Is your Quality System Dead or Alive? - 6 telling tests from QFactorial

Our director, Kevin Brown, has devised six tests to gauge the health of your Quality System and decide if an overhaul is overdue. If you can’t answer yes to all of these, your investment in Quality is not yet paying off. But fear not! QFactorial has vast experience in designing Quality Systems that sit in the sweet spot between business reality and audit compliance. Here are the six tests to indicate if you might need our help:  

1. Could you give a copy of your Quality Manual to a new employee and say: “read that, it will explain how we run things around here”?  

2. Is your Quality System the default mode of operation, or is it an occasional side-show to keep the auditors entertained? 

3. Do internal audits regularly identify problems, risks and opportunities with strategic or business-critical consequences? 

4. Does your Quality System generate meaningful and insightful data about compliance and performance, both internally and along your supply chain? 

5. Do you use quality audits and quality data to improve your business performance, keep your customers happy, and get ahead of your competitors? 

6. Does your Quality System support a culture of innovation and learning, or does it constrain your people to conform and keep ticking the boxes? 

How many of the tests did you pass comfortably? If you have gaps and weaknesses, you could benefit from an independent review by a QFactorial expert to pinpoint the causes and recommend solutions.