The process approach is recommended by all Management System Standards, and effective implementation is key to drive continual improvement.

Processes outline the basic steps needed to complete a task or achieve a certain outcome, and serve to keep things running smoothly and consistently. For those new to ISO Standards, it can be quite daunting to understand what this means in practice.

In this episode Ian Battersby explains what a process is in the context of Management systems, how to map processes and the different ways you can visualise a process for communications.

You'll learn

·      What is a Process?

·      Why are processes needed in Management Systems?

·      Why should you document your processes?

·      How do you map a process?

·      How can you display a process?

 

 

Resources

·      Isologyhub

·      ISO 9004

 

In this episode, we talk about:

[02:05 ] Episode Summary – Ian explains the importance of processes in Management systems, how you can effectively map processes and how you can visualise them for further communication.

[03:00 ] Why are processes so important for Management Systems? As ISO 9004 (Quality management - Quality of an organization - Guidance to achieve sustained success) states:-

"Organisations deliver value through activities connected within a network of processes. Processes often cross boundaries of functions within the organisation. Consistent and predictable results are achieved more effectively and efficiently when the network of It processes functions as a coherent system."

It doesn't propose a type of process.  All organisations are different.  But what it does say is that they should be viewed as a system rather than in isolation.

It's a key principle of Quality Management and of business, allowing an organisation to manage and control the way it delivers its activities, with predictable results.

[05:30 ] What is a process? Put simply, a process is a set of activities which achieve a specific outcome. Or, to put it another way, it's a series of detailed steps describing how to do a job.

[05:40 ] We should you document your processes?:

·      To show how to repeat tasks consistently, getting the same result every time

·      It guides people in how to do their jobs

·      To allow you to measure that outcomes are as expected

·      To provide for a structured approach to improvement

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