Quality is a non-negotiable in your business success. A product or service that delivers on quality is one that pleases your preferred customers, causing them to return for more and spread the word to others that your business is worth patronizing. No quality...no customers...no business.
That much is obvious. The standards of quality you need to meet and the process of ensuring you meet them are less so. That’s particularly true in today’s rapidly evolving business climate where regulations, the application of technology, product standards, and customer tastes are moving targets.
Change is not likely to slow down in the future, though, so the best way to cope is by basing your quality management program on a strong quality plan. Quality planning is one of the critical components of an effective Quality Management System, no matter your organization’s size or industry.
Quality planning is the first of four components of Quality Management, which also encompasses quality assurance, quality control, and quality improvement.
Quality Planning Process Summary
Quality planning is the process of making all the decisions necessary to ensure the quality of your product or service when it reaches your customers.
A quality plan is a document or set of documents that, together, define a company’s quality goals, standards, practices, resources, specifications, and procedures. It connects the overall strategic plans of an organization with actionable steps for designing quality into its deliverables and confirming that customers receive the quality experience that is intended.
Quality planning occurs at the very beginning of the total quality management process, but it should not be thought of as a “one-and-done” activity. An effective quality plan should be regularly reviewed and enhanced over time to keep pace with industry and regulatory changes as well as to improve your organization’s competitive position.
Every organization will need to approach quality planning from the unique perspective of its own goals and capabilities. Some plans may be more detailed than others, and some areas within a company’s plan will be more exhaustive than others. However, there are general steps that lead to an effective plan. Every company needs to:
Many companies have both strategic-level quality plans and project-level quality plans for specific orders. The resulting documents may be quite different, but the process is basically the same.
The concept is to plan in advance, as much as possible, what you want and expect from your people and products, how everyone will work together to make that happen, and what will be done to correct any mistakes that do happen. The elements in your organization’s quality plan(s) will depend on your industry and your specific needs and goals. However, here are some examples of items you could include:
Think of quality planning as a way of managing the risk of unpleasant surprises. A good quality plan can:
Once you’ve developed a quality plan, you need to execute it effectively. If you’re ready to ensure compliance and agility in your quality management program, a unified cloud-based application like Veeva’s QualityOne can help you make that happen — faster and at less total cost..
QualityOne is intuitive and easy to use, unlike cumbersome on-premise legacy programs, so your staff will be able to easily and effectively use it to manage document control, training, quality processes, and HSE events.
Ready to revolutionize your quality management approach? Learn how QualityOne, Veeva's all-in-one quality management, training, and HSE solution, can help by visiting our product page.