a quality management system what is it and why I have one first of all what is a quality management system or qms quality management system is a structured collection of policies procedures processes and their Associated responsibilities these policies procedures and processes are integrated so that working harmoniously as a single system they make it easier for the staff and Personnel of a business or service organization to achieve its quality vision mission goals and objectives of course these policies and procedures need to be documented but that does not have to consist of paper documents unless that is the organization preference more likely they will be stored and maintained in an electronic format on the organization internet or cloud storage and might just consist of HTML web pages so what are the advantages of having a quality management system why would an organization want a qms I like to summarize the benefits under three headings simplify clarify and control firstly simplify do you have site visits from prospective customers having a qms enables sale site visits to be a structured and constructive conversation where prospects actually expect you to show restraint the restraint required for obtaining compreh R hensive voice of customer finding out exactly what is required instead of Contracting to Wild promises based on the fuzziness of getting a sale at all costs in addition such customer visits become opportunities for you to review your processes for improvement and help you become more competitive having a qms helps enormous ly to improve the communication within your organization whether that be cross functional Cross departmental or cross location a qms helps you to take a structured approach to correcting mistakes or defects corrective actions and preventive actions also known as Kappa are consistently undertaken based on a priority and diligence driven by risk which places first things first a qm-based Kappa process also ensures that higher risk problems and issues are promptly properly dealt with and do not return risk of course can and should be considered both from a safety and a business point of view see improved customer or client satisfaction from a more formalized and thorough qms driven complaint handling system that always closes the loop with the customer see fewer defects rework or scrap at the various points of quality control because of an improved qm-based design process see improved design because of better voice voice of customer input to requirements and specifications secondly clarify first and foremost a quality management system will clarify roles and responsibilities everyone knows what their area of responsibility is what is expected of them who their internal or external suppliers and customers are and who is responsible for what a qms will help everyone in your company or organization understand what your internal operational processes are and how they link from your suppliers through your manufacturing or service operations to your customers or clients employees all understand where their contribution fits into the big picture a qms will drive consistency in staff training as well as continuous Improvement in staff training all the above lead to improved staff morale and happier customers with miscommunication identified and rectified early thirdly and finally control a qms gives form and substance to your organization's commitment to a vision and Mission linking what you aim to achieve with The Who and the how of your internal operational processes a well-implemented qms enables you to control your processes for greater Effectiveness and efficiency enabling your staff to feel pride in their work and and demonstrate their value qms driven performance of internal processes drives greater consistency in output and final product whether manufacturing or service this in turn drives the identification of opportunities for improvement as required by a qms measurable continuous Improvement in quality and productivity will become part of the organization culture the way we do things a well implemented and sensible qms will ensure regular measurement trending and reporting to Executive management of critical indicators or key performance indicators known as kpis these provide a view of current operational performance as well as a heads up on areas of concern which warrant further investigation the above controls will result in improved customer satisfaction from the delivery of better quality products with the early detection of fewer faults and defects all before final delivery a well implemented and sensible qms will lead to l L waste of time and materials cutting costs and improving profitability