10 Benefits of Lean Management

10 Benefits of Lean Management

ISO Certification for Tenders

You’ve probably heard of lean management. But are you aware of just how much implementing it can benefit your company? Perhaps not. But we’re about to change that.

Here’s why you should integrate lean management into your business.

The 10 Benefits of Lean Management

Table of Contents

Improved Quality Control

Quality control goes hand-in-hand with productivity. You can’t really change one without the other. Lean management systems help your organisation to realise that quality control should be one of your top priorities. Upon implementation, you will undoubtedly reach a stage where our second point (reduced waste) naturally happens.

Reduced Waste

Many businesses struggle with exorbitant waste. However, the more problematic companies don’t realise they have this issue. This mindset is harmful but with lean management, waste is considered by employees on every level. Your company will see waste reduction almost immediately.

Boost Team Morale

There’s no doubt about; businesses working under lean management have higher employee satisfaction rates. The reason for this is the improved trust and communication lines between management and staff that open under this system. Not only does better team morale benefit the individuals, but it’s also known to increase productivity across the board.

Enhanced Efficiency

Arguably, improved efficiency is one of the more noticeable effects of lean management. You’ll see this improvement in different ways depending on the method you use to measure progress and success.

Better Stakeholder Visibility

Stakeholders like to clearly see how a project is going, as well as any associated risks. With lean management, communication and reporting are improved, thus allowing stakeholders a better view of the project.

Predictable Customer Value

Lean management focuses on the customer’s opinion first and foremost. Over time, clients will come to know the high-quality outcomes they can expect when working with you. This is essential for ensuring consistent satisfaction and building a strong, positive reputation.

Decreased Costs

By cutting production throughput, decreasing inventories, and eliminating unnecessary waste, your organisation’s costs will drastically decrease. By how much? This system has been known to cut manufacturing costs by up to half.

Improved Priority Shift Management

Just like life, legislation and customer viewpoints change all the time. To keep up with this continuous adaptation, your business must shift its priorities. Otherwise, you’ll be working toward worn-out ideas that will not only decrease customer satisfaction but also increase your costs.

Increased Process Stability

Under lean management, your business can begin to focus more on deviation management and exploring solutions to remove them. When you first start working this way, it might feel counter-productive. However, it’s worth implementing a deviation management process in the first phase to use lean to its full advantage.

Adopt an Improvement Culture

Overall, lean management allows your company to focus on continuous improvement instead of maintenance. This new way of working means that your employees will always be looking for ways to better themselves for the team — yes, every day. You’ll see an overwhelming advancement in all aspects of your business over time.

Interested in implementing a lean project within your organisation?

Our lean programme, which attracts 95% funding, has run for over 20 years throughout the UK and has been applied to nearly every industry. To date the programme has identified in excess of £65m in benefits across 650+ companies.

Talk to us today to see how the programme can assist your business.

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At RKMS we are determined to make a business run as efficiently as possible. Will that next business be yours?

Related Resources

Do you want us to take care of your fire compliance? H&S compliance? ISO certification? training? human resources?

At RKMS we are determined to make a business run as efficiently as possible. Will that next business be yours?

John Keen
Apart from work John enjoys sports (football, karate & walking) as well as travel & spending time with friends & grandchildren.

Do you want us to take care of your fire compliance? H&S compliance? ISO certification? training? human resources?

At RKMS we are determined to make a business run as efficiently as possible. Will that next business be yours?

What is ISO 9001:2015?

What is ISO 9001:2015?

What is ISO 9001:2015?

Found yourself wondering what ISO 9001 is? Can’t quite figure out whether it’s right for your organisation? Whatever aspect of ISO 9001 you’re interested in, you’ve found the right place.

We’re going to look at the what, the why, and the history of the elusive ISO 9001.

Let’s start with the “what”.

What is ISO 9001:2015?

ISO 9001 is the international standard for any quality management system (otherwise known as a QMS). To become “ISO 9001 Certified” your business has to meet the specific criteria stated in the ISO 9001 Standard.

Organisations use it to prove to their customers that they provide reliable, high-quality products, or services and that they’re willing to continuously improve their offerings.

A More In-Depth Look at ISO 9001:2015

While there are a lot of documents in the ISO 9000 Family of Standards, the only one requiring any kind of certification is the ISO 9001.

Generally speaking, an entire company will look to gain the certificate. However, the scope of the standard can be changed by a particular department.

Currently, the version that you need to adhere to is ISO 9001:2015. Here are some useful points to note as you move on to learn even more about this standard:

  • There is no “ISO 9000 Certificate”. Only the ISO 9001 certificate exists.
  • It’s not a membership group or entity. You can’t simply sign up. Instead, your organisation will need to do the following:
        • Take steps to include the ISO 9001 quality management system in your organisation.
        • Allow a Certification Body to audit your organisation against the ISO 9001 requirements.
        • If you pass this audit, you’ll be given registration for three years. You have to re-register after that.

The ISO 9001:2015 Requirements

In ISO 9001, there are 10 clauses that your organisation’s or department’s QMS (Quality Management System) must adhere to in order to gain certification.

These sections are extremely detailed and can vary depending on the industry. However, we’ll look at the basic overview of each clause so you can gain a better understanding of the criteria.

  • Scope — Defines the scope of the current 9001 standard including a list of all requirements.
  • References — Lists the standards supported by the current 9001.
  • Terms — Defines the terms used throughout the standard.
  • Context — Relates to how your organisation determines the objectives and scope of your QMS.
  • Leadership — Refers to how leadership is responsible for communicating the quality procedures.
  • Planning— Addresses opportunities, quality objectives, changes, and risks.
  • Support — The resources required for the QMS and ensures all employees are aware of all relevant information.
  • Operation — Relates to the plan and control procedures required to meet the right standards for services/products.
  • Evaluation — To qualify for ISO 9001, your company must use your QMS to effectively monitor and analyse the QMS itself as well as the business processes.
  • Improvement — Everything pertaining to continuous improvement. 

Now you’re more aware of the ins and outs of ISO 9001, let’s take a look at its origin.

A Brief History of the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System

The ISO 9001 standard can be traced back to the 1950s when both the UK and US governments started implementing standards for the military. At this stage, the standard was only used for large companies supplying the military to ensure a specific quality was always met.

This led to the creation of mutual recognition within the defence industry. What was this called? The NATO AQAP and MIL-Q.

In 1979, the BS5750, a quality management system standard, was created. This proved to be incredibly successful and eventually led to the first ISO 9001 standard being passed in 1987.

Since that time, the standard has been reviewed once every 5 to 8 years, just to ensure that it still meets the current international business environment.

Who is ISO 9001:2015 for?

Essentially, ISO 9001:2015 is for any organisation that wants to give its customers proof that they can work to a consistently high standard.

Having said this, you need to make sure you follow these guidelines to be eligible:

  • A single person can’t gain certification. It must be a company that seeks qualification.
  • The size of the organisation doesn’t matter.
  • The industry doesn’t matter.
  • It is not a standard that relates to products. It doesn’t prove product quality. Instead, it’s used to control your company’s processes. 

As long as you fit these requirements, ISO 9001 is for you!

The Benefits of ISO 9001:2015

The standard has proved to be beneficial not only for your company but for your customers too. The advantages that ISO consultancy support can provide to help you gain certification are seemingly limitless so it’s wise to familiarise yourself with at least a few of them.

The Benefits of ISO 9001:2015 for your Company

We’ll start with the benefits for your company.

1. Efficiency and Revenue Increase

The standard allows you to focus on the quality of your processes and procedures to increase the end result. Your revenue will boost due to this new-found efficiency.

2. Better Record Keeping

ISO 9001 ensures all your processes are recorded from the beginning to the end. This will help you deal with complaints easily and streamline your procedures.

3. Keep Improving

Since trend analysis is a huge part of ISO 9001, you will be better able to continuously improve your company. In turn, this will give you even greater profits.

4. Boost Employee Morale

The standard allows you to focus on the quality of your processes and procedures to increase the end result. Your revenue will boost due to this new-found efficiency.

The Benefits of ISO 9001:2015 for your Customers

1. Fewer Reasons for Returns

With ISO 9001, you will be able to spot and resolve problems quickly, meaning the customer won’t ever have to know. Thus, stopping them from returning products or requesting refunds.

2. Improved Customer Relationships

The standard sets out ways for your company to increase the quality of the relationships you hold between customers or shareholders. This improves the chances of having returning customers.

Final Thoughts

It’s safe to say that ISO 9001 is an in-depth standard that can take a while to wrap your head around. You’ll have gained a great deal of understanding here but be sure to delve deeper to find out exactly how your organisation can qualify.

Do you want us to take care of your ISO 9001 journey?

At RKMS we have over 25 years worth of experience in assisting companies achieve ISO 9001 with a 100% success rate. All our consultants are IRCA lead auditors so we know exactly what the auditors want to see.

Share

Do you want us to take care of your fire compliance? H&S compliance? ISO certification? training? human resources?

At RKMS we are determined to make a business run as efficiently as possible. Will that next business be yours?

Related Resources

Do you want us to take care of your fire compliance? H&S compliance? ISO certification? training? human resources?

At RKMS we are determined to make a business run as efficiently as possible. Will that next business be yours?

John Keen
Apart from work John enjoys sports (football, karate & walking) as well as travel & spending time with friends & grandchildren.

Do you want us to take care of your fire compliance? H&S compliance? ISO certification? training? human resources?

At RKMS we are determined to make a business run as efficiently as possible. Will that next business be yours?