How to comply with new leadership

requirements in ISO 9001:2015

Author: Mark Hammar

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In many ways, the leadership requirements in the draft version of the 2015 update to ISO
9001 are not new. ISO 9001 has always had the leadership importance of top management as
one of the seven quality management principles that form the basis of the standard (learn
more about the ISO 9001:2015 revision). This is important, because without ongoing
management support of the Quality Management System (QMS) you are bound to run into
problems. If management is not on board with your system, your QMS will be in trouble.
For more on the quality management principles that are the foundation of ISO 9001, see this
blog article on Seven Quality Management Principles behind ISO 9001 requirements.
What are the leadership requirements in the new draft of
ISO 9001:2015?
Section 5 of the new standard is all about leadership, and most of these requirements are very
close or identical to those covered in the current version of the standard under the
management responsibility requirements. The first subsection is about the ways that top
management needs to demonstrate leadership and commitment with respect to the QMS, such
as being accountable for the effectiveness of the QMS, ensuring resources are available,
promoting continual improvement, and ensuring the Quality Policy and objectives are in
place and consistent with the goals of the organization and the QMS.
The other three subsections cover the need for customer focus, requirements for the Quality
Policy, and the organization’s roles, responsibilities, and authorities. These requirements all
have mirror requirements in the current standard, with minor modifications. The very
important role of top management to ensure that the QMS remains suitable, adequate, and
effective has not been reduced, even though some requirements, such as the role of Quality
Management System representative, have been removed. Top management still remains
important.
For more on what is happening with the quality management representative, read this article
on What will be the destiny of the management representative in the new ISO 9001:2015?
How can you meet the requirements?
As I have said, all of these requirements are very similar to what is already in place, so big
changes are not required in the way you have top management involved in the Quality
Management System. Here are some things that are important to show that top management
has a commitment to the Quality Management System:
 QMS effectiveness is measured, and management is involved in assessing this.
 The Quality Policy and objectives are in place per management direction, communicated
in the organization, and tracked for progress.
 The QMS is part of the business processes, not a side project.
 Resource needs are reviewed and addressed by management.
 Continual improvement is promoted and supported by management.
 There is a way to ensure customer, statutory, and regulatory requirements are understood
and met, and people understand why this is important.
 There is a management focus on customer satisfaction.
 Organizational roles, responsibilities, and authorities are assigned, understood by the
person who is assigned, and known to those employees who need to assess a person in a
certain role.

It is also important to note that the requirements for management review are still present in
the ISO 9001:2015 draft standard, so this significant method of feedback to top management
on the maintenance of the Quality Management System is still in place. This process
continues to have a central role in demonstrating that top management has a continuing
commitment to the QMS.

Involving top management isn’t optional

It has been said time and again, if you want your ISO 9001 Quality Management System to
be successful, you need management support. Why would you waste the time and money
required to implement a QMS, if other priorities are just going to take over the benefits that
could be gained if management supported the management system? Without management
support, a QMS will be overtaken by other priorities and the benefits from using continual
improvement to focus on customer needs will be lost. A management-supported QMS is a
successful QMS.