Clause 7.1.6, organisational knowledge, is one of the few requirements unique to ISO 9001. An auditor on why key-person risk quietly erodes quality, and how to capture knowledge before it walks out the door.
Tag: #qms
“Yeah, I Know the Standard”: Dunning-Kruger and ISO Clause 7.2 Competence
Clause 7.2 requires competence to be evidenced, not declared. Here is why the Dunning-Kruger effect is exactly what the ISO competence clause is built to catch, and how a Verification of Competency program answers it.
Who’s Interested in a Party? A deep dive into clause 4.2 Understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties
Clause 4.2, Understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties, is one of the clauses I most often see treated as a tick-box exercise: a register filled in once, filed away, and never looked at again. It is also a piece of string. How far you take it depends entirely on the business, on which […]
ISO Clause 4.1 Context of the Organisation: The Standard Says What, You Choose How
Clause 4 is the introduction to the standard, and it asks four questions in order. Who are you (4.1). Who do you have to keep happy (4.2). What does your management system cover (4.3). How does the system work (4.4). Everything that follows in clauses 5 to 10 is built on the answers. Clause 4.1 […]
Risk Matrix Template: A 5×5 Matrix With Consequence Criteria You Can Defend
Most risk matrix templates you can download are a coloured grid and nothing else. Five rows, five columns, green through red, and not one word about what the words mean. That is the part that matters. A grid is trivial to draw. The hard part, and the part an auditor asks about, is what separates […]
ISO Certification for Small Business: Six Places the Standard Lets You Keep It Simple
ISO standards are written for every organisation, from a five-person consultancy to a multinational. That is why so much of the wording says “as necessary”, “where applicable” and “at planned intervals”. Those phrases are not loopholes. They are the standard telling you to size the system to the business. Most small businesses never use that […]
Compliance vs Conformity: Why ISO Talks About Conformity
Two words used interchangeably, but ISO is precise. Compliance is externally imposed; conformity is meeting a standard you’ve adopted, which is why audits raise nonconformities, not non-compliance.
Nonconformance & Corrective Action in ISO 9001 (with Examples)
What a nonconformance is in ISO 9001, the difference between correction and corrective action, and how to close one out, with practical examples.
ISO 31000 Risk Management Explained: Can You Get Certified?
ISO 31000 is the international risk management standard. Here’s what it covers, why you can’t be ‘certified’ to it, and how it strengthens ISO 9001 and ISO 27001.
Quality Assurance, Quality Control & QMS
What is Quality Assurance? Quality Assurance means that you have a system to consistently deliver products and services to a high standard; the standard expected by your customers. It is achieved by implementing a quality management system that identifies what an organisation needs to do to assure the Quality of the “thing” (product and/or service) that their customers pay for. Need help building […]
