Bsi bip 2013 2009

Unfor t unat ely many management sy st ems were b it around t he primary aim of sat isy ing t he ne ds of t he st andard it self rat her t han t he ne ds of t he b sines... Beware of t h

Process- based Manag ement Systems

Cre a tin a Pr ce ss ba se d Ma na g e me nt S s e m fo I SO 9 01:20 8 a nd be yon

Pr ce ss Ma na g e me nt Aud itin fo ISO 9 01:20 8

Process- based Manag ement Systems

Ia n Rosa m a nd Rob Pe d d le

(The Hig h Pe rforma nce Org a nisa tion Gr up Ltd )

Under t anding ISO 9 01:2 0 and Proc s -based Management Sy st ems

This se ond edit ion p blshed in t he UK in 2 0

b

BSI

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For eword

St andards such as ISO 9 01 ev lve and develo t o me t t he changing ne ds

of t heir user and t hose afe t ed b t hem This refe t s t he changing b sines

environmen t he combined ex erienc of past ap lc t ion and t he ap l c t ion of

new k owled e and t ech iq ues t hat have be n fo nd t o work B being u dat ed,

t here con nues t o be an est ablshed common basel ne t hat organiz t ions c n

folow, in t he k owled e t hat t his has be n designed b ind st ry profes ionals

and for ind st ry, using t he lat est best -pra t ic From t his wide rev iew, t here is

t he k owled e t hat t hese st andards c n con nue t o be ap led b ot her who

wish t o use t he def ed ap roa h

Up at ed ver ions of management sy st em st andards t herefore def e b t h

g o and lat est pra t ic in chosen su je t s and c n be reled up n as a baselne

in t he ap lc t ion of g o o erat ional management Wit ho t such revisions,

st andards be ome st ale and irrelevant The ISO 9 0 series is no diferent in

t his respe t and conseq uent ly, ISO 9 01:2 0 has be n reviewed, amended and

u dat ed where ne es ary and t he St andard reis ued as ISO 9 01:2 0

The aim of t his b ok is not t o ex lain t he spe ifc diferenc s bet we n

t he t wo ver ions in great det ai (or t hey are relat ively smal and make lt t le

real diferenc t o t he St andard) b t t o help t he reader under t and and ap ly

ISO 9 01:2 0 in t heir organiz t ion and ensure t hat t his fol ows g o pra t ic

The St andard d es not t el y ou how t o d t his, t hat is u t o y ou, b t t hin ing

ab ut what it is say ing in t he right way is crit ic l t o gaining t he maximum

beneft from it s ap lc t ion

ISO 9 01:2 0 int rod c d a signifc nt change t o t he way organiz t ions

are st ruct ured and run This is k own as proc s management and is a su je t

t hat wi be co ered in t his b ok The 2 0 v er ion b ids on t his ap roa h

su clauses, however, it d es clarify c r t ain is ues If, t herefore, y ou are alread

regist ered t o ISO 9 01:2 0 and are folowing t he principles o t lined in t his

b ok t hen it is lkely t hat y ou wo ld alread me t t he req uirement s of t he 2 0

ver ion Whet her regist ered or not , if y ou have ap l ed t he clauses, rat her t hen

t he principles of t he st andard, t hen t he 2 0 ver ion is y our chanc t o st ar t t o

mat ure y our management sy st em t o ap ly what t he st andard realy int ended –

t o st ar t t o drive t he b sines beneft s it sho ld delver

The 2 0 v er sion ofISO 9 01 is, in al imp r t ant way s, a replc of the

2 0 v er sion, b t as this has in many inst anc s not be n efe tiv ely implement ed,

with many sy stems st il re ly a 19 4 v er ion, t he text ofthis b ok wi mak e

compar ison to the 19 4 v er ion We belev e that this wi be useful for those who

did not re ly mak e the step change that the 2 0 v er sion req uired

For reader who wish t o k ow t he key changes in t he 2 0 u dat e, an

o erview of t he changes are cont ained at t he end ofChapt er 4, for referenc

p rp ses

1 B sines es fr tstan ards se on – The context 1

• A shor t o erview of t he past , what ISO 9 01:2 0 realy ab ut

and how t o under t and it wit ho t lo king at t he st andard at al

• A manager’s view of ISO 9 01:2 0 , it s principles and how it

impa t s on t he b sines – The ‘what ’ we have t o a hieve

• If ISO 9 01:2 0 describes t he ‘wha we have t o a hieve, t his

chapt er cov er t he ‘how’ by int rod cing b sines management

b proc s This chapt er describes t he b sines as a sy st em and

includes t he st ruct ure of a proc s -based management sy st em,

using g o pra t ic , t hat me t s t he ne ds of b t h t he b sines

and ISO 9 01:2 0

• Having co ered what t he st andard is and how it is implement ed

t his chapt er co er t he clauses of ISO 9 01:2 0 in more det ai

This chapt er has be n const ruct ed t o alow y ou t o c r y o t a

shor t gap analy sis giv ing u a ‘pict ure’ of what y une d t o d

• Based on ex erienc t his chapt er co er how t o implement

b sines proc s management , t he pit fals t o av id as wel as

f ding help and sele t ing a regist rat ion b d

1 Businesses frst/standards second –

Fir t of al we wo ld lke t o give y ou a l t t le bit of hist ory of where t hings have

come from and a glmpse of where we are al g ing in t he fut ure when it comes

t o proc s -based management sy st ems and management sy st em st andards

Management st andards init ialy c nt red on q ualt y cont rol, wit h t he

int rod ct ion of BS 5750 in 19 7 Q ualty control focused on making sure t he

prod ct or servic was inspe t ed t o ensure t hat defe t ive prod ct s or servic s

did not rea h t he cust omer Qualt y cont rol cle rly has lmit at ions, not le st

in t he level of wast ed a t ivit y and increased cost s as ociat ed wit h inspe t ing

t he prod ct , sub-as embly or servic at t he end rat her t han at t he begin ing or

d ring prod ct ion In ot her words, if a prod ct was defe t ive halfway t hrou h

prod ct ion t hen any fur t her proc s ing was wast eful BS 5750 was, however,

a great st ep forward in get t ing ‘q ualt y of o t pu on t he b sines agenda It

c r t ainly had signifc nt beneft s for cust omer who st ar t ed t o rec ive far fewer

defe t ive prod ct s from t heir su pler

The arr iv al of t he ISO 9 0 series of management sy stem st andards in

19 4 for malz d qualt y as ur anc Q ualty as uranc considered the a t iv it ies

afe t ing t he prod ct ion and delv ery of the servic in order o b id ‘qualt y ’ int o

t he prod ct ion a t iv ity rather t han c r y o t inspe t ions at the end This oft en

le d to considerable improv ement s in o er at ional efe t ivenes , par ticularly if t he

organiz t ion’s management took t he int ent of the standard erio sly

Unfor t unat ely many management sy st ems were b it around t he primary

aim of sat isy ing t he ne ds of t he st andard it self rat her t han t he ne ds of

t he b sines The st andard is, b def it ion, ar t ifcial and describes t he key

comp nent s of a management sy st em t hat co ld be ap led t o any organiz t ion,

I t herefore ne ds t o be int erpret ed b t he organiz t ion t o refe t what it

a t ualy req uires Many o server have comment ed t hat t his sit uat ion has be n

exa erbat ed b consult ant s, regist rat ion b dies and t he q ual t y ind st ry slavishly

folowing clauses of t he st andard The unfor t unat e fa t is t hat many of t hese

con nued t o ad pt a ‘non-t hin ing’ ap roa h rat her t han t ruly under t anding

t he o p r t unit y t hat t he st andard prov ides t o t rans orm a b sines

The st andard also exclu ed t he role of management This omis ion me nt

t hat t he focus was on st af ‘d ing’ rat her t han manager ‘managing’ Alt ho gh

init ialy t his did not c use a problem, o er t ime t he v alue of t he st andard t o

management in helping t hem run t heir b sines red c d There are a number of

reasons for t his b t primariy :

• ISO 9 01:19 4 t est ed complanc not efe t ivenes ;

• management sy st ems oft en focused on st af not managemen alt ho gh it

was management who det ermined how t he organiz t ion was run;

• management co ld increasingly se t hat result s were not helping t hem run

• many of the sy st ems implemented were in exible, mak ing them diffcult

(often imp s ible) to adjust as requirements changed and le rning took pla e;

• t here was no req uirement t o ln absolut ely t he a t ivit ies co ered wit hin

t he sy st em being a credit ed wit h what t he cust omer t ruly req uired – t hey

co ld, and oft en were, in isolat ion of e ch ot her

Conseq uen y management oft en disengaged from t he sy st em se ing it as a

ne es ary evi rat her t han a management t ool The realz t ion dawned for many

t hat gaining regist rat ion t o ISO 9 01:19 4 co ld be o t ained b st icking t o

proc d res even if t hey delv ered prod ct sand servic s t he cust omer didn’t

want or were of an inferior q ualt y Ov er t ime t he pres ure for an en anc d

st andard b it u and, le rning from past a t ivit y, ISO 9 01:2 0 was b rn The

diferenc s bet we n t he 19 4 and 2 0 v er ions were profo nd, alt ho gh t his

was not reco niz d or ap led b many in t he q ualt y ind st ry The 2 0 ver ion

b ids on t he management principles int rod c d in t he 2 0 ver ion and,

alt ho gh t here are no signifc nt changes, t hey d clarify c r t ain is ues

‘ISO 9001:2008 is about improving business r esult s

The k ey diferenc bet w een the 19 4 and b th the 2 0 and 2 0 v er sions is that

the mo er n v er sions are based on designing and implemen ng a proc s -based

management sy stem aimed at con nuo sly improv ing y ur rg aniz t ion’s

per for manc Put another way, they set o t to establsh a set of baselne

organiz tional competenc s that y ou wo ld ex e t to se in any org aniz tion

managing it s b sines efe tiv ely Much lk e indiv id al competenc s, these are

based on k nowled e and sk il to demonstrate a behav io r Inst ead ofthese being

for an indiv id al, they are for an organiz tion

Conseq uen y ISO 9 01:2 0 inclu es t he management disciplnes that

ISO 9 01:19 4 left o t, such as b sines planning, as et managemen IT and

peo le management In under t anding ISO 9 01:2 0 it now pay s not t o thin

ab ut qua lity management sy st ems b t busine ss management sy st ems, not t o

t hin ab ut qua lity as uranc b t busine ss as uranc ; how a b sines o erat es t o

delv er v alue, prod ct s and serv ic s t o cust omer and other int erest ed par t ies or

st akeholder Ev en t ho gh t he conc pts were int ro uc d in t he y ear 2 0 , b t he

t ime t he 2 0 ver ion was is ued it is surprising how many regist ered b sines es

st il exist ed where t he conc pt is not embed ed in t he organiz t ion We wi

discus t he realt y of designing a sy st em lat er b t p t simply the 2 0 v er ion of

t he st andard, lk e it s 2 0 prede es or, c n be i ust rat ed as in Fig re 1.1

ISO 9 01:2 0 describes a simple b sines cy cle t hat sho ld ap ly t o

any organiz t ion The fr t st ep in t his cy cle t hat is def ed in ISO 9 01:2 0

is t o under t and what cust omer a t ual y want from t he organiz t ion, what

prod ct s and serv ic s wi t ruly sat is y t hem Organiz t ions ne d t o l st en t o

what t heir cust omer ’ ne ds and ex e t at ions are before d ing any t hing At

t his level we are not t alking ab ut indiv id al order or req uest s for servic s

b t a more basic under t anding of what b sines we are in This area inv lves

cole t ing informat ion ab ut t he int ernal and ext ernal market s in which y ou

are o erat i g and est ablshing what is ex e t ed from y our organiz t ion This

is market rese rch, par t of t he market i g world No organiz t ion sho ld ever

t ry and develo /launch a prod ct or servic wit ho t k owing t here is a market

for it and t hat it wi l be used b p t ent ial cust omer and how it wi afe t or be

perc ived b ot her st akeholder

Hav ing under t oo t his, t he next st age is t o develo b sines o je t iv es

t hat wi inform t he a t ions we ne d t o t ake, t he eq uipment we ne d t o b y,

t he level of sales we ne d, t he peo le and t he ski s req uired t o delver what

when B sines proc s es are t hen designed t hat describe how prod ct s and

servic s wi be creat ed and delv ered t o cust omer at t he t ime and in t he way

t hey ex e t t hem t o be At t he same t ime we ne d t o manage (t y pic ly ) peo le,

fnanc , as et s and IT sy st ems so t hat t hey are used effcient ly and efe t iv ely t o

su p r t t hat delvery

Un er sta din your

org nizatio to:

A n inte rate set of

Fig ur e 1.1 Living the busines per ormanc cycle

Oft en organiz t ions plan what t hey d and d it B t ‘g o ’ organiz t ions g

fur t her b iden fy ing and using diferent met ho s t o me sure t heir per formanc

against t arget s These are used t o iden fy improvement o p r t unit ies, which

are t hen c r ied o t t o change how we o erat e t o complet e t he b sines cy cle

or st rat egic improvement lo p This enables bet t er delvery of t he exist ing

o je t iv es or alows for en anc d o je t iv es t o be set t he next t ime we g

round t he cy cle It ’s al ab ut d ing somet hing, le rning from t he ex erienc

and t hen making changes so t hat t he next t ime t he t ask is c r ied o t it is

d ne bet t er (in b sines t erms) or at le st consist ent ly Not ic in Fig re 1.1 t he

improvement a t ivit y d esn’t ln ba k t o cust omer or st akeholder This is

be ause t he market for y our prod ct s or servic s, t he ne ds of cust omer and

ot her int erest ed par t ies, drives what y our organiz t ion d es Improvement s y ou

may c r y o t sho ld be designed solely t o en anc t he iden fc t ion, plan ing,

We hav e d escr ibed a si mpl e mod el or cy cl e that any manag er sho l d

re og n i ze, b t of co r se y ou may use d i fferent w ord s or the a ti v i ti es i n y our

org ani zati on may hav e d iferent names B t at this l ev el w e on’t ne d to

w or r y ab ut the d etai l W hat i s imp r tant i s that you se y our org ani zati on,

d epartment, se tion or site as o er ating thro g h i ts b sines cycl e w i th ev er y

per son, pi ec ofequi pment an proc s w or k ing tog ether to d el i v er v al ue to

customer s The p r pose ofISO 9 01:2 0 i s to set o t some k ey pr i nci ples for

thi s cycl e, b t i t d oes not tr y to cov er ev er y thi ng and i s not a holi sti c mod el of

b sines manag ement Yo w i l l noti ce that in the e r l i er d escr i pti on of b si nes

manag ement that fnanc w as incl ud ed , ev en tho g h thi s i s not spe ifc ll y par t

of ISO 9 01:2 0 no org ani zati on c n r un w itho t manag i ng its money W hat is

cr iti cal to i ntrod ucing an r un ing a manag ement sy stem i s that i t refe ts w hat

a tual l y hap ens i n y our org aniz ti on If it d oesn’t then ex er i enc show s that

manag ement w il l so n g et b red w i th the sy stem as the re l b si nes i s d ne and

manag ed el sew here I w i ll then fal l i nto d i srepai r l i k e so many ofits prede es or s

So, ISO 9 01:2 0 and it req uirement s have brou ht q ualt y int o t he

world ofsenior management and t he b ardroom where b sines de isions are

made, o je t ives set and direct ion giv en However, in t his world, rat her t han use

words from t he St andard, y ou wi ne d t o t alk a b sines lang age, int erpret ing

t he St andard and it s req uirement s in such a way t hat drops t he jarg n of q ual t y

so t hat y ou c n engage wit h t he senior manager Yo wi ne d t o embed q ualt y

int o t he b sines management sy st em in y our organiz t ion, so t hat it su p r t s

t he delv ery of t heir o je t ives The cont ent of t his b ok uses t his lang age t o

help y ou This is i ust rat ed in Fig re 1.2

If y ou have under t oo t his ide of y our organiz t ion as a b sines cy cle y ou are

wel on t he way t o under t anding ISO 9 01:2 0 , even wit ho t picking u t he

St andard The main diferenc s bet we n t he 19 4 ver ion of ISO 9 01 and t he

2 0 and 2 0 ver ions are given in Table 1.1

P roc d re and d tail driv n Busin s performanc driv n

Con e trates on doin thing s rig ht Con e trates on doin th rig ht thing s in th

frst place

Foc ses on what you do Foc ses on why you do it

Base on consiste c of d lv ry Base on improvin c stomer satisfaction

If y ou are t o fuly beneft from using a proc s -based management sy st em

it depends on how y ou int erpret t he st andard and use k own best pra t ic s

on proc s management Ex erienc t els us t hat t here are many peo le and

organiz t ions who wi t el y ou how t o d it , some in a mat t er of ho r , b t t o

implement proc s management efe t iv ely t akes plan ing t o av oid t he pit fals

and det erminat ion t o make it work Some even prop se shor t cut s b asking

y ou t o b y predet ermined proc s es or pre-format t ed d cument at ion Beware

of t his ap roa h, as ev ery organiz t ion is diferent and has it s own cult ure and

chara t erist ics and t herefore every sy st em is uniq ue, b t more ab ut t his lat er

But this is not qual ty I hear you cry!

So th e re w e h a ve i t, un d e r sta n d i n g ISO 9 01:2 0 i s n ot re a l l y ab ut un d e r sta n d i n g

th e spe ci fc d e ta i l of th e Sta n d a rd a n d i ts n ume ro s re qui re me n ts I i s a bo t h ow

a n org a n i za ti on ca r r i e s o t i ts b si n e ss e h a ve n ’t ta l ke d a bo t th e Sta n d a rd i n

a n y d e ta i l at a l l ye t, b t w i th out th i s ov e r vi e w th e d etai l i s i r rel e v a n t Th i s ove r v i ew

cre a te s th e fr a me w or k w i th i n w h i ch d e ci si on s c n be ma d e a bo t h ow i t w or ks be st

At t he t ime of writ i g t his, we are inv olved in helping organiz t ions

implement proc s -based management sy st ems and it never c ases t o ama e us

how many ‘q ualt y ’ profes ionals, regist rat ion b dies and consult ant s c n ot

under t and t hat at it s simplest level ISO 9 01:2 0 is ab ut d ing b sines

They st il d not se m t o a c pt t hat t he whole emphasis has changed from t heir

int erpret at ion of ISO 9 01:19 4, and if t hey have a c pt ed t hey d n’t se m

t o hav e mo ifed t heir behavio r, prod ct s or servic s Conseq uen y b sines

manager chalenge t he t hin ing behind ISO 9 01:2 0 , rat her t han t he

int erpret at ion t hat has be n present ed t o t hem

Of co r e t o b sines manager , b t h in t he p blc and privat e se t or ,

who are conc rned wit h b sines per formanc it is just common sense Sure

t hey may have gaps or may not be ap ly ing t he lo ic in it s p rest form b t

t hat d esn’t mat t er: t hey se ISO 9 01:2 0 and proc s management as a

management t ool t o improve b sines per formanc , which is what co nt s

ISO 9 01:2 0 is a me hanism b which t hey c n under t and, priorit iz and

ad res t heir ‘gaps’ and make t omorrow bet t er t han t oday

Anot her misconc pt ion is t hat it is compl c t ed R eading many ‘q ualt y ’

jo rnals and ot her a ademic rese rch y ou wo ld t hin t he ap roa h and

ISO 9 01:2 0 are bey ond t he av erage human being t o under t and and are

shrou ed in my st ery To some, it al se ms t o be in t he land of ‘Management

Consult ant ’ spe k el it is not , prov ided u under t andt he folowing:

• Organiz t ions ofany siz o erat i g in any se t or, serving any t y pe of

cust omer o erat e in a cy cle as we hav e discus ed What t hat cy cle lo ks

l k e when ap led t o a spe ifc organiz t ion is anot her is ue, and it wi be

diferent for every one

• Organiz t ions o erat e b a set of int egrat ed proc s es t hat describe t his

cy cle and t hat folow t he work a ros peo le, sit es, depar t ment s and even

co nt ries Again more det ai lat er

So t hat le v es us wit h t he q uest ion as t o whet her or not we are t alking ab ut

q ualt y t ’s t hin ab ut what q ualt y a t ual y is t o a cust omer or b sines

manager There are many def it ions of ‘q ualt y ’ b t as a cust omer of an

organiz t ion what we ex e t is an under t anding of o r req uirement s and

delvery against t hem wit ho t mist akes, excuses or error

To a b si nes manag er, ‘quali ty ’ i s deli v ered by mak i ngsure that the ne d s

of the mar k et, be it i nter nal or ex ter nal , are under stoo and then b pl an ing

reso rc s to d eli v er prod ucts and serv ic s that me t those ne ds w i tho t

mi stak es, ex cuses or er ror s Su sequen y, the b sines manag er c n then f d

w ay s to improv e perfor manc to g ai n a competiti v e ad v antag e or del iv er improv ed

B t we must remember that b sines manager are focused on the b sines

and not on any one management principle, inclu ing any nar row historic l

def ition of ‘qualty ’ ISO 9 01:2 0 is conc rned with b sines management

t o improv e b sines per formanc and c nnot be considered as a solo disciplne

Therefore in under tanding ISO 9 01:2 0 and considering implement ation we

must think ab ut ‘b sines ’ and not ‘qual ty ’.Using t he ISO 9 01:2 0 mat urit y

lne we used before we c n delet e t he word q ualty ’ and su st it ute ‘b sines ’ –

t hey sho ld be t he same thing; se Fig re 1.3

Fig ur e 1.3 The qual ty to busines transition

So if t hi s is a bout business, w ha t does t he fut ure look l ke?

Before we mov e on to lo king at ISO 9 01:2 0 in more detai, it may be useful

t o pause and lo k to the fut ure This is imp r tant be ause it is v ery e sy t o

cre te a sy st em to me t t he immediat e ne ds of t he Standard witho t ne es ariy

t hink ing ab ut what wi be ne ded in t he uture If we d n’t d t his, it may

not al ow t he inclusion ofp t en al ne ds, which wo ld be v ery lmit ing and

c r t ainly wi not maximiz the v alue ofthe inv est ment being made In designing

t he sy st em we therefore ne d t o be r in mind t hat management tools, mo els and

famework s, including ISO 9 01, w il change, ev olv e and mature

This ‘mat ur ity ’ is a g lo al phenomenon It is pr imar ily dr iv en by many

se tor s of ind stry and g ov er nment based on their ne d for incre sed effciency

the result s they pro uc B sines improv ement is an e onomic imper ativ e if

organiz tions are to remain competitiv e Equaly the word improv ement’ is being

su er seded by the word ‘sust ainable’ as the ‘mantr a’ of efe tiv e management,

for example t he wor ld is mov ing towards b sines sust ainabi ty and away fom

b sines improv ement No d u t the ap lc t ion of the ISO 0 1 ser ies wi

c t ch u , b t at t he time of wr iting this b ok this mov ement is alre d tak ing

pla e Ify ou cre t e y our management sy stem based on the pr inciples in this b ok

then y ou wi be on the w ay to cre t ing a b sines sustainabi t y management

sy stem as w el as me t ing t he requirements of ISO 9 01:2 0 , i.e y ou w il be

cre ting something that me ts the ne ds of the present and the future This

is not the pla e to hav e a discus ion ab ut what sustainabi ty is, b t, just to

conclu e t his su je t for now, sustainabi ty is ab ut cond cti g b sines in a

way that balanc s e onomic (mak ing proft, turnov er, managing b d ets, etc.),

env ironmental (gre n impa ts) and social (jo s, peo le, etc.) impa ts on society

to delv er ov er al st ak eholder satisa tion

As we have se n, and as we wi also se lat er, t he management sy st em

def es t he b sines and t he b sines is mo eled b t he management sy st em

B iding a sy st em is only t he st ar t : improving and en ancing it wi me n t hat

y ou are l kely t o have t o use and incorp rat e ot her management t ools – some

alread k own, some st il un nown, p s ibly not even invent ed y et I is

imp r t ant t herefore t o make sure y ou have b t h fexibi t y and best pra t ic at

t he he r t ofy our management sy st em design

So what d es the fut ure lo k lk e? If w e are t o belev e ISO 9 01:2 0 , it

is ab ut improv ing b sines results using b sines proc s management and it

represent s a consider able chalenge for us al Just imagine ev ery management

t ool, management disciplne, al profes ional ed c tion and training, al lev els in

ev ery organiz tion and ev en diferent organiz tions al ‘oined-u ’ to delv er v alue

t o customer s and stak eholder s This v ision is diffcult to describe in words, so

le s describe ur b sines pict or ialy as a management sy st em ( e Fig re 1.4)

B t the big est change rest s with us as indiv id als To p t it blun y,

those manager s and st af who c n’t or won’t embr ac changet o w ork in this

‘oined-u ’ env ironment w il not surv iv e This inclu es the uge su p r t

ind stry of management consultants, registration b dies and profes ionals, who

hav e inadv er t en y marginalz d the ‘qualty ’ ind stry, making it tactic l and of

low-v alue, where s it sho ld be mainst re m, strategic and highly v alued If w e d

not change o r selv es, then no o y else wi

Fig ur e 1.4 Your org anization as a system in the ‘r eal world’

Summary of key p ints

• Alway s b id a management sy st em t hat me t s t he b sines o je t iv es

and ne ds of t he b sines frs , int o which t he req uired st andards are

embed ed I c n t hen be as es ed against any st andard, mo el or

famework and any improv ement s made Nev er b id a sy st em t o me t

just a single st andard: it wi fai in t he long run

• To under t and how an ISO 9 01:2 0 management sy st em is

const ruct ed t hin ab ut how a b sines works

• Qualt y is b sines and b sines is q ualt y

• R el anc on complanc le ds t o inefe t ive b sines The f ancial

melt down proved t his t o be t he c se as au it s t est ed complanc t o

de t h – b t t he sy st ems and proc s es st il faied We c n not let t he

same t hing hap en t o o r own sy st ems and proc s es

• When creat i g y our proc s -based management sy st em, consider

fut ure ne ds, not just t oday ’s priorit ies

• Management sy st ems have t radit ionaly be n b it around t he primary

aim of sat isy ing t he St andard rat her t han t he ne ds of t he b sines

• The key diferenc bet we n t he 19 4 and new ver ions of t he St andard

is t hat SO 9 01:2 0 is based on designing and implemen ng a

proc s -based management sy st em aimed at con nu usly improv ing

• The fr t st ep in ISO 9 01:2 0 is t o under t and what y our cust omer

a t ualy want from t he organiz t ion

• If y ou under t and t he ide of y our organiz t ion as a b sines cy cle y ou

are wel on t he way t o under t anding ISO 9 01:2 0

• Ev ery organiz t ion is diferent and has it s own cult ure and

chara t erist ics and t herefore every sy st em is uniq ue

2 ISO 9001:2008 in overview – The ‘what’

In t he fr t chapt er we discus ed and described an organiz t ion as a b sines

sy st em wit h proc s es aimed at delvering b sines result s Alt ho gh t here is

much det ai t o ad t o complet e t he pict ure, t he principles described are t he

basics ne ded t o under t and ISO 9 01:2 0 Wit h t hese principles in mind we

c n now lo k at t he st andard and it s clauses in more det ai and se how t hey

su p r t an organiz t ion and provide a famework, which, when int erpret ed

correct ly, c n be used as a management t ool t o manage and improve o eral

b sines per formanc

The fr t t hing we ne d t o realz is t hat t he ISO 9 0 :2 0 series comes,

primariy, in t wo par t s, ISO 9 01:2 0 and ISO 9 0 :2 0 (it has y et t o be

u dat ed b t is st il relevant ) and are k nownas t he ‘complement ary pair’

ISO 9 01:2 0 describes t he ‘baselne’ u onwhich proc s -based management is

designed; it provides t he famework t hat i o be used It describes t he ‘wha u

ne d t o demonst rat e It d es not , howev er, ay ‘how’ u sho ld g ab ut it

Cont rary t o p p lar belef – and promot ed b many consult ant s and

regist rat ion b dies – it d es not describe t he lang age y ou have t o use in y our

organiz t ion: t hat is for y ou t o de ide For example, ISO 9 01:2 0 req uires

t hat management rev iews are c r ied o t at def ed int ervals What t his a t ualy

me ns is t hat management ne d t o review t he per formanc of t heir organiz t ion

This co ld t ake pla e in a b ard me t ing, t eam me t ing or b any ot her

me hanism and so u d n’t ne es ariy have t o c l it a ‘management review’

de ide based on y our own b sines dy namics Yo r regist rat ion b d sho ld

as es t he efe t ivenes of y our ap roa h and not dict at e or pas comment on

how y our b sines is run

Somet imes organiz t ions lt eraly t ake t he words as g spel, as t hey are

writ t en, and implement t he st andard a cordingly The efe t is t hat t hey t hen t ry

t o imp se lang age, cult ure and pra t ic s t hat are alen t o t he organiz t ion wit h

t he inev it able result of t he sy st em being reje t ed b management be ause ‘t his is

not how we d b sines around here’ Int erpret at ion and ap roa h are t herefore

crit ic l for suc es ful implement at ion We wi discus t his fur t her when we

lo k at t he St andard in more det ai, b t for t he moment ba k t o o r o erview

Whi st SO 9 01:2 0 describes t he baselne, ISO 9 0 :2 0 provides

g idanc not on how ISO 9 01:2 0 is implement ed b t how a proc s -based

management sy st em, onc creat ed, c n be improved The t wo st andards are

t herefore ‘complement ary ’ wit h t he aim of helping the organiz t ion a hieve

‘organiz t ional exc lenc ’, not t hat any organiz tion wi l ever a t ualy get t here

I is a g al, a jo rney, somet hing t o st rive for and a way of st imulat ing b sines

improvemen or, in t he fut ure, b sines sust ainabi t y The t wo st andards

t oget her t herefore provide ad ic and g idanc for implemen ng and improving

t he way in which y ou d b sines , and t o ult imat ely improve y our b sines

per formanc ( e Fig re 2.1) B t h are based u on wel rese rched b sines

pra t ic t hat has be n shown t o delver signifc nt value if ap led sensibly

Having said t hat it is crit ic l t o int erpret ISO 9 01:2 0 correct ly, t he q uest ion

most oft en asked is ‘Where d I st ar t ?’ It wo ld be gl b t o say at t he beginning,

b t it is nonet heles correct Unles y ou are a st ar t -u organiz t ion, y ou wi

have a number ofb sines o je t iv es t hat wi have be n def ed b y our senior

management t eam These sho ld drive what ev er y ou d as an organiz t ion

Even as a st ar t -u , y ou wi l have def ed some delverables y ou are aiming t o

a hieve in y our fr t y ear s); if not formaly d cument ed, y ou wi at le st k ow

where y ou are t ry ing t o g These sho ld be t he focus of what y our proc s es are

designed t o delver

To st ar t t o b id t he sy st em y ou t herefore ne d t o describe t he famework

of key b sines proc s es t hat run y our organiz t ion and delver y our o je t ives

These sho ld t hen be used as t he basis fordevelo ing ur sy st em Yo d n’t

st ar t b analy sing ISO 9 01:2 0 and t ry ing t o work o t what y our proc s es

sho ld be

ISO 9 01:2 0 co er t he principles y ou ne d t o int erpret for y our

b sines , b t it won’t t el u what is rightfor u in det ai Yo r organiz t ion’s

proc s es are uniq ue t o y ou and what ft s one organiz t ion wi l not ne es ariy

ft anot her

In ad it ion y our organiz t ion is lkely t o be ad res ing is ues o t side

t he st rict def it ion of ISO 9 01:2 0 b t t hey are, nonet heles , par t of y our

organiz t ion and how y ou delver result s They sho ld t herefore be inclu ed, as

what ever y ou d t o a hiev e t hese wi l have an efe t on y our cust omer del very

Somet imes organiz t ions exclu e a t ivit ies from t heir sy st em and

alt ho gh t his may be t ho ght of as correctfrom a ‘st andard focused’ per pe t ive,

t he management sy st em when implement ed may not refe t t he b sines t hat

manager and st af reco niz

If t his is t he c se, t here is every lkelho d t hat it wi not be ad pt ed or

used b management t o su p r t t he b sines Just t hin ab ut how q ualt y

management sy st ems were ad pt ed in many organiz t ions in t he past !

Yo r organiz t ion and it s per formanc alway s come before ISO 9 01:2 0 ,

so t he t ask is t o design a sy st em t hat describes y our organiz t ion fr t , t hen

compare t his against t he st andard and fl any gaps Don’t d it t he ot her way

round as it simply won’t work in t he longt erm and u won’t get t he beneft s

ISO 9 01:2 0 in o erview – The ‘what’

1

ISO 9 01:

2 0ISO 9 0 :2 0

Ga s to fi

Your organization's

management s stem

Fig ur e 2.2 Focus on busines ne ds fr t

The ISO 9 0 series is based on eight key principles Taking t hese int o a co nt

we co ld c r y o t a t est t o se how efe t ively an organiz t ion implement s

t hese principles – inde d, t his sho ld be t he key che k t hat any t hird-par t y

c r t ifc t ion b d sho ld d Ev en before discus ing ISO 9 01:2 0 we sho ld

be able t o se t hese principles in t he management sy st em, so in under t anding

ISO 9 01:2 0 it pay s t o spend some t ime considering what t hese principles are

and how t hey might be ap led wit hin y our organiz t ion ( e Table 2.1)

Principles are al very wel, b t d not realy help us under t and t hings in a

pra t ic l way ISO 9 01:2 0 t herefore provides a mo el t hat helps us t o:

• under t and t hese principles;

• iden fy t he sco e of o r proc s es;

• creat e a famework in which t o show t hese proc s es so t hey al ‘oin-u ’;

• consi d er the a ti v i ti es th at may be i ncl ud ed

Table 2.1 The eig ht key principles

1.Cust omer foc s Un ersta din what c stomer n e and expe t from th

org anization as a whole, now and in th future, and not just from an

in ivid al re u st or order

2.L eaderhip Manag eme t ( anyon resp nsible for th activity of oth r ) at all

le els creatin and maintainin an e vironme t in whic oth r can

most efe tiv ly o erate, aime at achie in th busin s o je tiv s

3.In olv me t of

peo le

Ensurin that all are in olv d in order th t th ir abi ties can be

use and e hanc d to maximum be e t for th mselv s and th

org anization

4.P roc s approach Obje tiv s are more lkely to be achie e whe activities are

se n, u d rsto d, manag ed and d lv re throug h clear busin s

proc ses, with resourc s alig ne according ly

5.S st ems approach

to manag eme t

S stematically manag in th busin s throug h a framework of

in ivid al busin s proc ses – ie treatin th busin s as a system

throug h whic results and o je tiv s are d lv re eff ie t l and

efe tiv ly

6.Contin al

improv me t

Improvin busin s performanc should be t he o je tiv of any

org anization – it must improv and c ang e ov r time to surviv as no

c ang e means g oin backwards

7 Fact ual approach

to d cision makin

Efe tiv d cisions are base on real-world information that has be n

analyse , not purely on a fe ln of what n e s to be don

8.Mut ually be e cial

sup ler relationships

En anc d valu is create by workin closely with sup ler that can

affe t your d lv rables and not ag ainst th m – it is really a ase of

1 + 1 = 3! – base up n th ir criticality to your busin s o je tiv s

Step 1 I t a ll sta rts a t the beginning

In the prev io s chapter we o t lined a b sines as a cy cle that any organiz t ion of

any siz in any market se tor co ld folow The ISO 9 01 mo el is no diferent

I st ar t s wit h t he fr t principle: cust omer focus This is t he lne at t he

what y our cust omer ex e t and req uire from y ou as an organiz t ion – not

an individ al order or req uest for a prod ct or servic b t a long-t erm v iew

In ‘non-st andard spe k’ t his helps u t o under t and whatb sines u are

in and t he market , be t hat int ernal or ext ernal, y ou ne d t o sat isy This is

y our market int el genc , t he lst ening p st s in y our organiz t ion t hat provide

informat ion t hat management use t o set b sines o je t ives and t he direct ion of

t he organiz t ion I prov ides y our longer-t erm view on what y our organiz t ion

Fig ur e 2.3 Model of a proc s - based q ual ty manag ement system

Step 2 Wha t a re ma na gement r sponsible for?

Wit h t his informat ion management are resp nsible for set t ing b sines

o je t iv es, al gning reso rc s t o delver t hese o je t iv es and c sc ding t he

o je t iv es d wn t he organiz t ion so t hat ev ery one k ows what t hey have t o

a hieve This also inclu es def ing how t hese o je t ives wi be a hieved – in

o r t erms, t he sy st em and proc s es t hat wi l be used This a t ivit y is co ered in

t he management resp nsibi it y clause I also inclu es reviewing per formanc

Step 3 Ma ke sur you a re ma na ging your r sources!

With the o je tiv es d ef ed and ag re d , the next step is to o tain, set u (testi g ),

manag e, maintai n and ultimately disp se ofy our reso rc s to ensure they are

c pable or competent of delv er ing the o je tiv es set Reso rc s c n be human

an c pi tal as ets such as plant, b iding s, equipment, as wel as infr astr ucture

su p r t are s such as IT, communic tion sy stems and a tiv i ties to manag e the

wor k env ironment lk e air conditioning sy stems, etc Incre singl y, it also inclu es

k now led ge reso rc s, w hich are now, for many, as v aluable as the more tang ible

as ets In a w or ld of incre si ng spe ial iz tion and colab r ati on, i t also me ns

third par ties who y ou ne d to be suc es ful

Step 4 Del vering the pr d uct or service

Th i s i s a bo t your core d e l i ve r y ofprod ucts a n d se r vi ce s th a t m e e t custome r n e e d s

I i s a bo t ma ki n g sure th a t you d e si g n a n d d e ve l op prod ucts a n d se r vi ce s th a t m e e t

th e re qui re me n ts of your custom e r s I i n cl ud e s comm un i ca ti n g a n d se l l i n g th e se to

your custom e r s, ta ki n g ord e r s a n d ma ki n g a n d d e l i ve ri n g th e prod ucts a n d se r vi ce s

re qui re d b th e custome r Th i s me a n s n ot on l y w h a t you d o, b t h ow you d o i t,

a s i n th e e ye s of m ost c ustom e r s, ‘se r vi ce ’ i s i m porta n t a s ‘prod uct’ i n d ri vi n g

th e i r sa ti sfa c ti on In e vi ta bl y th i s w i l l me a n m a ki n g sure th a t cor re ct con suma bl e s

a re p rch a se d a n d th a t ma n a g e r s a n d sta ff kn ow h ow to d e l i ve r th e prod uct or

se r vi ce Th i s i n cl ud e s such th i n g s a s tr a c ki n g a n d i d e n ti fyi n g th e prod uct or e r vi ce ,

prote cti n g a n d stori n g i t pro e r l y a n d e n suri n g th a t a n y e qui pme n t use d to me a sure

i ts pe rfor m a n ce i s i tse l f cor re ct Th e prod uct re a l i za ti on cl a use i s re a l l y a bo t your

‘core ’ b si n e ss a n d th e w a y i n w h i ch you m your custom e r s’ e x pe cta ti on s

Step 5 H a ving d one ‘ it’ , let’s d o ‘ it’ bet er

Having delvered t he prod ct or servic , t he next st ep inv lves le rning from t he

ex erienc and bringing ab ut changes and improvement s t hat wi mo e o eral

per formanc forward There are o vio sly many way s y ou c n le rn ab ut y our

per formanc b t , for ISO 9 01:2 0 , t here are es en al element s t hat y ou ne d

t o me sure:

• t he per formanc of y our proc s es;

• how cust omer perc iv e t he ‘value’ of t he prod ct or servic being delvered

Yo also ne d t o demonst rat e t he direct l n bet we n cust omer req uirement s

and cust omer sat isa t ion (t he ln age bet we n t he t wo sides as o t lined in

Fig re 2.3);

• t est ing y our elf in t he form of audit s or as es ment s;

This informat ion ne ds t o be cole t ed, colat ed and analy sed t o iden fy t rends

and improvement o p r t unit ies These improvement s are t hen priorit iz d and

implement ed in a st ruct ured manner t o prevent problems oc ur ing in t he

fut ure and t o correct past error

In o erview, t he clauses of t he st andard co er exa t ly t he same b sines

cy cle we have be n t alking ab ut from t he st ar t The words and phrases may

be diferent b t nonet heles t hey describe a set of organiz t ional ‘compet enc s’

t hat any organiz t ion, irrespe t iv e of siz or se t or, wo ld be ap ly ing Many

organiz t ions wi t herefore alread be d ing at le st some, and oft en many, of

t hese a t iv it ies ISO 9 01:2 0 helps y ou t o organiz t hem int o a joined-u

sy st em t o maximiz t heir o eral beneft

Do I have t o defne proces es t hat cover al of t hese ar eas?

As far as ISO 9 01:2 0 is conc rned t he simple answer is y es The only

exc pt ions are in Clause 7 of ISO 9 01:2 0 where y ou c n o t o t of c r t ain

areas ift hey d not afe t y our per formanc Yo r management sy st em sho ld

o t line a set ofproc s es t hat describe how y ou manage, cont rol and impro e

y our o eral b sines per formanc This wi me n t hat t o iden fy t he correct

proc s es ne ded for t he sy stem y ou may hav e t o cov er areas of b sines a t iv ity

t hat y ou per onaly might not k now any t hing ab ut or even be aware of The

creat ion and impro ement oft he management sy stem t herefore be omes a ‘t eam

game’ direct ed and cont roled by management How t his c be a hieved wi be

co ered in t he next b ok in t his series, so le s not lose focusby say ing t oo much

here ab ut cre t ing a sy st em, and get ba k t o under tanding ISO 9 01:2 0

To help ex lain what ISO 9 01:2 0 is ab ut it is sometimes useful to lo k at

how qualty has ev olv ed This helps us t o under st and what the cor re t focus

sho ld be and t he principles w e sho ld be ad pting To d this we are g ing to

compare the 19 4 v er ion and the new 2 0 v er sion Pr imariy the 19 4 v er sion

was conc r ned with the ‘pro uct re lz tion’ clause of the 2 0 v er sion Altho g h

this is a gener alz tion, the remaining clauses of the 2 0 v er sion hav e en anc d

the old standard and ensures that it cov er b sines a tiv ity in its widest sense,

inclu ing completing the improv ement lo p A number of the k ey diferenc s are

giv en below This is not me nt to be an exhaustiv e lst, just an indic tion of the

step change that has t ak en pla e and t o g iv e y ou a sense ofthe sco e of the 2 0

v er sion and the b sines aspe ts it cov er s As men oned e r lier, the 2 0 v er sion

instanc s not be n efe tiv ely implemented, w it h many sy stems stil re ly a 19 4

v er sion, t he compar ison wi be useful

Cla use 4 – The ‘ critica l’ cla use

Describes in ov erview what t he management sy st em and ISO 9 01:2 0 are

realy al ab ut This is an imp r t ant clause, oft en o erlo ked b implement er ,

t hat c n be used t o shape t he whole sy st em.It provides us wit h t he ‘basel ne’

t hin ing behind t he ot her clauses, t y ing t hem t oget her int o a coherent sy st em

We wi cov er t his in more det ai in Chapt er 3

Cla use 5 – Ma na gement r sponsibi ity

S tin busin s or org anization o je tiv s

Quality as busin s buit in

Busin s foc s

Busin s plannin

Commu ication to manag ers and staff at all

le els reg ardin performanc

De ning , ame din and e hancin

e-me t, ie.th training / de elo me t c cle

Manag in IT and commu ication systems

• Manag in ph sical assets su h as e uipme t

and buiding s

Cla use 7 – Pr d uct r a liz a tion

The main diferenc bet we n Clause 7 of ISO 9 01:19 4 and Clause 7 of

ISO 9 01:2 0 is t hat alt ho gh t he is ues or areas may be simiar t hey are wider

rea hing and more encompas ing in ISO 9 01:2 0 and far great er in sco e

• Customer commu ication

• Cannot o t out of a lause if it affe ts th

‘q ality’ of t he prod ct or ervic bein

• Au itin complanc

• Correctiv a dpre e tiv action aime

at th ‘doer’ – peo le who carry out h

prod ct or servic d lv ry t asks

• Au iting /assesin efe tiv n s and

complanc

• Measurin c stomer at isfaction

• Correctiv and prev ntiv action aime at

th whole org anization

• Measureme t of results/ performanc

• Analysin results and manag eme t

information systems

• Busin s improv me t leadin to

sustainabi ty

One co ld arg e t hat al t he clauses are crit ic l, b t Clause 4 is probably more

so given t he ne d t o under t and what ISO 9 01:2 0 is realy say ing However,

as we discus ed e rler, it is oft en o erlo ked b peo le wan ng t o get int o

t he det ai of t he ot her clauses, or perhaps t ry ing t o av oid making some of t he

hard de isions t his clause req uires Wit ho t a cle r under t anding of what it is

say ing, t he ot her wi not be adeq uat ely ‘oined-u ’ W hen we say Clause 4 we

are real y t alking ab ut Su clause 4.1 I is only a smal su clause b t it s impa t

c n be se n t hrou ho t t he rest of ISO 9 01:2 0 and wi l have a signifc nt

efe t on t he way y our management sy st em is designed En t led ‘General

req uirement s’ it set s o t what is req uired folows (t he words in it al cs are o r

int erpret at ion, which we ho e helps clarify t he words used in ISO 9 01:2 0 ):

‘The organiz t ion (tha t’s y u a nd y ur ma na g e me nt te a m, not the re g is ra tion

b d y o consulta nt! ) shal est ablsh (cre a te , ma ke , d e sig n), d cument (in

a ny fo m y u lke tha t me e ts the ne e d s ofy ur busine ss includ in e le ctr nic,

tra d itiona l wo d -ba se d , picture s, vid e o), implement (use it to ma na g e y ur

busine ss and maint ain (ma ke sur it wo ks a nd contin e s to me e t y ur

ne e d s) a q ualt y ( usine ss management (ma na g e rs ma na g ing , not jus s a ff

d oing ) sy st em and con nualy improv e (me a sur pe rforma nce a nd cha ng e

whe re ne e d e d a s a ma tte r of r utine ) it s efe t ivenes (we mig ht b d oin ‘it’

but is it d e live rin wha t we o our s a ke hold e rs inte nd ?) in a cordanc wit h

req uirement s of t his Int ernat ional St andard (the frst pa rt of this b ok, the

busine ss cycle a nd the othe r re quire me nt d e fne d in Cha pte r 4).’

Table 2.6 prov ides fur t her clarifc t ion on t he p int s made in Subclause 4.1 of

ISO 9 01:2 0

The proc s es men oned here co er al par t s of ISO 9 01:2 0 and

t herefore ne d t o cov er al par t s of y our organiz t ion R emember t o focus on t he

b sines fr t and t he St andard se ond when implemen ng, so y our proc s es

wi cov er su je t s o t side t he o vio s ap lc t ion of ISO 9 01:2 0 , in t his way

t he sy st em is t he b sines and t he b sines t he sy st em – t here is no diferenc

The only ot her p int t o ment ion is t hat t his se t ion also co er o t so rcing

For many organiz t ions t his is a legit imat e b sines st rat eg t hat alows it t o

focus on what it s core a t ivit y a t ualy is This se t ion makes it cle r t hat where

a t ivit ies are o t so rc d t hese must be managed and cont rol ed t o ensure t hey

are efe t iv e; in ot her words y ou ne d t o manage and cont rol t he a t ivit ies of

ot her so t hat y our per formanc is not ad er ely afe t ed This is a req uirement

In th i s ch apte r, as i n th e n ex t, w e hav e cov ered ISO 9 01:2 0 i n more d etai l

an d d e scr i be d w h at you n eed to d o B t h av i ng d one so pl e ase remember th at you

ha v e to i n ter pret thi s for your ow n org ani zati on an und er sta nd w hat i t me ns for

you Ev er y org a ni zati on i s d i fferent an d h ow you i n ter pre t ISO9 01:2 0 may be

r i g h t for you b t not n ec s ar i l y r i g h t for someon e el se Yo n eed to thi nk ab ut

how to i mpl eme nt i t, not bl i n d l y fol l ow th e w ord s i t con ta i n s

Ta le 2.6 Subclause 4.1 clarifed

Ex tract from S bcla se 4.1

of ISO 9 01:2 0

W hat it me ns

4.1a – Determin th proc ses n e e … What are your ke busin s proc ses?

Experie c tels us th re are somewhere

betwee 8 and 15, but what th y are is up to

you and th y wil be spe if to your sit uation

today

4.1b – Determin th se u n e and

interaction of th se proc s es

How do th y lnk tog eth r to form a

framework that d scribes and d lv rs your

ov rall busin s results?

4.1c – Det ermin criteria and methods to

e sure b th o erations and control of th se

proc ses are efe tiv

What are your ke control p ints/ tests and

performanc c e ks?

4.1d – Ensure th availabi ty of resourc s … Do peo le o eratin th proc ses have th

rig ht information, resourc s and e uipme t

to e able th m to do th ir work pro erly

and efe tiv ly?

4.1e – Monitor, measure, wh re applcable,

and analyse th se proc ses

Cole t , colate and analyse your proc s

performanc and th results achie e

T hese are th measureme ts you n e to

u d rtand what is really happe in

4.1 – Impleme t actions n c s ary … Use th information you have analyse to

carry out improv me ts so that th results

you are lo kin for are more lkely to be

achie e

Summary of key p ints

• Yo r proc s es are based on a hieving y our b sines o je t ives and

t herefore must algn wit h e ch ot her As y our b sines o je t ives

change so sho ld y our sy st em and proc s es

• ISO 9 01:2 0 describes a management sy st em as a famework of

b sines proc s es t hat co er b sines planning, management of

reso rc s, delv ering prod ct s and servic s, che king and me suring

per formanc and a t ing on t he informat ion t o improv e

• Au it or and as es or ne d t o che k efe t ivenes , not just

complanc , and iden fy where t here is a risk in t he o je t ives not

• The principles on which ISO 9 01:2 0 is based c n be used t o as es

an organiz t ion and t o help shape t he cont ent oft he management

sy st em

• Under t anding Clause 4 gives a cle r ov erview of t he sy st em req uired

• B i d a sy st em t hat describes y our b sines proc s es fr t , t hen

compare wit h ISO 9 01:2 0 t o iden fy gaps This is e sier t han d ing

it t he ot her way round and more b sines -orient ed for y our manager

and st af

• ISO 9 01:2 0 describes t he baselne in proc s -based managemen

ISO 9 0 :2 0 provides g idelnes on how t his c n be improved

3 Business process manag ement – The ‘how’

Before g ing int o any more det ai on what SO 9 01:2 0 is ab ut it is probably

wor t h considering ‘how’ u are g ing t o implement t his ‘what ’ The t ech iq ue

used t o implement SO 9 01:2 0 we k ow as b sines proc s managemen

ot her t it les y ou may have come a ros co ld include per formanc managemen

o t put management , delverable managemen et c

W hat ev er title y ou use the ap roa h is based on under standing what y our

b sines proc s es a tualy are and t hen managing their per formanc – henc

b sines proc s management I is the es enc ofdelv er ing t he per for manc y ou

hav e plan ed to a hiev e and of therefore prov iding the best p s ible o p r tunity

of me ting y our b sines o je t iv es

The ap roa h is based u on se ing y our organiz t ion as a series ofa t iv it ies t hat

ln t oget her t o del ver result s, irrespe t ive of ‘ar t ifcial’ b undaries t hat may be

imp sed b an organiz t ional st ruct ure Such b undaries may be geo raphic, b

depar t ment or se t ion, sit e, grou or prod ct /servic lne and t hey are normaly

creat ed as a result of o r organiz t ional design

S eing an organiz tion in this way may i ntro uc a v ery diferent way of

think ing for those of us used to manag ing or wor k ing for a par ticular depar tment

Tr adi tionaly o r loy alty is to the depar tment, se ti on or site r ather than to the

proc s that, b its v ery nature, fow s a ros these depar tments or se tions Thi s

r ai ses a number of is ues ab ut the culture of the organiz ti on and its abil ity to

wor k in teams that are alg ned to the proc s es r ather than depar tments, sites, etc

an they ne d to be ad res ed i f b sines proc s management is to be efe tiv ely

Un erstan in ISO 9 01:2 0 an Proc s- baed Manag ement S stems

Fig ur e 3.1 Proc s thinking not ‘si o’ thinking

In proc s t hin ing we t herefore conc nt rat e on o r per formanc cros -

funct ionaly, i.e what t he cust omer a t ualy se s and ex erienc s rat her t han

wor y ing un e es ariy ab ut t he individ al per formanc of a par t icular

depar t men se t ion or per on I is realy a mat t er of focusing on t he ‘right

t hings’ as much as d ing ‘t hings right ’

Of co r e proc s improvement is ab ut ident ify ing non-value ad ing or

p or per forming a t ivit ies inside t he proc s , which wi req uire g ing ba k t o

t he individ al depar t ment s or se t ions t o c r y o t improvement s The o eral

impa t , however, sho ld be en anc d result s of t he whole proc s , not just

an individ al depar t ment or se t ion R emember changing t he a t ivit ies in one

depar t ment may improve it s per formanc b t t his may have an adv er e efe t on

anot her Eq ualy, t o delver improved o eral proc s per formanc may req uire

depar t ment s working in a way t hat is su o t imal for t hem The right q uest ion

t o ask is, what efe t wi t he change have on t he o eral per formanc of t he

proc s ? The aim is t o maximiz t he per formanc of t he whole proc s not just

one par t of it

Therefore t o under t and ISO 9 01:2 0 and it s implement at ion we ne d

t o st ar t t hin ing in a ‘oined-u ’ way Thisap l es not only t o implemen ng

ISO 9 01:2 0 b t more imp r t an y t o o r b sines , req uiring answer t o

q uest ions lke how t o iden fy y our proc s es, how t o me sure t heir per formanc

and how t hey are au it ed for efe t ivenes and improvement This is a t eam

Busines proc s manag ement – The ‘h w’

2

This le ds us on t o what a proc s is Es en aly a proc s is conc rned wit h

t aking one or more inp t s, which co ld be informat ion, cust omer req uirement s,

et c and t hrou h a series of relat ed a t iv it ies delvering o t put s or o t comes t o

t he cust omer ( e Fig re 3.2a)

Fig ur e 3.2a Proc s es trans orm inputs into outputs

Of co r e t o make a proc s work we ne d eq uipmen peo le, k owled e,

Fig ur e 3.2b R esour ces impact proc s per ormanc

If w e are to manag e thi s proc s efe ti v el y w e therefore ne d to pl an and

i mpl ement i ts d el i v er y usi ng the equi pment, k now l ed g e, etc an me sure i ts

perfor manc ag ai nst targ ets These perfor manc me sures are based on i ts p r pose

(w hy the proc s ex i sts); b me sur i ng ag ai nst the p r pose w e c n i d en fy

g aps i n ov er al l proc s perfor manc , w hi ch c n for m the basi s for i mprov ement

a ti v i ty The ai m i s to anal y se the a tual resul ts a hi ev ed (compared ag ai nst the

targ et), l ear n fom the i nfor mati on an trend s cre ted an use the i nfor mati on as

a basi s for chang e or i mprov ement a ti ons Thi s al i g ns total l y w i th the cl auses of

ISO 9 01:2 0 , i n thi s c se Cl ause 8 Thi s i s show n i n Fi g ure 3.2c

Fig ur e 3.2c Measuring r esults drives improvement

The improvement c n be brou ht ab ut in a number of way s Amongst t hese

c n be:

• reworking, shaping or amending t he proc s it self and t he peo le as igned t o

c r y o t t he t asks;

• improving t he ext ernal provision of reso rc s and fa t or such as improving

compet enc t hrou h t raining and develo ment ;

• changing eq uipmen making bet t er use of k owled e, improving IT, et c

• changing t he way we le d t he t eam or t he way s t he t eam works t oget her; or

• a combinat ion of many t hings

Onc t he improvement has be n made t he proc s runs again and new

result s are prod c d These are t hen compared against t he t arget and fur t her

analy sed so t hat t he efe t ivenes of t he change made c n be as es ed As

ne es ary, fur t her improvement s are iden fed and implement ed – con nu us

improvement in a t ion

These principles form t he basis for b sines proc s management Yo

proc s per formanc , some of which y ou c n infuenc , ot her which y ou c n

no The q uest ion is, how d y ou manage t hese in t he most efe t ive man er

A clas ic variable and one t hat is oft en perc ived as somet hing we are unable t o

change are ‘const raint s’: t he t hings t hat ‘forc ’ y u t o d t hings in a c r t ain way

We oft en as ume t hat t hey c n ot be changed, b t t hat is not alway s t he c se as

we oft en imp se t hem on o r elves!

The ot her p int t o make is t hat peo le, as et s, way s of working, et c

are alway s changing and t his wi l have an efe t on per formanc The level of

per formanc req uired is also it selfsu je t t o change o er t ime, refe t ing eit her

t he improvement s for which y ou are st riving and/or t he increasing demands

of cust omer Therefore y ou never a t ualy get t here: in t heory t here is no end

p int – proc s management be omes a way of lfe b which manager manage

and improve t heir b sines /organiz t ion

If ther e is no end point, how can I get r eg istration if

I want it?

Go d q uest ion As long as y ou ensure t hat y ou have t he principles in pla e,

i.e iden fed y our b sines proc s es, manage t hem and inclu e any areas of

det ai co ered b ISO 9 01:2 0 , t hen y ou c n ot fai The real int en on of

ISO 9 01:2 0 is t hat y ou sho ld ap ly al of t he principles t hat it cont ains, in

a way t hat is ap ropriat e t o u, and use t he ‘sy stem’ t o cont i u usly improve

y our per formanc If y ou t ruly are d ing t his, y ou have in pla e a me hanism

t hat sho ld not only alow regist rat ion b t , more imp r t an enhanc y our

b sines result s Having a complant sy st em in pla e is just t he st ar t of y our

t ransit ion t owards b sines exc lenc – t he very begin ing of a long jo rney

The best ad ic we c n giv e y ou, based on ex erienc , is t o work wit h

y our as es ment b d and t he as es or wit h t he o eral aim ofimproving

y our organiz t ion Yo r au it or sho ld as es t he efe t iv enes of t he sy st em

and complanc against t he req uirement s of ISO 9 01:2 0 and any t hing

t hat ‘discon e t s’ t he lo ic and o erat ion of t he sy st em They c n ot t el u

or recommend t o u how u sho ld manage ur b sines – t ha s ur

management t eam’s jo They sho ld, however, be makingsure t hat y ou have

asked y our elf t he right q uest ions, and are ap ly ing t he principles in a way

t hat is ap ropriat e for y our uniq ue sit uat ion and highl ght where t here are

risks t o t he a hievement of o je t ives – i.e as es at b t h t he complanc and

efe t ivenes levels

As we have se n, proc s es describe a t ivit ies t hat fow a ros t he organiz t ion

These proc s es are managed b me suring t he result s a hiev ed The impa t

is t hat t he result s are focused on o t comes, i.e what t he cust omer or ot her

int erest ed par t ies are a t ualy int erest ed in B t let ’s lo k in Fig re 3.3 at what

hap ens when we have an int ernal focus on per formanc , rat her t han a proc s

What c stomer s an oth r

inter este p r tie s e:

Fig ur e 3.3 Inward focus neg le ts actual per ormanc

The principle is t hat if Dept 1 is only 95% efe t ive, t hen when t he work is

handed ov er t o Dept 2 t he work is alread 5% wrong Now unles Dept 2 spends

t ime, efor t and money on p t t ing it right t he cust omer c n ot p s ibly get what

t hey are lo king for B t it is wor e t han t hat , as proc s es oft en co er many

peo le and depar t ment s If Dept 2 is also only 95% efe t ive t hen t he net result

is 9 % efe t ivenes ov eral (95% of 95%) This only get s wor e as t he work is

now 10% wrong g ing int o Dept 3 and if t hey are also only 95% efe t ive, t he

o eral efe t ivenes of t he t ot al proc s is now d wn t o 8 % (95% of 9 %) I

is t his level of efe t iv enes t hat t he cust omer and ot her int erest ed par t ies such

as shareholder , senior manager , g vernmen et c (as def ed for t he proc s )

a t ualy se R emember t he principle ap les t o any sit uat ion where work mo es

from per on t o per on, depar t ment t o depar t men se t ion t o se t ion, loc t ion

t o loc t ion or any combinat ion t hereof And t his is oft en exa erbat ed fur t her