Lesson 3 - Quality Management SAQ

*Demonstrate how each of the following components of a QMS relates to good quality beer by explaining what they are and how they work.

Response:

a)    Quality policy

The quality policy sets out the commitment of the company to manage quality through a defined set of activities. It will state how quality is measured and it may list the procedures or component policies that it will use to achieve the level of quality required. If the basis of the QMS is ISO9001 then the policy will reference this. The quality policy will be related to the experience and satisfaction of its customers. Good beer = satisfied customers.

b)    Continuous improvement

Continuous improvement through the PDCA cycle is the improvement of the brewery’s quality performance on a continuous basis. Continuous improvement implies that what is an acceptable performance today will be a good performance in the future. And then the good performance will be transformed into a great performance by the next iteration. Improvement of processes allows tightening of specifications which drives consistency of products. Continuous improvement is applied to business and production processes to reduce quality defects and drive improvements in customer satisfaction. Satisfied customers = good beer (and good business)!

c)    Standard operating procedures

Standard operating procedures (SOP) are the instructions to the team members for quality. They are a set of actions which lead to getting the task right first time, rather like a recipe for meal. They are written according to the framework of the quality policy and procedures. Every quality-sensitive task will have an SOP to ensure the quality objectives are met. Training and assessment of staff is carried out according to SOPs. Competent staff are able to undertake tasks with a high level of success leading to in-spec products and satisfied customers.