A Quality Policy Statement -

How They Can Help Your

Business and How to Write
One
What is quality management? State how the importance of meeting the
customers needs it communicated within the
Quality management, put in simple terms, is doing exactly organisation.
what it says on the tin. In general, it is about an State how the company ensures customer
organisations ability to consistently provide a product or satisfaction is achieved.
service that meets the needs and requirements of its Detail how the company provides adequate
customers. resources to enable the above to happen.
State that the company systems or processes will
What is a quality statement? be reviewed periodically to ensure that they remain
effective in delivering customer satisfaction.
A quality policy statement needs to be a short declaration
that states how an organisation ensures the quality of its What to think about when writing the statement
product or service. It is not in itself a quality management
system (QMS) but details what processes are in place to The statement needs to provide a general framework on
ensure that an organisation delivers what it say it can. how the company ensures targets and objectives are met
and that the aim is to continually improve its
Writing a quality policy statement is a useful exercise which product/service through management review and
helps management to focus on systems of work or how the stakeholder involvement.
organisation operates. It may encourage management to
review these and consider implementing a more formal QMS Think about how the maintenance of plant and equipment
to meet the requirements of BS EN ISO 9001. enables the company to deliver its product or service.
Think about what financial controls are in place and other
What a quality management policy statement should say internal processes that enable the company to deliver within
It needs to describe managements commitment to financial constraints. For example, systems for ordering
maintaining standards of the companys product or materials and/or stock control.
service.
It will need to identify the ownership and Think about how the training and development of staff has
involvement within the organisation of all staff and affected the quality of the product/service and what effect
specifically those with key roles in maintaining the this has had on the business. For example, IT training
quality of the companys product or service. improves staff abilities when using software systems and
It will need to state how the companys product or computers etc. Also think about how this addresses
service is monitored to ensure that it continues to statutory and other requirements and how this has
meet customer and market place needs. improved their skills and knowledge.

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Think about how the company works with its customers,
clients and stakeholders. Are regular meetings held? Is A good policy will:
feedback obtained? How are issued resolved? Be clear, simple and concise.
Think about the quality of the materials used and/or the Be relevant to the size and nature of the
quality of components supplied to the company. organisation.
State what it does and how it aims to improve.
Think about what statutory requirements are imposed on Be about one side of A4.
the product / design and how the company conforms to Be balanced with general statements that detail
these. what the company does.
Not commit the organisation to things it does not
Think about how issues of non-conforming products or do or cannot achieve.
services are resolved. What happens when it goes wrong? It needs to belong to the company and state what
When writing a quality policy statement, state what is done the organisation does. Do not copy and paste
to ensure the above. Do not be afraid if this process raises someone elses.
issues, look at it as an opportunity to improve and develop
the organisation to become more efficient. Other tips
Dont waffle.
Where to start Dont include sweeping statements that say
Look at how the companys health and safety or nothing.
environmental policies statements have been Dont include internal jargon, names of sections or
produced. individuals.
Lay it out in the same way use corporate
headings/logos. Developing a Quality Management System (QMS)
Identify the policy (eg AIS QPol 001), the owner of
the policy, its approved and review dates. This Having written a quality policy statement, should the
identifies a system of document control which is organisation decide to devise and implement a QMS, then
part of any QMS. the following core principles need to be addressed:
Make sure it is signed and dated by the person Customer focus understand their needs and how
identified as having overall control and the organisation will meet them.
responsibility for quality. Leadership establish, unify and commit to the
Generally, keep it simple and clear, but ensure it purpose and direction of the organisation.
details the companys internal management Involvement of people people at all levels need to
controls. be involved in the development and
implementation of the system - this will ensure that
Why companies should have a quality management policy it works.
Process approach look at how things are done and
Managing quality, and how an organisation is able to how effectively resources are used to achieve
demonstrate that its internal controls are effective, is desired results.
becoming more widely required by clients and others who System approach to management identifying and
need to be assured that the company can deliver the managing interrelated processes within the
product to them, to their specification, on time and on organisation and how they affect each other.
budget. Continual improvement (commitment to) should
be a permanent objective to achieve perfection.
It is becoming more widely included in many pre- Factual approach to decision making business
qualification questionnaires (PQQs) as deliverability is decisions are based on the analysis of factual
becoming core to gaining work. information gained form auditing and reviewing
process and the system as a whole, this enables
There is no legal requirement to have a quality policy management to change the way things work to
statement or implement a QMS. However, it is good prevent non-conformance issue arising again.
business practice to control internal affairs and use of Mutual customer/supplier benefits ensuring value
resources. to customers, clients and stakeholders.
Benefits of implementing a QMS include:
Having a quality management statement or developing a Customer loyalty.
QMS does not absolve a company from its legal or other Repeat business.
requirements under statutory legislation where these are Operational results such as revenue and market
applicable to the products or service. share.

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 Flexible response to market opportunities.
Reduced costs through the effective and efficient
use of resources.
Alignment of processes that will achieve desired
results.
Competitive advantage through improved
organisational capabilities.
Understanding and motivating people towards
achieving the companys gaols/objectives which
leads to continual improvement and improve
morale.
Confidence of interested parties in the
effectiveness and efficiency of the business and
reputation.
Ability to create value for both the organisation and
its customers.

Acknowledgement: This information has kindly been

provided by ICSolutions. If you need assistance preparing
your quality statement or devising a QMS, please contact Ian
Cleary at ICSolutions on 01202 762659 or email
[email protected]

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