Quality Manual? We don’t need no stinkin’ manual!

At first blush, ISO 2015’s removal of the requirement for a quality manual has a lot of quality managers thanking their lucky stars! However, when you ask yourself “Can I really do that?” two compelling reasons will dictate that the answer is probably going to be a resounding no.

The first reason is that for decades the quality manual has been the top level, policy document in almost every company, in every industry. Old habits die hard, and most organizations will not be willing to change this just because the latest iteration of the standard says they can.

The second, and most important reason is that your customers probably won’t let you. Customers like quality manuals because it provides them a snapshot of your entire QMS in a single document. They don’t want to wade through a dozen individual procedures, policies and work instructions, especially if a quality manual review is the first tool in their new supplier screening process.

There is a third reason that will apply to some of you; your other QMS certifications won’t allow you to drop the quality manual. For instance, Aerospace’s AS9100 says, “You will maintain a quality manual, period.”

I advise all my clients not to abandon their quality manual, however, I do recommend they simplify them. Quality manuals can often be 20-40 pages long; I show them how to create a 4-page quality manual that will pass ISO and AS9100 with flying colors (yes, you read that correctly).

Contact me to see how I can help you do the same.

920-841-3478

Steve@TheRightApproachConsulting.com