In a nutshell: What is a quality management system?
A quality management system (QMS for short) is used to collect and analyze quality-relevant digital data. Based on the findings from the data, decisions can be made to optimize product and service quality.
The digitalization of quality management through QM systems has a positive effect on employee satisfaction, as they benefit from a lower workload and simpler communication compared to analogue quality management.
Digitized and automated quality management
All companies, institutions, authorities and other types of organizations are undergoing a comprehensive transformation process. It is leading from an analogue to an increasingly digitalized world of work. Even if the digital transformation is accompanied by challenges, it also offers numerous opportunities. This applies to quality management (QM), among other things.
Quality management affects all processes within a company. It therefore includes, for example, production, customer care and internal collaboration. The large amounts of data generated in the course of digitalization (big data) are brought together, harmonized and analysed in a quality management system. Conclusions can be drawn from the analyses, which can be used to make better decisions to improve quality .
Depending on how professional and individualized the QM system used is, it contributes to the far-reaching improvement of processes within an organization. For professional implementation, it is necessary to use a QM system that complies with the standards and to adapt it to the programs and processes of an organization. As a professional service provider, innobit offers companies and other organizations a professional and tailor-made QM solution for the Microsoft 365 environment.
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QM system: Overview of advantages and functions
The digitalization of quality management relieves employees from all departments. Instead of numerous files and mountains of paper, employees can access the quality management system digitally from anywhere in the world if they have an internet connection. However, a comprehensive QM system is much more than just digitized quality management. It is a holistic solution.
- The situation: There are companies that use various tools such as Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Power BI to evaluate and optimize the quality of their processes.
- The problem is that the use of individual programs is comparable to stand-alone solutions where employees do not have all the relevant data at a glance. They sometimes have to switch between programs in order to analyze data coherently.
- The solution: A highly efficient QM system is a holistic application that enables cross-departmental and cross-process documentation and analysis of processes. Such a solution not only digitizes quality management, but also increases its precision.
A high-performance QM system (as described in the last key point) corresponds to the principles of modern systemic management. In a cross-departmental and cross-process QM system, the interrelationships between departments and processes are also taken into account. This allows the core causes of errors or inefficiencies to be analyzed in detail and problems to be eliminated at the root in order to sustainably improve quality in the organization.
With a quality management system, companies also benefit from numerous other advantages and functions. We present five examples of the benefits and functions below.
Improving communication and collaboration
A solid QM solution displays all relevant quality management information in real time. The centralized mapping of all quality data in one program and at a glance simplifies collaboration between employees. By linking with apps for collaboration, employees are networked with the QM system and can communicate efficiently and without barriers.
High efficiency through automated big data management
Digital quality management involves enormous amounts of data. The more quality data is available, the more differentiated decisions can be made. A solid QM system centralizes, categorizes and analyses all quality-relevant data. This saves employees time processing quality data and allows them to focus on efficiently improving processes.
Better results through holistic analyses
The improvement of products and services is more extensive when a QM system is used. This is because more data on errors and inefficiencies is collected digitally. As a result, better and holistic improvement measures can be derived that also take into account the interactions between processes.
Cost reduction through prevention of errors
Deficiencies in quality management are reflected in costs. For example, inadequate QM leads to errors in production or the introduction of products. These errors have a negative impact on product quality and customer satisfaction. They have to be rectified retrospectively, which costs time and money. Risks and errors can be avoided with a solid quality management system.
Development of training courses for employees
Quality data on the activities of employees is also collected using a QM system. As employees are people and people make mistakes, the human component is a factor in quality management that should not be underestimated.
The information gained from the QM system about the activities and work of employees can reveal immense potential for quality improvement. In the event of particularly frequent errors or inefficiencies, companies can develop appropriate training courses for employees in order to promote the general quality of employee performance. For example, customized e-learning courses can be developed based on the identified training needs.
Quality requirements for a QM system: DIN standard ISO 9001 and individualization
The two DIN standards ISO 9001 and ISO 9000 form the basis for solid QM systems. ISO 9001 is based on the quality management principles listed in ISO 9000. The seven principles of quality management are
- Customer orientation
- Guidance
- Inclusion of persons
- Process-oriented approach
- Improvement
- Fact-based decision-making
- Relationship management
Based on these principles, the DIN standard ISO 9001 formulates clear rules that must be taken into account when developing and introducing QM systems. Accordingly, QM systems should always be geared towards the context of the organization. This means, among other things, that the varying customer requirements and legal regulations in different industries are taken into account to the extent relevant to the organization.
Furthermore, the DIN standard ISO 9001 stipulates that QM systems should be aligned with processes rather than objectives. The resulting process orientation allows resources to be bundled more efficiently and relationships between processes and departments to be better understood in order to accurately manage quality.
In terms of competitiveness, ISO 9001 requires continuous improvement of processes. As it is much easier to start up and scale companies in the digital age than before and companies have to be innovative due to constant competition in order to succeed on the market, continuous improvement is an essential component of the quality of products and services.
ISO 9001 also lists risk management, the formulation of clear tasks and responsibilities for joint work in and on quality management systems and the provision of all necessary resources for the introduction and maintenance of the QM system as requirements.
How to implement all the requirements of ISO 9001? This requires cooperation with a specialized service provider. They draw on proven principles to implement QM systems. Ideally, the service provider will align quality management with the product lifecycle management (PLM) strategy.
At innobit, for example, we proceed as follows when implementing a quality management system:
- Development of a list of functions and benefits that the QM system should offer - based on the characteristics of the products and services and the context of the company
- Proof of concept: Testing the concept in the company and improving the software if necessary
- Installation and configuration of the quality management software and setting up interfaces to other programs in the company
- Training employees in the use of the QM system
- Provision, use, control and measurement of the QM system in day-to-day work
- Constant expansion and continuous improvement of the QM system (e.g. integration of process visualizations using software solutions such as Visio from Microsoft)
These steps provide only a rudimentary overview of the development and introduction of a QM system. In practice, we focus even more on the individual requirements of our customers. For example, we offer solutions that involve business partners and customers in the quality management system.
By integrating business partners, customers and other stakeholders, feedback can be obtained on the quality of products and collaboration. This opens up quality management and innovation to the outside world and offers better opportunities for quality improvement.
Conclusion: Achieving quality goals faster with a QM system
In analog QM systems, and even more so without a QM system, many data streams and workflows that are essential for ensuring quality standards in the company are overlooked. Digital quality management systems are therefore available for the best possible optimization of products and services.
They bring together data from quality-relevant processes and contribute to the holistic analysis of processes in companies. In this way, employees are relieved and achieve better results in quality management thanks to the large amounts of data and insightful analyses, which promotes the efficient achievement of quality objectives.
