DIN EN ISO 9001: 2015: Bosses, get your employees on board!

All hands on deck: For quality in the company, it is not only the bosses who are in demand, but above all the employees. Even the best quality management system is of no use if it is not lived and implemented by the employees in their daily work. The active involvement of employees in quality management is not only sensible, but also indispensable in view of the new DIN EN ISO 9001: 2015. This is because auditors now explicitly check whether the processes described in the quality management system are also implemented in practice. And here the human being, i.e. the employee, is the decisive factor. The coaching and consulting company reinert & friends, based in Besigheim (Baden-Württemberg), has developed a new concept: Process Optimization with TransferCoaching by Transfer Assurance. This concept focuses on the interaction of people and processes - for sustainable success and quality in the company.

Top management in charge

The new standard for quality management DIN EN ISO 9001: 2015 is relevant internationally and across all industries for companies of all sizes and must be implemented since 14 September 2018. For companies, this means that they must have all certifications that were created according to the old standard (DIN EN ISO 9001: 2008) renewed if they are to remain valid. With the revised standard, companies are faced with a number of decisive innovations and tightenings: Top management now has personal responsibility for quality management. Among other things, the new standard requires comprehensive process management. This also includes that expected results of the processes are determined in advance. Whether the results are achieved is checked in the audits, among other things.

DIN EN ISO 9001: 2015 focuses on the interaction between people and processes

"The problem is that in many places the new standard only says what has to be done, but does not explain how. This is where we come in with our process optimization through TransferCoaching. We take a close look at the processes within the company and see how we can optimize and stabilize them. In doing so, we also actively get the employees involved on board so that they become the basis of the change. Because only if they can identify with the process, they will live it in their daily work. And it is precisely this - the practical implementation - that is checked during the audits for QM certification," explains Marcus Reinert, trainer and owner of reinert & friends.

What is special about the transfer-proof concept from reinert & friends is that the focus is not only on the process, but above all on the person, i.e. the employee involved in the process. "Only people and process in perfect interaction result in success. That's why we carry out the process analysis together with all the employees involved and, based on this, work out an appropriate process design together with them," says Reinert. The entire process is controlled and supervised by process specialist Bernd Kühme.

Four-stage implementation

Process optimization with TransferCoaching is carried out in four steps. In the first step, the corporate strategy is transferred into a production and logistics strategy. This also takes into account DIN EN ISO 9001: 2015. It requires that quality management be integrated into the strategic orientation of the organization or company in the future. In a second step, the process specialist analyzes the processes in the company together with the employees concerned. Based on this, the respective processes are adapted and optimized in the third step. The jointly developed measures are recorded in a corresponding catalogue of measures. In the fourth stage of the process, so-called transfer specialists check that the employees also implement the newly developed measures in practice. They accompany the employees in their daily work, whether at the customer or in employee meetings, and give open, non-judgmental and constructive feedback to those involved in the process. In doing so, the transfer assurer adheres to the previously agreed observation corridors. In this way, errors are quickly identified and improved, and relapse into old patterns is prevented. "With TransferCoaching, we start exactly where it usually gets tricky: in the lived, daily practice," Reinert emphasizes.

Multiple benefits

For companies, process optimisation with TransferCoaching should be worthwhile in several respects, promises Reinert. Due to the practice-oriented approach, the concept sustainably secures the quality in the company, which is decisive for the certification according to the new quality management standard DIN EN ISO 9001: 2015. In addition, the new concept from reinert & friends saves time and money. This is because those involved in the process are involved in the analysis and process design from day one. This avoids the need for time-consuming and expensive training courses afterwards. The early involvement of the employees and their resulting high level of identification with the process also increases the implementation rate in practice. And last but not least: The transfer coaching integrated as part of the concept ensures practical know-how and thus sustainable learning success.

Further information: Reinert & friends