This
section summarizes ISO 9004-4. It highlights the main points. It
does not present
detail. If you need a detailed and complete interpretation of the
ISO 9004-4 standard,
please consider purchasing our hardcopy version.
ISO
prepared ISO 9004-4 in order to explain how to develop and
implement a continuous quality improvement program.
- Quality
systems should generate quality improvements. Your quality system should
encourage and support continuous quality improvement.
- Quality
improvement refers
to a set of activities whose purpose is to enhance the
efficiency and effectiveness of the organization for the
benefit of the organization and its customers.
Improvements can be achieved by looking for ways to
improve process efficiency and effectiveness.
- Develop
a quality improvement program. This program should:
- Show people
how to use quality improvement tools and
techniques.
- Improve the
organization's ability to serve the needs of
customers.
- Identify
quality improvement opportunities (quality
losses).
- Design and
execute quality improvement projects.
- Carry
out quality improvement projects. Your quality improvement
program should ensure that every quality improvement
project:
- Proves that
there is a need for the project.
- Defines a
purpose, scope, and schedule.
- Appoints a
team to carry out the project.
- Allocates
sufficient resources to carry out the project.
- Is monitored
and controlled to help ensure success.
- Investigates
the process that must be improved.
- Reviews the
quality loss that must be prevented.
- Analyzes the
factors that cause the quality loss.
- Defines
actions to correct or prevent losses and improve
quality.
- Confirms that
the actions taken did, in fact, create an
improvement.
- Verifies that
improvements didn't produce undesirable side
effects.
- Finds a way
to sustain the improvement in quality.
- Create
a sociocultural environment that supports quality
improvement. Such an environment supports values
like trust, respect, teamwork, honesty, cooperation,
communication, individualism, innovation, participation,
education, and continuous improvement.
- Minimize
quality losses. Minimize or reduce quality losses by
exploiting every chance to improve quality.
- Develop
an organization that supports quality improvement.
Such
an organization would have methods to:
- Identify
quality improvement needs.
- Set quality
improvement objectives.
- Allocate
authority to make quality improvements.
- Distribute
responsibility to make quality improvements.
- Guide and
coordinate quality improvement activities.
- Monitor and
measure quality improvement progress.
- Review and
evaluate quality improvement results.
- Define
and distribute quality improvement responsibilities.
Allocate the responsibility for:
- Developing
plans to improve work processes.
- Monitoring
quality losses and improvements.
- Ensuring that
every process is oriented towards quality.
- Monitoring
and controlling quality improvement projects.
- Asking people
to look for improvement opportunities.
- Encouraging
open communication between departments.
- Identifying
the needs of internal and external customers.
- Ensuring that
suppliers understand customer needs.
- Evaluating
quality improvement projects.
- Develop
a quality improvement planning process and incorporate it into
your business planning process. This planning process
should:
- Identify and
address quality losses.
- Specify
quality improvement opportunities.
- Develop
quality improvement objectives.
- Define
strategies to achieve these objectives.
- Involve all
personnel in the planning process.
- Ask for input
from customers and suppliers.
- Ensure that
implementation is monitored.
- Arrange to
evaluate quality system changes.
- Develop
a quality improvement measurement system. Your quality improvement
measurement system should:
- Pinpoint
quality improvement opportunities (quality
losses).
- Evaluate
quality improvement results.
- Measure and
monitor:
- Customer
satisfaction.
- Process
efficiency.
- Resource
utilization.
- Environmental
impact.
- Professional
development.
- Develop
a quality improvement review procedure. Develop a procedure that
managers can use to evaluate your quality improvement
activities.
Related Publications |
If you would like to purchase a complete
and detailed
version of
ISO 9004-4 Guidelines Translated
into Plain English, please consider
the following options. Notice that ISO 9004-4 is part of
Titles 5, 7, and 9. |
Title 7: ISO 9000
Translated into Plain English |
Title 7
covers ISO 9000(1-2-3-4), ISO 9001, ISO 9002,
ISO 9003,
ISO 9004(1-2-3-4), ISO 10011(1-2-3), and
ISO 10013 |
I want to order Title 7 |
I want to see ISO 9001, ISO 9002,
ISO 9003 before I order
I want to
see ISO 9000, ISO 9004, ISO 10011, and ISO 10013 before I
order |
Thank
you for visiting this section. You are, of course, welcome to
view our material as often as you wish, free of charge. However,
you are not legally authorized to print or copy it. If you would
like to purchase a bound hardcopy,
please contact our Sales Department. Our sales people would be
very pleased to take your order or to answer any questions you
might have.
This
web page was first published on May 25, 1997 |
This
web page was updated on April 26, 1999 |
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO
PROVIDE FEEDBACK PLEASE CONTACT
Praxiom
Research Group Limited
3814
- 41 Avenue, Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada, T6L 5M4
Phone: (780)461-4514
Fax: (780)463-6034
praxiom@connect.ab.ca |
http://connect.ab.ca/~praxiom/9004-4.htm |
©
Praxiom Research Group Limited |