A poll for the above question was open for one week (7th -10th January 2023) on LinkedIn and the results were as indicated above. It is heartwarming to note that of the 156 respondents, 55% said that they had a quality management system (QMS). However, 34% said they didn’t have a QMS while 11% indicated that they didn’t know whether their workplace had one or not. One of the comments related to this poll was that, it is one thing to have a QMS and another to have an efficient and effective one. Below were some follow-up questions: What could be the major challenges surrounding implementation? Do you have a suggestion on how QMS can best be implemented?
It should be noted that it could have been a different result if more people had completed the survey and it is also a fact that the number of respondents is very small but still it can be used to generate fruitful discussions. This is because the results are indicating that there are some institutions which do not have QMSs and there are some employees who are not aware of whether there is a QMS or not at their workplace. Future polls will be open for a maximum of 2 weeks so that more people can possibly participate.
It is also highly disturbing to learn that 34% didn’t have a QMS and worse still the other 11% didn’t know if their organization/institution/company, etc had a QMS or not. I noted from experience that, part of the challenges are that in some cases the introduction of new innovations, activities, etc and the involved change management processes, are sometimes, not followed properly. A number of questions would rush into one’s mind and these include, but are not limited to the following;
i) If there is no QMS, how are quality issues being dealt with?
ii) Do such entities know about quality and QMS in the first place?
iii) Will such entities ever have a QMS in future?
iv) Why is it that they do not have a QMS?
v) For the 11% who do not know, is it because the quality assurance (QA) personnel are not doing adequate activities for their visibility?
vi) Assuming that the QMSs exist in these entities where respondents say, “they don’t know,” is it because there isn’t enough education and awareness on quality and QA matters?
vii) What could be the reasons for not having a QMS and for others not to know if it existed or not?
Let us come together and share our experiences and responses to the above questions?
