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Used by organizations around the world, our templates have been successfully audited and certified by Registrars & Certification Bodies such as: UKAS, DNV, Lloyds Register, BSI, DNV, BM Trada, LRQA as well as hundreds of independent external auditors.
Used by Thousands of Companies Worldwide
Written in International English, bought by small businesses, big brands and individuals our templates have been sold online and CD since 2002.
Used by:
The Templates are used by first timers following our step-by-step, clause-by-clause guidance documents; and experienced Quality Managers wishing to streamline and improve their existing documentation.
Everything You Need To Achieve ISO 9001 Certification
Whether this is your very first ISO 9001 implementation or you are transitioning from 9001:2008 to 9001:2015, our fully-editable, comprehensive quality manual templates contain the procedures, forms, reports, process maps, audit checklists, and more that you need to achieve certification.
Simply put, this is the only tool you need for all things ISO 9001.
Some companies don’t mind shelling out thousands of dollars to consultants do conduct their reviews for them. Others, like yours, want to bootstrap the process as much as possible. But all too often, saving money by staying in-house ends up costing much more time.
Sure, you could spend hours scouring the web to piecemeal together everything you need for your ISO 9001 implementation.
Or worse, you could try to create it all from scratch.
But what if instead, you decided to work smarter not harder by using the same all-inclusive quality manual template that small businesses and large corporations have been using since 2002 to get the job done right.
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Our ISO 9001:2015 Quality Manual Templates contain everything you need to create your own quality manual and get the certification you desire. However, to take it one step further, we also offer clause-by-clause interpretation (see sample) and guidance on Documented Information, Internal Audits, Management Reviews and Quality Policy & Objectives; so you can see exactly what you need to do to achieve compliance.
These 88 pages take all the guesswork out of completing your ISO 9001 so that you can get down to business as efficiently and effectively as possible.
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ISO 9001 Quality Manual ~ Everything You Need to Know
A quality manual documents an organization’s quality management system (QMS). The Quality Manual demonstrates the commitment to meeting customer expectations delivering quality products or services.
The quality manual is usually the first document created during the process of establishing a Quality Management System (QMS) for the ISO standard. It can then be used as a guidebook for your organization to follow when implementing the QMS.
More specifically, a quality manual “states the company’s intentions for operating the processes within the Quality Management System.” The manual includes information about the organization’s goals, expectations, policies, and more. The manual also includes requirements needed for the organization to be compliant with the ISO 9001 standard.
Many organizations are faced with the question of whether or not it’s worth trying to develop such a seemingly complicated document for their business. This is because a quality manual is not usually a requirement of most Quality Management Systems.
ISO 9001 standards also states that a Quality Manual is not required — it is not a mandatory document.
Learn more about the ISO 9001 requirements and mandatory documents.
However, many businesses opt to write one as it really is useful and has many benefits; it keeps management accountable, communicates to employees and business partners, as well as keeping the QMS in-line with ISO 9001 standards.
The quality manual provides a wide range of benefits for organizations. Not only is it organized and easy to follow, but it also covers almost everything you and your employees will need to know about the ISO 9001 standard and what is expected of your quality management system.
Some of the other benefits the manual offers organizations includes:
The manual is primarily used as a source of information regarding your quality management system and ISO certification. However, it also provides the following information:
No.
The size and complexity of your organization and its individual processes will determine the volume of information required to successfully convey how the quality system works and what controls are in place to manage each process.
We've prepared 10-page quality manuals and others with more than 150 pages. Each manual was certified because it met the requirements not because they were a certain page length.
Most quality manuals are typically 30 or 40 pages in length. Our quality manual template addresses these requirements in 20 pages of text, while the procedures (seperate documents) carry the burden of defining how compliance is achieved at an operational level.
PRO TIP! Ask your business partners, suppliers and customers for a PDF copy of their quality manual if they are ISO 9001 certified. It might be useful to go through these with your colleagues (Boss / Top Management) — particularly those new to ISO 9001. It will help manage their expectations.
Length is always tricky for a quality manual. You don’t want to overwhelm readers with a ton of information, but you also want to ensure that all of the most important areas of your manual are covered, so there is no confusion left by the end.
It is recommended to try to keep your quality manual on the shorter side, as it will do a better job of keeping attention spans longer. Also, you may add certain features to help provide understanding or information about your organization, such as a mission statement.
We recommend to clients they gather and review a number of relevant quality manuals before starting their documentation.
1. Ask your business partners, suppliers and customers for a PDF copy of their quality manual.
2. Download a sample of our Quality Manual PDF.
3. Search online.
There are many quality manual examples available online - some good, some poor... so you need to be careful and use your best judgement. Here are some TIPS:
Although ISO 9001 quality manuals are unique to each organization, they all follow the same ISO requirements — thus a template is ideal. Some of the more common ISO templates include:
Many online Quality Manual Templates include other useful tools for ISO certification, such as Internal Audit tools, a Gap Analysis tool, Project Plan etc.
Quality management system templates are widely available for any and every business that may want a helping hand in getting their system up and running. You may feel that a template is not for you and will not fit your organization — but your really should consider them, they bring plenty of benefits.
In the beginning, there is a lot of time and attention required in learning all that goes into a quality management system. Generally, it takes more than one person to research and figure out what is required of your business and how to get everything started. Using a template gives you a fantastic starting point, allowing you to jump right into the process rather than spending time worrying about how to go about it.
When it comes to implementing a ISO 9001, there are requirements which apply to your business and some which do not. Having a template that already spells out the requirements for you will make it that much easier to take away the ones that don't apply.
Documenting your quality management system can be a long process that requires a lot of time from any business. Small businesses don't always have a lot of extra time as they have fewer employees to dedicate solely to the implementation process. Using templates can jump-start the process and save you a lot of time in putting everything together on your own.
Using templates to set up a quality management system can save you time but also money. Using fewer hours at the start is a great way to cut costs.
On top of that, you won't have to hire an outside consultant to make sure you are doing everything correctly. Figuring out your quality management system in-house is a cheaper option, and a template makes that process faster and easier to get through.
Small businesses may not have the same kind of manpower that a large scale company boasts. Every employee is crucial to the success of the business and has their own part of everything to focus on. When you use a quality management system template, it takes away some of the load that might be placed on your employees. By already having a framework in place, there is less work for everyone to do.
In the beginning, implementing a quality management system can feel like too big of a change to wrap your mind around. This is a big concern for small businesses that don't want to rock the boat too hard and risk it capsizing.
Using a quality manual template gives you a solid foundation to start building that change on. You don't have to worry so much that everything will topple over when you know what you are building on is already proven to work.
For any business, consistency is key. A quality manual template helps to prevent anything from getting out of line by giving you a foundation for everything within your system.
Having this foundation means that no matter who is involved in the quality management system will follow the same approach. You don't have to worry about everyone doing things their own way when they have a guide to follow.
5 More Reasons to Use a Quality Management System Template
How Can a QMS Template Help My Small Business?
The ISO 9001 standard and requirements are very clear. It is therefore easier for all involved (internal and external — such as business partners, suppliers, as well as ISO auditors) if the quality manual’s table of contents is similar to or mirrors the requirements. As such, we recommend:
The quality manual contents will be the same, no matter what industry you're in. If you're a small one-man engineering business or a large manufacturing, ISO 9001's requirements are the same; the difference will be in your operating procedures.
Our Quality Manual Template is proven to work.
The introduction of the quality manual introduces you to both the ISO 9001 standard and the Scope of the manual itself. The quality management principles section will cover the core principles that drive ISO 9001 operations, in addition to your quality management system.
You should include the boundaries of the new quality management system in your quality manual. Mention the types of products or services your organization offers, in addition to the industry you work in.
Learn more about how to write your scope
Also, make sure you mention exclusions for your business, rather than omitting them entirely. Some ISO 9001:2015 requirements, for example, may not apply to your specific organization, such as Clause 7.3 Design and Development.
This section of the quality manual offers a glossary of terms that will be mentioned throughout the remainder of the manual.
The context of the organization section has a lot of information discussing various types of issues that may arise while implementing or updating the quality management system. This section also features strategies that can help overcome such issues.
Internal issues are problems found within the organization itself. Some internal problems can be related to the following:
A SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threat Analysis) can be performed by an organization in order to get a baseline of where they stand in comparison to where they want to be after implementing the new QMS.
The results from a SWOT analysis also helps provide insight into what an organization’s current internal values are, which can include:
External issues are problems that exist outside of your organization and can be much more challenging to overcome. External problems are usually associated with requirements that need to be met within your industry, in technology, globalization, and more.
Similar to how SWOT is used for internal issues, a PESTLE analysis (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental Analysis), is used to assess external forces that can affect your organization. The PESTLE analysis can also help businesses understand their target market and improve growth.
Your adopted quality management system should use both the SWAT and PESTLE analysis to continue monitoring potential internal or external conflicts.
Leadership is one of the biggest principles expressed by the ISO 9001 standard. This is who is responsible for making sure that the development and implementation of the policies regarding your quality management system are going according to plan.
Top Management are responsble for overseeing and implementing your organization’s new QMS and control of documents. Some of their responsibilities will include directing strategies and providing communication in processes and performance.
They will also need to make sure that resources for ISO implementation are allocated to areas that need more focus on improvement and responsibilities are distributed to the right people or departments.
For example, leadership may need to ensure that the quality manager has all of the necessary resources — such as finances or technology — to initiate processes and complete them successfully.
In the PDCA (plan-do-check-act) cycle, there are four different phases necessary for leaders to go through. These steps are:
The governance structure of an organization is also a large part of the quality manual’s leadership chapter. This section of the manual should discuss what the company defines as “proper support” in order to make sure processes are able to complete objectives under the ISO 9001 standards of quality.
The governing leaders of the organization will also be responsible for verifying the system itself, usually through the form of internal audits and reviewing data.
Leaders with this responsibility should look at current trends as well as looking out for risks that the organization should plan to overcome. Most importantly they should continuously monitor the effectiveness of the QMS system in addition to any improvements or success it achieves.
This next chapter in the quality manual is focused on management system planning. In order to have success in this area, there are a number of features to assess, including internal and external connections, risks/issues, successes, and opportunities that may arise.
The best QMS will consider maintaining a balance between the number of risks versus opportunities available from certain processes. This balance must be managed internally in order to achieve effectiveness.
Risks and opportunities will need to be reviewed in the following contexts:
The risk evaluation cycle is one way for leaders to assess risks regularly. The cycle includes the following steps:
Following this cycle will help your organization actively recognize problems before they become problems and create proactive strategies to combat them.
Top Management is responsible for ensuring that a risk-based style of thinking is implemented within your organization. They are in charge of establishing procedures and planning around risk management and make sure that your organization’s principles are included in your quality management system.
Top Management will also be expected to provide the resources necessary to cover any processes within their departments, as well as planning and assigning responsibilities for ISO certification.
The next chapter that is covered in the quality manual is support. Support can come in many forms, including customer support, financial support, and even human resources. The goal of support is to ensure improvements are made in some of the following areas:
The biggest area of focus in this section is customer satisfaction, which is critical to any company’s success. Without customer satisfaction, your business risks profit losses in addition to a reduced customer base and market. On the positive side, having good customer satisfaction leads to higher spending, more frequent customers; in addition to an increased chance of bringing in new customers. This will eventually result in higher profits.
General support includes resources such as human resources and financial resources, as well as the working environment. Making sure your employees are satisfied with their work environment is important. With comfort, efficiency, and productivity in the workplace, your employees will produce more quality products and services. Your customers will thank you later!
Job descriptions are designed to include all of the qualifications and experience your organization requires from ideal candidates for a specific position. Descriptions also include a general list of responsibilities that come with the role. Creating an accurate job description will help you filter out candidates much more effectively, saving time and effort both for applicants and hiring managers.
One reason why human resources is required in the hiring process is that they often hold records for employee qualifications. They also have documentation surrounding training materials new employees will need in order to perform their roles effectively and efficiently. Having human resources involved makes the hiring process go more smoothly.
Organizations need building blocks and blueprints to be successful, and that is exactly what the infrastructure section of the quality manual does a great job of covering.
Providing necessary resources to departments and maintaining them are important for a successful working environment, whether it be physical workspaces or software. Quality managers and facility managers will often be the brains behind this process, responsible for making sure operations are completed successfully.
Managing operations is one of the hardest parts of implementing a new quality management system, as it requires a lot of time and energy to ensure its success. While your organization plans operations, certain operation details will need to be reviewed, including:
Meeting customer requirements is crucial. As mentioned earlier, making sure that customers are satisfied with what they receive from your business — whether it be a product or service — is important to a company’s success.
Customer complaints should be documented and fed into the continuous improvement process or control of nonconforming process.
In fact, the ISO recommends that your customers’ expectations should be exceeded to ensure continual growth and success.
Keeping communication active between your organization and customers will help improve satisfaction and help reduce any concerns they may have. The customer service team and the sales and marketing department are both responsible for ensuring a line of communication always exists between you and the customer. There are many ways you can maintain communication with customers, including:
Of course, with emerging new technology and social media, it is important for organizations to keep up-to-date with how your customers would like to communicate with you. Make it easy for them using the channel they best prefer.
Owners are always anxious to see performance evaluations. However, it is important to review your business’s performance rate routinely, so you know which facets of your quality management system are working correctly — and which aren’t, so you can make improvements later.
There are various methods of developing and responding to performance evaluation, including looking trends that occur in non-conformities, creating and implementing corrective actions and reviewing requirements set out by both the QMS and ISO 9001.
We’ve talked about customer satisfaction quite a bit already, but this is next up on the list for the requirements of ISO and should be part of your documentation and records.
Your rating should be monitored monthly, at the very least. Various analysis techniques can be applied to review the data. Feedback — Failure or Success should be followed-up with customer communication.
As mentioned before, customer satisfaction directly effects sales and profit — which should always be your goal for growing the business.
Last, but not least, in the quality manual — the last of the mandatory requirements, we have improvement. The quality manager is one of the more important roles involved in this section, responsible for using evaluation tools to assess the QMS and develop recommendations for improvements.
Your organization should also make sure that the data that is analyzed is relevant to your QMS and relates to both short-term and long-term improvement.
The ISO 9001 quality manual ends on the note of non-conformities and discussing corrective actions that can address them. Any non-conformities found are brought to the attention of the quality manager. The records from these findings are then logged alongside recommendations for corrective actions to resolve them.
There are many types of data inputs that could relate to the success of your QMS, including supplier performance, internal and external audit results, and evaluation of risks and opportunities. The quality manager often checks these data inputs as they become available.
If there are changes required to ensure that there is continual improvement in your organization’s processes, the quality manager may recommend a series of corrective actions that will need to be performed before your next audit or performance evaluation. The success that stems from these corrective actions will be assessed through the management review process.
Now that you have a better idea of what the quality manual looks like and what it generally includes, it is now up to you to customize it to fit your business.
In order to make sure your quality manual fits the requirements from your quality management system or ISO 9001, your quality manual should:
We use the same numbering sequence as ISO 9001 in our quality manuals. You are free to replace these with a system that works best for your staff and for the business — as long as the system is logical, documented and communicated, it should be more than adequate.
We find it easier for external auditors during certification audits if it is the same as ISO standards. The lead auditor and other internal auditors often comment it is easier for documentation and records to have the same number and sequence as the requirements of ISO 9001.
When implementing ISO, you will need to document the procedures involved in your quality management system, including:
You also need to document your main operating procedures or processes for your QMS.
Learn more about the ISO 9001 mandatory procedures
Some companies recommend documenting lots of operating procedures — some Quality Manual Templates include more than 40 procedures! Our advice is to NOT make life so complicated for yourself, there is no need to document all these procedures, keep it simple and document fewer. Our ISO 9001 Quality Manual Template for example, comes with 10 procedures; this Template is suitable for all business types, large and small.
ISO 9000:2015 (3.4.5) defines a procedure as a specified way to carry out an activity or a process. With this in mind, businesses often risk becoming overburdened with too many procedures that document each business activity. This cumbersome methodology detracts from the 'process approach' that is a central theme in ISO 9001:2015.
No matter how large or small your organization, by documenting the mandatory QMS processes, our documented procedures provide what you need to generate the records needed to ensure the effective operation and control of your organization's QMS and its processes. Our templates fulfill all the requirements of ISO 9001:2015.
Free download - Control of Calibrated Equipment procedure (ISO 9001)
The above free download will give you an idea of the current level of documentation required for an ISO 9001 procedure.
Some ISO consultants and professionals recommend documenting many, many processes and procedures, we see some Templates with over 40 procedures!
We do not agree with this. It is not necessary to document all your business processes to achieve ISO 9001.
Do not create too much documented information with too many procedures. You are going to be creating more work for yourself and everybody. It is going to take more time and it is going to cost more money.
Represented by a flow chart, this description helps showcase each and every process within your company and how each one is connected to the other. This really is quite beneficial, as it does a great job of tying everything up and providing clarity if there is still any confusion left.
The description also makes the processes clear and concise to employees as well, which is important in ensuring they understand how to perform their tasks efficiently.
The process map image is too big to insert here, Sorry!
Free downloads - 4 example process maps
Ensure your documents are easy to read and understand, do not use jargon specific to your industry. Write in a professional, informative and concise manner. Use short, broken up sentences, with informing large images.
Finally, your manual should be presented in a professional manner. Use your branding for the design and layout (this is where Templates that use styles, such as ours, are ideal). Distribute in PDF format, always with the date and/or version number in the filename or metadata.
If you find that your organization is struggling to create a quality manual, consider these tips:
Whether your business is looking to better satisfy ISO 9001 requirements or simply needs a way to ease the transition to a new quality management system, a quality manual can help. Although it seems complicated to create the documentation at first, it is quite straightforward to do with the right template in hand.
Further ISO 9001 Documentation
Updated: 5th September 2020
Author: Richard Keen
Richard is our Compliance Director, responsible for content & product development.
But most importantly he is ISO's biggest fanboy and a true evangelist of the standards.
Learn more about Richard
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