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What's Clause 10 on Improvement?

The ISO 9001:2015 standard is a set of requirements that set the framework for an organization's quality management system. Clause 10 of the standard addresses improvement. We'll give you a brief and easy-to-understand overview of this clause.

Clause 10 of ISO 9001:2015 requires companies to determine and identify opportunities for improvement. The corrective action process is one of the key sections in the standard designed to achieve improvement.

There is a requirement for the improvement of products and services with an eye to current and future market needs.

This clause also includes requirements regarding the correction of nonconformities. First, companies must react to the nonconformity. Secondly, companies must engage in corrective action to correct the underlying causes of existing problems, as well as engage in preventive action to correct situations that could lead to potential problems.

Last but not least, the company must plan and manage the processes for the continual improvement of the quality management system. The company must use the quality policy, objectives, internal audit results, analysis of data, corrective and preventive action and management review to facilitate continual improvement.

More ISO 9001:2015 Requirements

There are another six clauses in ISO 9001:2015 that contain requirements for a quality management system. For an overview and an explanation of how they all fit together, please see our article on ISO 9001:2015 Requirements.