Continuing with the publications about how to implement a Quality Management System in a simple way, this time we deal with the issue of PURCHASES; I clarify that it is one of the most critical processes in terms of its application due to the amount of interests that come into play, especially those of a monetary nature, which is why it is required that senior management be closely aware of this process.
The standard presents what we must do in a simple and uncomplicated way, let's see:
Purchasing Process
“The organization (my company) must ensure that the purchased product meets the specified purchase requirements. The type and scope of control applied to the supplier and the purchased product must depend on the impact of the purchased product on the subsequent realization of the product or on the final product ”.
The important thing to highlight in this part of the rule is that depending on the role played by the product to be purchased within the good that our company produces, this is how diligent the control that both the supplier and the product to be purchased must exercise, for example if Our organization manufactures automobiles, the control that we will exert on the brake pads will be very different from that exerted on the internal door handles that allow us to lift their windows.
The other thing that arises is to ensure " that the product purchased meets the specified purchase requirements " this is hardly logical if we want to guarantee the customer that the product produced by our organization will meet their expectations (for example in terms of operation).
“The organization must evaluate and select suppliers based on their ability to supply products according to the organization's requirements. Criteria for selection, evaluation and re-evaluation must be established. Records should be kept of the results of the evaluations and of any necessary action that may result from them. ”
This item is very important since it allows us to discard suppliers that do not meet our needs and expectations or to keep those who meet the requirements of our organization.
When discussing criteria for the selection of the provider, the following items should generally be included:
- Opportunity to deliver the requested products Prices Place of delivery (company facilities or the place established by us) Quantity of products according to our request Brand or specifications requested by us Financial stability Market credibility Timely information about our order Warranty backing if there is no Conformities in the requested products.
As records of the results of these evaluations should be kept, I suggest designing a supplier checklist with rows and columns that include the items previously related and columns of whether or not it complies, this allows comparative tables by provider and select the one that best suits adapt to the requirements of our organization.
In the event of legal or other divergences with a supplier, they must be registered in a format appropriate to the case, this allows to avoid making this type of error in the future.
Purchase information
Purchase information should describe the product to be purchased, including, when appropriate:
a) requirements for product approval, procedures, processes and equipment
The quality of the products supplied by the supplier will depend largely on the information about the requirements provided by our organization; for this we must rely if necessary on catalogs with clear specifications or on demonstrations by the supplier of the possible products to be purchased. Only when we have sufficient clarity is when we must proceed to the elaboration and definition of these requirements.
b) staff qualification requirements
In those cases in which the organization acquires equipment that involves a technology for its handling or assembly and the purchase or training of our personnel is included in the purchase, we must establish requirements (such as experience and others) for the person supplied by the provider to exercise such training or advice.
c) quality management system requirements.
As the purchasing process is one of the most vulnerable within the organization in terms of inadequate management due to the monetary transactions that are carried out and the interests that come into play, it is required that the people who directly participate in it, be honest and reputable people within the organization; Likewise, the responsibilities and authorities within the entire process must be clear; It is necessary that those areas such as production and warehouse participate actively in defining the requirements. If the organization decides to create a purchasing area or department, it must have the necessary infrastructure, including the communications part, for effective system performance.
It is necessary that before communicating the list of purchase requirements to the supplier, the approval of those areas that would be directly affected if these requirements are not met is obtained, this allows the necessary corrections to be made before the information reach the provider.
Verification of purchased products
The organization must establish and implement the inspection or other activities necessary to ensure that the purchased product meets the specified purchase requirements.
It is hardly logical that for the purchasing system to work with the required effectiveness, it is necessary that after having decided on a certain supplier, the products supplied by it are reviewed to verify compliance with the specified requirements.
For this, an inspection system or other similar activities must be established and implemented, where those people who have to do directly with the use of the product (production for example) must necessarily participate. When there are situations in which there are large volumes of a certain product, the statistical sampling system should be applied.
There are occasions when our organization does not have the necessary infrastructure to guarantee adequate control of the purchased product, so it must take advantage of the supplier's infrastructure for this purpose, in this case the purchase information should include the possible verifications in the supplier's laboratories or facilities and what criteria will be taken into account for product acceptance.
As we could see, it is possible that our organization already has established a procedure for purchases, the important thing is that it includes the sections that the rule raises.
