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Sample ISO 9000 Quality Policy Manual: Sec. 4.1 Management Responsibility
by Ron Kurtus (updated 17 December 2022)
The following material is section 4.1 of a Quality Policy Manual, used to satisfy the ISO 9001 standard. This material follows the rationale approach to stating company policies and is intended as an example of this approach as well as a sample of a Quality Manual.
For other sections, refer to the Manual Table of Contents
4.1 Management Responsibility
In our company, our executive management runs the business, makes decisions and represents the company to our customers.
Rationale
We believe it is important for us to assure our customers that management is responsible for those decisions, in order that the customers know whom to contact in the event of problems or questions.
We also believe that effective management responsibility will result in reduced costs by helping eliminate wasted effort and material due to misunderstandings. It will also ultimately result in increased business due to customer satisfaction from getting expected goods and services.
Policy
Thus, it is the policy of this company to adhere to the requirements listed in ISO 9001 section 4.1 on Management Responsibility, as follows:
4.1.1 Quality Policy
To clarify our position to our customers, suppliers, and workers concerning the quality of our products and services, it is our policy that our executive management defines and documents our quality policy, including our objectives for quality and commitment to quality.
It is our policy that our quality policy is relevant to our organizational goals and the expectations and needs of our customers.
It is also our policy to ensure that our quality policy is understood, implemented and maintained at all levels of the organization. The way we ensure this is through our Procedure 4.1.1.
4.1.2 Organization
This section states our policy concerning responsibility and authority, verification resources and personnel, and management representative.
4.1.2.1 Responsibility and Authority
To make sure everyone understands who is responsible for decisions, it is our policy to always define the responsibilities of all personnel who manage, perform, and verify work affecting the quality (adherence to contracted promises with the customer) of our products and services.
To avoid having unauthorized decisions made, it is our policy to always define the authority of all personnel who manage, perform, and verify work affecting the quality of our products and services.
To make sure everyone understands the interrelation of our personnel, it is our policy to always define the interrelation of all personnel who manage, perform, and verify work affecting the quality of our products and services.
The above policies are particularly true for personnel who need the organizational freedom and authority to:
- Initiate action to prevent the occurrence of product nonconformity;
- Identify and record any product quality problems;
- Initiate, recommend, or provide solutions through designated channels;
- Verify the implementation of solutions;
- Control further processing, delivery, or installation of nonconforming product until the deficiency or unsatisfactory condition has been corrected.
4.1.2.2 Verification Resources and Personnel
To make sure that we adhere to our quality policies, it is our policy to always identify in-house verification requirements. It is also our policy to provide adequate resources and assign trained personnel for verification activities (see section 4.18 for our Training policy).
Verification activities include inspection, test, and monitoring of the design, production, installation, and servicing of the process and/or product.
Personnel independent of those having direct responsibility for the work being performed carry out design reviews and audits of the quality system, processes, and/or product.
4.1.2.3 Management Representative
To ensure that the stated policies (and requirements of the ISO 9001 standard) are implemented and maintained, it is our policy to always have a management representative who—irrespective of other responsibilities—has defined authority and responsibility for ensuring that these requirements are implemented and maintained.
Details and duties concerning that person are explained in our Procedure 4.1.2.3.
4.1.3 Management Review
To avoid simply paying "lip service" to our policies, it is our policy to always have our management review the quality system adopted to satisfy the requirements of ISO 9001 at appropriate intervals. This is done to ensure its continuing suitability and effectiveness.
It is also our policy to always maintain records of such reviews, as defined in section 4.16.
NOTE: Management reviews normally include assessment of the results of internal quality audits but are carried out by, or on behalf of, the supplier's management—namely management personnel having direct responsibility for the system (see section 4.17 for the policy on Internal Quality Audits).
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Sample Quality Manual: 4.1 Management Responsibility