Seize the opportunity
The ISO 9001:2015 standard has also been published in Switzerland since September 2015 and contains a number of significant innovations to further develop customer orientation. For this reason, ISO 9001:2008 certified companies have three years since the launch to convert to the new requirements. This time can be used for a maturity assessment of the existing certified or non-certified management system, because the convergence of ISO with the EFQM approach is clearly visible.
ISO is and remains a standard that puts the customer first. It is primarily about that,
- To continuously manufacture and supply products or provide services that meet customer requirements and applicable legal and regulatory requirements,
- Perceive and act on opportunities and risks, taking into account the context,
- to strive to increase customer satisfaction (following the scope of ISO 9001:2015).
Excellence goes far beyond this scope and integrates a comprehensive stakeholder approach. This is already clear in the definition of excellence: "Excellent organizations achieve sustained outstanding performance that meets or exceeds the expectations of all their stakeholders." The EFQM
Excellence takes into account not only customers, but also employees, owners and society.
Excellence Model is thus a forward-looking model to determine how an organisation works and how it identifies opportunities for improvement at an early stage and implements them quickly.
Essential innovations ISO 9001:2015
The most striking change concerns the structure of ISO 9001:2015, the High Level Structure (see Figure 1). It serves as the basis for other standardized management systems, such as environment and occupational safety. In the diagram, this is supplemented by the familiar PDCA cycle.
The main content-related innovations concern chapter 4, the context of the organization. This external and internal orientation, the consideration of the relevant stakeholders and their relevant requirements are a clear extension to increase customer satisfaction.
Chapter 5 now more clearly addresses the management of the organization. As a result, strategic management and quality management are more closely linked.
Chapter 6 Planning anchors risk-based thinking, which should be derived from the context of the organization. This concept is carried forward through the processes and documented information. However, the standard does not require formal methods or a documented risk management process.
Chapter 7 Support describes the topic of knowledge: "The organization must determine the knowledge needed to carry out its processes and to achieve conformity of products and services." Again, there is no requirement for comprehensive knowledge management.
In chapter 8, the topic of development will occupy many organisations. It is about the adaptation or further development of products and services.
requirements. This requirement must be documented, implemented and checked in the form of a development process.
In Chapter 9 Evaluation of performance, the aspect of evaluation is new. This evaluation requires an assessment of the available figures and data
EFQM Excellence Model 2013
In order to strive for excellence in the sense described, the EFQM Excellence Model distinguishes between three elements similar to the ISO 9001:2015 standard, which are therefore listed in brackets: the basic concepts of excellence (principles of ISO 9001:2015), the criteria model (chapters of the standard) and the RADAR logic (PDCA cycle).
The eight basic concepts make excellence tangible. They are
The outcome criteria specify the performance of the organisation.
thus the principles for sustainable success.
The criteria model (see Figure 2) is divided into five enabler criteria and four result criteria. The enabler criteria address the question of what the organization does or enables in order to be sustainably successful. The outcome criteria identify what the organisation measures to ensure that the strategy is implemented, the objectives can be achieved and therefore the organisation will be successful in the future. These 9 criteria are subdivided into 32 sub-criteria, which are listed in key words in the diagram under the enabler criteria.
The RADAR logic is at the core of the EFQM Excellence Model, where RADAR stands for Results, Approach, Deployment, Assess and Refine. It is used to assess performance against both enabler and outcome criteria.
Approach ISO 9001:2015 to the EFQM Excellence Model
Even if the essential innovations of ISO 9001:2015 described above are not mapped 1:1 in the criteria model, the following mapping shows a clear approximation.
The context of the organization is taken into account in criterion 1, Leadership, and in particular through the personal engagement of leaders with stakeholders. Subsequently, this information is transferred into a systematic strategy process in criterion 2, Strategy. The link between leadership and the management system is explicitly required in sub-criterion 1b (defining, reviewing and improving the management system and the organisation's performance). As the model diagram shows, risk and knowledge management are also included on the enabler side of the criteria model. The development of products and services is required in sub-criterion 5b. The RADAR logic mirrors the PDCA cycle, but additionally requires strategically relevant and measurable outcomes. In addition to key results, the criteria model also takes into account customer, employee and society-related results, thus enabling a comprehensive assessment of the organization's performance.
assessment maturity
In order to assess the maturity of a management system, the EFQM has defined the assessment process. Assessments can be carried out as self-assessments or externally as third-party assessments (see Figure 3).
The self-assessment is based on a survey of the existing company data and instruments using the criteria model. At the same time, the context of the organization is described within the framework of the so-called key information. Subsequently, the management team evaluates the collected data for efficiency, effectiveness and impact using RADAR logic.
With an EFQM self-assessment, which is ideally integrated into the strategic process, companies identify strengths as well as areas for action, learn what is important for the company's success and what is not.
Identify individual areas for action thanks to the EFQM self-assessment.
important, and on this basis can define and follow the path of continuous improvement in coordination with the strategic orientation.
To be successful, all organisations, regardless of size and structure, need a suitable management system. The EFQM recognition programme (Levels of Excellence) makes successes visible. Following an EFQM self-assessment, companies can have strategically relevant improvement projects and their implementation assessed externally (C2E), undergo a one-day assessment (C2E 2 star) or have the management system assessed in the form of a comprehensive assessment (R4E). Is it enough in today's world to meet requirements, or does the organisation not need to constantly improve in order to be successful tomorrow? The EFQM approach offers the possibility to develop the company step by step towards business excellence. The convergence of the standard with the EFQM approach is an excellent opportunity to use the synergies of the two most common tools on the subject of quality with an EFQM self-assessment.
