Getting to Know Your Management Rep Pt. 3

Finishing up with the 3rd and last major role of the Quality Management Representative:

Role 3. Promote customer requirements. The last responsibility is to ensure that people are aware of customer requirements throughout the organization. Since one of the main thrusts of an ISO 9001 quality management system is customer satisfaction, it is vital that all employees understand what the customer needs, and how they are able to affect how well the company satisfies these needs. Customer focus is one of the main Seven Quality Management Principles behind ISO 9001 requirements, and as such needs to have an advocate in the company.

Hand drawing Customer concept with marker on transparent wipe board.

By being the “voice of the customer” in the organization, the quality management representative can make great strides in how satisfied customers are. If the company implemented a quality management system to improve customer satisfaction, it only makes sense that someone is responsible to promote the customer needs in the company, and the management rep is the leader of this initiative.

External liaison. The additional note to paragraph 5.5.2 of the ISO 9001 standard states that the “responsibilities can include liaising with external parties on matters relating to the QMS.” This is where the quality management representative becomes the one name that the certification body can call, or the customer can contact with complaints. It is often these optional responsibilities that are seen as the main role of the management rep, but in fact these could be done by one of many other people without affecting the effectiveness and success of the QMS.

Utilize your quality management representative

As I hope you can see, utilizing your quality management rep as the leader of the QMS is the best way to ensure the quality management system is effective, efficient and improves over time. In order for this to work well it is important to choose the best person for this job, just like any other management position in the company, because choosing the wrong person could mean that your QMS implementation is at best sub-optimal, and at worst a complete failure and waste of resources.

Contact me for a free phone consultation and for my free ISO 9001:2015 Readiness Checklist and perform a quick self-assessment to gage your preparedness for the new standard. Then call to see how I can help.

920-841-3478

Steve@TheRightApproachConsulting.com