Do the evolutions and new concepts brought to ISO 9001 : 2015 help companies to review their quality management systems in a more efficient and valuable way? Case study at Brunswick Marine in EMEA

Abstract

Brunswick Marine in EMEA (BME) is a subsidiary of one of the largest American boat provider. Their main activities are to receive, store and distribute parts, accessories and boat engines. Our main area of focus for this thesis is the management of quality at BME. The company already has an established Quality Management System (QMS) that is certified to ISO 9001:2008. In September 2015, a new version of this norm was issued by the writing committee of ISO. Some evolutions and new concepts were added to previous requirements. As a result of this change, companies were given three years to implement new processes and modifications to their QMS. They must go through a transition phase to complete all requirements and receive their new ISO 9001:2015 certificate. The aim of this project is to propose an optimal transition plan for BME to take the best advantages of this new version of ISO 9001 and succeed their re-certification audit in January 2018. This transition plan will include the timing and adapted solutions to complete all gaps between the new version of the norm and the company’s QMS. To reach this goal, we started by analyzing in detail the new norm and the system in place at BME to provide a gap analysis specific to the company’s case. Then, we carried out a deep analysis on the major novelties of the standard. We proceeded to develop for each major new concept a detailed definition, their fit in the history and future of quality management and finally we enquired about business best practices to put them into practice. Altogether, we designed for each new requirement an optimal solution based on the analyzed information. As a result, we concluded that the novelties brought to ISO 9001 can definitely add some value to the company but with an important prerequisite. As we will demonstrate throughout this thesis, the way new concepts will be implemented, incorporated and maintained into the business practices of the company are the key success factors. Benefits will be seen only when all QMS actors accept the new processes and make them part of their daily work.