Quality, Operation & System Implementation

The quality management system (QMS) is a formalized system that documents processes, procedures, and responsibilities for meeting quality policies and objectives. An effective quality management system helps an organization coordinate and direct its activities to meet customer and regulatory requirements and improve its effectiveness and efficiency continuously.

An international standard specifies the requirements for quality management systems, and ISO 9001:2015 is the most prominent standard. The term QMS is sometimes used to describe the ISO 9001 standard or a collection of documents detailing the QMS. In actuality, the term refers to the entire system. The documents exist to describe the system.

A documented quality management system offers the following benefits:

Achieving the customer's requirements instills confidence in the organization, which leads to more sales, more customers, and more repeat business for the organization.
Meet the requirements of the organization in order to be compliant with regulations and to provide products and services in the most resource- and cost-efficient manner, thereby providing for future growth, expansion, and profitability.

These benefits offer additional advantages, including:

Defining, improving, and controlling processes
Reducing waste
Preventing mistakes
Lowering costs
Facilitating and identifying training opportunities
Engaging staff
Setting organization-wide direction
Communicating a readiness to produce consistent results