ISO 9001 Process Map

4 Major Steps to Create a Process Map for ISO 9001

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If you want all of your quality processes to be easy to understand, follow, audit and maintain, you need to implement an ISO 9001 process map. In this article we will discuss four main steps to create a process map for ISO 9001.

Process Map Importance for ISO 9001

The effectiveness and success of your ISO 9001 certification or Quality Management System (QMS) depends on how consistent the best practices are incorporated into your operations. It all comes down to diligence and consistency. It is impossible to understand how processes are interconnected or to define their functional and geographical boundaries without consistency.

It has a snowball effect from there, as without understanding how business processes are interrelated, you cannot make accurate projections or benefit from the past. Without consistency and due diligence, it is impossible to establish reasonable goals and plans or continually improve the systems. Only with consistency and due diligence can you appropriately analyse your processes.

For consistency and diligence, you need to first capture the current state of your practices. Once you have a clear understanding of current practices, you can appropriately define and document your processes, keeping track of your records, people, and systems. Using a process map is the most viable option to understand your current operations.

A process map is a snapshot of how your current practices align with each other. It is a visual representation of how different processes are interconnected and how processes merge to form your entire organization.

Importance of ISO 9001 Process Map

What is the benefit of ISO 9001 Process Map

There are several benefits of utilising an ISO 9001 process map, including:

  • Whenever you implement an improvement activity, the process map can help you track its progress.
  • The efficiency of your QMS relies on documentation, and process maps make documentation easy to understand because documentation is nothing but a mirror of your processes. As processes become more straightforward, your documentation becomes easier to read, comprehend, retain, and access.
  • It makes it easier to track process inputs and outputs.
  • Using a process map can help you understand activities and delegate responsibilities.
  • It helps you comprehend pathways, parallel processes and process loops, improving efficiency and removing redundancies.
  • It helps to create accurate, measurable, attainable, realistic and feasible decision points.
  • It helps to align with critical measures and metrics from objectives and targets.
  • Most importantly, it helps to understand interaction with other processes.

One of the other benefits of the ISO 9001 process map is that it reduces ISO 9001 certification cost by removing unnecessary steps in the implementation procedure.

Benefits of ISO 9001 Process Map

 

How to Create an ISO 9001 Process Map?

First of all, you need to know what is the ISO 9001 meaning to understand all the details of this certificate in order to create a better process map for it. Depending on your scope and goals, a process map can represent an entire process at a high level, or a low-level map connecting departments. High or detailed level allows detailed analysis and optimization of the process, while low level maps can help with planning. In addition, process maps are an ideal instructional tool that can be used to ensure process consistency and effective training.

Once the process map has been defined, the organization can work to ensure that its processes are effective. Start by defining your organization’s core processes. Traditionally, lengthy procedures have not served your quality management system well, so the process map should focus on simplicity. When creating process maps, keep in mind that they should be easy to follow and readily available. Play with brain strength, recognize and recall patterns, break a complex system into a simple step-by-step activity. Remember to make it visually intuitive, as it is easy to identify inconsistent and open processes when placed on a graphical model.

A process map will usually include the following:

  • The planning processes.
  • The resources, including people, equipment and infrastructure.
  • The operation processes, such as purchasing from suppliers, work schedule, production, customer service, et cetera.
  • The support processes, including document control, record management and equipment calibration.
  • Measurement analysis and improvement processes, such as processes for customer complaints, audits, corrective actions, preventive actions and system reviews.
The Procedure of Creating an ISO 9001 Process Map

4 Major Steps to Create a Process Map for ISO 9001

A process map is only effective if it is consistent and customized to your organization’s unique circumstances. Therefore, the process map will reflect your processes. A smart way to create a four-step process map is to use the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle. By following these steps, you can use the benefits of ISO 9001 to improve your organization in all aspects.

Planning Phase

In the planning phase, you can quantify business planning and planning for quality through the objectives.

Do Phase

In the do phase, the customer requirements, the processes related to the plant and equipment, documented information, and your people should be grouped together.

Check Phase

The monitoring and measurement processes, internal auditing, and management reviews obtained from the previous phase should be analysed in the check phase. ISO 9001 audit should be analysed, too.

Act Phase

In the final, namely the act phase, non-conformances should be checked, corrective actions should be implemented, and processes for continual improvement should be accommodated. Using the option of ISO 9001 consultancy, makes it easier for your organisation to obtain ISO 9001.

Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle in ISO 9001 Process Map

Create ISO 9001 Process Map With Edara Systems

A process map is a visual representation of the relationships between your quality processes. To create an ISO 9001 process map in four steps, use the PDCA cycle. If you need help at different stages of the creating process mapĀ  or have questions about ISO 9001, contact us. Simply fill out the form that appears on this page and we will contact you.

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