The Importance of Understanding in ISO 9001 Processes

The requirements of section 7.3 of ISO 9001:2015 address some of the issues related to worker awareness.

The process aimed at making people aware of their tasks in the context of achieving quality should ensure that they are:

• aware of what the organization is trying to achieve;
• aware of how their contribution allows the organization to achieve its objectives;
• aware of the implications of any non-conformity to the requirements;
• able to realize their full potential.

In this article, we will examine the four requirements of section 7.3, namely:

• Awareness of the Quality Policy (7.3a)
• Awareness of Quality Objectives (7.3b)
• Awareness of One's Contribution (7.3c)
• Awareness of the Implications (7.3d)

Awareness of the Quality Policy - ISO 9001:2015

Requires us that all those who can influence the achievement of the organization's objectives are not only aware of the quality policy but also understand it in the best possible way, in order to be motivated to show the desired behavior towards quality.

Awareness of Quality Objectives

People working within an organization must be aware of the quality objectives that relate to what they are doing. Each activity required of personnel must serve the organization's objectives, directly or indirectly.

All activities influence the organization in some way, and the quality of the results depends on how they are perceived by the personnel who perform them and the degree of control they exercise over them. Being aware of the objectives means that individuals are better able to select the right activities to carry out within a given context.

For each quality objective, there should be a plan that defines the processes involved in successfully achieving it. Evaluating these processes and determining where critical decisions are made, who is responsible for making them, and then making the personnel involved aware of these objectives represents the measure of success for any organization.

To demonstrate that personnel are aware of the quality objectives, you can:

• present evidence of the existence of an employee involvement process that addresses awareness of quality objectives;
• select a representative sample of people and establish that they can:
  1. explain extensively what they are trying to achieve;
  2. identify the process in which they are involved;
  3. indicate the results they are trying to achieve;
  4. explain how these results relate to the quality objectives that have been established for the process in which they are involved;
  5. explain how the quality of their output is measured.

Awareness of One's Contribution

Some activities make a significant contribution to achieving the objectives, while others make a lesser contribution. Awareness of this contribution means that people can allocate their efforts accordingly, approaching the activity with the appropriate behavior. This awareness on the part of the personnel performing a job is critical because in this way they know how they should behave towards each individual task.

Some people, in fact, may work very hard but on activities that are not important or not so relevant to the organization. Others may not work productively or may not realize the impact that their behavior has on the organization's performance. Awareness of the relevance and importance of activities and their contribution to the organization's objectives is essential to enable an organization to function effectively.

Explaining the relationship between what people do and the effect that this work can have on customers has a significant impact on how personnel approach the work itself.

There are several ways to create this awareness:

• identify the Critical To Quality (CTQ) characteristics;
• show where these CTQs are located within the context of the product or service;
• explain the importance of these characteristics;
• gather information that shows what customers value regarding the products and services they purchase and why they purchase one product or service over another competing product or service.

Demonstrating that personnel are aware of their contribution to the effectiveness of the quality management system is possible by:

1. presenting evidence of an employee involvement process that addresses awareness of everyone's contribution;
2. selecting a representative sample of personnel to establish that the workers can:
   1. explain what they are trying to achieve;
   2. explain any consequences of what they are about to achieve;
   3. explain the effect that their work has on the process;
   4. explain how all this makes the quality system more or less effective;
   5. explain the benefits that can be obtained by improving their performance.

Awareness of the Implications

This point in the standard refers to those cases in which the correction of errors is not possible or practical and in which compliance depends on the diligence and judgment of the personnel. If personnel have no idea of the role they play in the overall picture of corporate quality and, consequently, of the impact of their work, there is a serious danger that the success of the organization is at risk.

The task of the organization is to increase individual sensitivity towards any non-conformity to the requirements of the quality system to immediately identify any consequences on the customer and on the performance of the company.

Measuring a person's understanding of the requirements of the quality system is a process that can be parallel to that of competency assessment. Competency assessment, in fact, would serve to indicate whether personnel can perform the work and are able to take appropriate action to manage a non-conformity.

Demonstrating that personnel are aware of the implications of any non-conformities to the requirements of the quality system can be demonstrated by:

• presenting evidence of the success of a process for involving employees that leads them to full awareness of the implications of non-conformities to the requirements of the quality management system;
• selecting a representative sample of personnel to establish that they can:
  1. identify the requirements of the quality management system applicable to their work;
  2. explain the immediate consequences of any non-conformities to these requirements;
  3. indicate a subsequent stage of the process in which the impact of non-conformity to a specific requirement will be felt;
  4. explain the long-term consequences of non-conformity;
  5. also explain what the effect would be if everyone did not conform to that requirement.