:
- Conversation replaces action Memory of what was done in the past replaces new reasoning Fear and mistrust towards the new avoid acting on the basis of knowledge The use of inadequate indicators of management control hinders reasoning Internal personal competence prevents teamwork
This gap that is generated between "knowing" and "doing" can be minimized through some of these attitudes:
- Use the “what” before the “how” Understand that knowledge comes from doing and teaching Prioritize action, rather than very sophisticated plans Understand that there is no action without mistakes Banishing the fear of failure Making people face competition and not do it each other Use management control indicators that serve and guide action Engage leaders in action, and not just in making decisions
