ISO 9001 7.2 Competence

In ISO 9001 7.2 Competence focuses on ensuring that all personnel performing work that affects the quality of products and services are competent to carry out their tasks. This requires the organizations to determine, provide and maintain all the necessary competence for the employees whose certain activities have an impact on the Quality Management System (QMS).

In this blog post we will be discussing the following:

· Determining Competence Needs

· Ensuring Competence

· Evaluating Effectiveness

· Maintaining Documentation

· Benefits of 7.2

International Organization for Standardization. ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems – Requirements:

7.2 Competence

The organization shall:

a) determine the necessary competence of person(s) doing work under its control that affects the performance and effectiveness of the quality management system;

b) ensure that these persons are competent on the basis of appropriate education, training, or experience;

c) where applicable, take actions to acquire the necessary competence, and evaluate the effectiveness

of the actions taken;

d) retain appropriate documented information as evidence of competence.

NOTE Applicable actions can include, for example, the provision of training to, the mentoring of, or the re-assignment of currently employed persons; or the hiring or contracting of competent persons.

Determining Competence Needs

In order for the organization to determine competence needs it must:

· Considering education, skills, training and experience necessary for each role

· Identifying the competencies required for personnel performing tasks that can have an impact on QMS

Examples of this include quality inspection techniques, safety protocols and the needed training to use manufacturing machines.

Ensuring Competence

Ensuring competence through training or other actions

· These actions can include coaching, hiring, training, mentoring or assigning experienced personnel to guide less knowledgeable and inexperienced staff.

· If gaps in competence are identified, the organization must take action immediately to address them

Examples of this could include if a new employee lacks certain knowledge or experience in a specific software tool, the organization can provide formal training or get them paired up with a more experienced employee.

Evaluating Effectiveness

Evaluating the effectiveness of actions

· The organization must evaluate its effectiveness after taking action to ensure competence.

· These things may involve observing performance, conducting tests, or even assessing the output quality to ensure the person has acquired the necessary competence.

Examples of this is after training machine operators, their performance can be evaluated through product quality audits or on-the-job assessments.

Maintaining Documentation

Maintain Documented Information

· The organization must retain documented evidence to demonstrate that employees are competent

· Documentation can include:

o Certifications

o Training records

o Records of education or experience

o Competency assessment

Examples of this is an organization may keep detailed training logs and certifications for all staff handling specialized medical equipment

4 Benefits of 7.2 and meeting the requirements

Employee Development: Competence building and training improve employee satisfaction and retention rate
Compliance: Demonstrating compliance during internal or external audits by retaining documented information
Improved Quality: Personnel that are more competent are more likely to perform their roles effectively, resulting in consistent product or service quality
Customer Satisfaction: Competent employees contribute to a better customer experience, enhancing trust and loyalty

In conclusion, 7.2 Competence emphasizes the importance for systematic, proactive management of employee competence to ensure that the organizations goals and the customer requirements are met effectively. You can measure the effectiveness of training through practical tests, performance reviews and feedback. You can also identify competence gaps accurately by using structured tools such as job descriptions, competency metrics and skill assessments. In the next blog post we will be diving deeper into Clause 7.3 Awareness.

Related blog posts –

ISO 9001 7.1 Resources

ISO 9001 – 7 Support Overview Clause 7: 7.1 – 7.5

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