A Quality Manual
In the ISO9001:2008 version companies were required to have a documented quality management system and most developed a ‘Quality Manual’. Other than this requirement the standard was flexible regarding the interpretation of ‘documented’. It was acceptable to have a quality management system in video format if that is what a company chose.
Without mandating the structure of a quality management system the new 2015 standard has completely removed references to a quality manual.
How does this affect your management system? A company may choose to scrap its documented management system. However, the impact of such a significant change needs serious consideration.
Over the last 15 years most employees, managers & team leaders would have become accustomed to using a documented system especially for those operations which carry higher risk. If the quality manual were scrapped completely how would your organisation adapt to these changes, maintain existing controls as well as continually improve?
One thing is certain. With the removal of references to a ‘Quality Manual’ a company now has even greater flexibility in being able to demonstrate how it controls high risk activities or operations, especially for those in the service sector.