8.1 Operational Planning and Control in ISO 9001:2015– establishes the need for organizations to plan and control their operations to meet the requirements of the customer and themselves.
To fulfill this requirement, organizations shall identify and manage the processes necessary for the effective operation of the Quality Management System. This involves identifying processes, defining responsibilities, setting objectives and planning to achieve those goals.
The ISO 9001:2015 standard also determines that the organization implements adequate operational controls to guarantee the effectiveness of the processes. This includes documenting operating procedures, conducting monitoring and reviews to ensure processes are in compliance.
In general, 8.1 requirement the importance of planning, control and continuous improvement to ensure customer satisfaction and the effectiveness of the Quality Management System.
To really understand how this should be done correctly, requirement 8.1 Operational Planning and Control is broken down into 5 main items that should be considered when applying the requirement. So let’s see each one of them!
Requirement 8.1 Operational Planning and Control
The main objective of this requirement is to ensure that an organization’s operational means are properly structured to deliver adequate products or services to its public.
For this, the standard determines that the company must plan, implement and control the processes to implement the determined actions, which are:
a) determine the requirements for the products and services
The organization needs to commit to defining what kind of service or product it seeks to deliver to its customers and what they are looking for.
This is an essential step for planning and having operational control, as activities must be geared towards meeting the requirements determined by the customer.
b) establish criteria for processes and acceptance of products and services
It is important to establish benchmarks so that the effectiveness of the process can be measured.
At this point, it is also important to clearly define the characteristics of the service or product to be delivered within the service that the customer expects. For this, it is necessary to know what the criteria will be to assess whether the final delivery is correct or not.
c) determine the resources needed to achieve compliance with product and service requirements
Required features may vary depending on what your business offers customers. But for something to be executed, it is important to make a survey of all the resources that are available and those that will be necessary for the execution of a certain process.
In this topic, items such as raw materials, equipment, specialized professionals, infrastructure and all the necessary means are considered to be able to deliver the appropriate characteristics and the service/product within compliance to its customers.
d) implement process control according to the criteria
In addition to determining and establishing the criteria, you need to implement the process controls that you previously determined.
It is necessary to verify that the product or service is meeting the characteristics that were established and that the entire process is in compliance to deliver the best result to its customers.
It is also necessary to establish good ways of controlling the process to, in fact, understand that everything is being delivered as determined and not have problems with rework, for example.
e) determine and retain documented information to the extent necessary
Finally, the standard states that the organization needs to maintain or retain documented information to record that all criteria and planning are being met and controlled.
In this way, the company can guarantee the fulfillment of its work and demonstrate more confidence, as well as a positive view of its company to its customers. established from the beginning.
The standard also specifies the importance of controlling changes, whether planned or not, the company needs to assess the consequences of these changes. So that in this way the necessary measures and actions are taken to resolve and control these changes consciously.
In addition, the company must be careful to ensure that outsourced processes are controlled, to ensure that everything is within established compliance.
Planning and control are essential for your business
Therefore, through reading, we can see that 8.1 Operational Planning and Control is linked to the planning and control of processes and how this is essential for the functioning of an organization and the delivery of good results.
By planning and controlling these processes to meet needs, the organization establishes a solid foundation to satisfy its customers’ expectations and always seek continuous improvement of its service or product offered.
It is through the implementation of these requirements that the standard establishes that the company is capable of properly evaluating its processes, identifying opportunities for improvement and taking corrective actions when necessary.
So, planning and operational controls become essential to reduce your company’s risks and always be alert to take advantage of opportunities that may arise.
In this way, 8.1 Operational Planning and Control in ISO 9001:205 not only guarantees compliance with the requirements of the standard, but also contributes to the efficiency of the organization’s processes, increasing customer satisfaction and competitiveness in the market!
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