Quality Management System (QMS)

• What Is a Quality Management System?
  • Automation of Quality Management Processes
• Examples of Standards Implemented by a QMS
• Creating a QMS and Methodologies – Video Guide
  • How Methodologies and the QMS Are Developed
  • Purchasing a Ready-Made Methodology?
• More Information About the QMS

What Is a Quality Management System?

A Quality Management System (QMS; Czech SMJ or ISMJ) is a tool for standardizing the way work is performed and for guiding employees to use proven and well-established procedures and tools.

In addition to standardization, a QMS explicitly defines a set of mandatory processes, including the obligation to monitor and evaluate quality. Virtually all quality standards assume that organizations have a system in place for task management and activity tracking. This is precisely where AyMINE significantly simplifies your work.

Automation of Quality Management Processes

The automation of all processes pursues a single goal: to carry out as much work as possible automatically and to organize the remaining activities so that they run smoothly and require minimal effort.Automation in AyMINE collects all required evidence, monitors deadlines and compliance with other requirements, and ensures task management in full alignment with defined working procedures.AyMINE integrates task management with QMS administration, as tasks in AyMINE are derived directly from QMS documentation.

The image below illustrates all elements that belong to quality management (click to navigate to a page describing the individual components in detail):

The methodology itself is not a single document, but a structured set of objects, one of which may be a policy.

Examples of Standards Implemented by a QMS

A QMS typically implements selected standards that are relevant and meaningful for the organization.

• Quality Management System according to ISO 9001 – no QMS can exist without it or one of its variants
• Project methodology based on ISO 26262 / Automotive SPICE; PMBOK or PRINCE2 are also frequently used, although they are not ISO standards, they serve a similar purpose
• IT management system in accordance with ITIL

Standards provide the process framework; however, the core of a QMS consists of high-quality methodological procedures. These are defined by process owners, typically managers. Examples of such methodological procedures include:

• Handling of non-standard accounting cases (e.g. advance payments)
• Handling of helpdesk requests – helpdesk methodology (appropriate response to employee needs and to identified or reported incidents)
• Complaint handling procedures (standardized approaches to recurring customer issues)

The complete set of obligations, policies, and other components together forms a methodology. For practical reasons, methodologies are grouped according to their intended purpose, for example:

• Project management methodology
• Helpdesk methodology
• Administrative department methodology

Each methodology is owned by the head of the respective division or department. The QMS provides the overarching framework for all methodologies.

Creating a QMS and Methodologies – Video Guide

Training on how to create methodologies is available in video form. You can watch the complete video here. The AyMINE system is continuously evolving, so the video may not reflect the latest state in every detail, but it clearly demonstrates the core principles.

How Methodologies and the QMS Are Developed

Each methodology may contain all required types of records. The methodology workspace shows records currently in progress, while the complete methodology consists of all records ranging from policies to working procedures.Work on a methodology typically starts either from an obligation (external standards and regulations) or from a practical need (problems to be solved).

When starting from an obligation, the process begins with a policy that translates the requirement into organizational conditions, followed by templates, working procedures, and recommendations.When starting from a need, the first step is a working procedure that addresses the identified requirement. Either a relevant policy already exists and the working procedure is created in compliance with it, or individual procedures are collected and general principles are subsequently consolidated into a policy.

Example of an ISO 26262 Methodology

The image below shows a preview of a project methodology based on ISO 26262 that is currently under development:

Purchasing a Ready-Made Methodology?

A methodology may also be acquired from an external provider. In this case, you do not create the methodology yourself but only use it. Even then, it is essential to carefully review where it meets your requirements and where it does not.Certified standards and frameworks (e.g. ISO 9001, partially ITIL) are designed to define requirements rather than specific procedures. Commercial methodologies, on the other hand, often define detailed procedures as well. Therefore, they must be approached differently than purely normative frameworks and adapted to ensure effective operation within your organization.

AyMINE provides methodologies for a wide range of standards. It is always assumed that you will adapt them—or that we will assist you in tailoring them—to meet your specific needs.

More Information About the QMS

• Learn more about methodologies and their importance for quality management here
• Records that make up quality management systems – corporate methodologies
• Keywords help you automate your work based on the methodology