The advent of the new year is a good time for an organization to review its existing objectives to see if they are still relevant to the organization’s goals. If your organization is certified (or is seeking to be certified) in ISO 9001 or 14001, it’s worth looking at your quality and/or environmental objectives to determine if they are being monitored and measured properly and if the objectives themselves need to be updated.
ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015, sections 6.2.1 and 6.2.2, outline the requirements for quality and environmental objectives and how to plan for achieving them. Objectives should:
• Be consistent with the organization’s quality (or environmental) policy
• Be measurable
• Take into account applicable requirements
• Be relevant to conformity of products and services and to enhancement of customer satisfaction
• Be monitored
• Be communicated
• Be updated as appropriate
With these requirements in mind, it’s especially important to know if your organization’s objectives are being monitored and measured properly. If a review of your monitoring data doesn’t make clear how well you’re achieving your objectives, then it’s time to consider new methods of monitoring and measurement or modifying your quality and/or environmental objectives.
When planning how to achieve its quality and/or environmental goals, the organization needs to decide the following:
• What will be done
• What resources will be required
• Who will be responsible
• When it will be completed
• How the results will be evaluated
A regular review of all of these requirements will enable your organization to set measurable objectives and ensure that your quality management or environmental management system is functioning as designed.
If you would like to know more about how Freer Consulting can help your business or other organization with implementing and maintaining an ISO-compliant quality or environmental management system, contact us at (206) 285-9044 or [email protected].