Quality Standards

ISO 9001

• is a globally recognized quality management system (QMS) standard developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

• It provides a structured approach to ensuring that products and services consistently meet customer expectations while improving operational efficiency (ISO, 2015).

• Over one million companies worldwide, across industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, education, and finance are certified.

• Customer Focus

• Leadership Commitment

• Process Approach

• Continuous Improvement

• Data-Driven Decision Making

• Supplier Relationships

Key Features of ISO 9001:2015

Customer Focus

• Businesses must prioritize customer satisfaction through consistent quality.

Leadership Commitment

• Management must be actively involved in quality assurance.

Process Approach

• Business activities should be structured as interrelated, efficient processes.

Continuous Improvement

• Companies must seek ongoing enhancement of their processes.

Data-Driven Decision Making

• Quality management must be supported by factual analysis.

Supplier Relationships

• Businesses should work closely with suppliers to ensure high-quality inputs.

Six Sigma Methodology

• is a data-driven methodology aimed at reducing defects and improving processes using a structured approach known as DMAIC.

• Define

• Measure

• Analyze

• Improve

• Control

Six Sigma Methodology

Lean Principles

• Lean manufacturing focuses on eliminating waste while maximizing value for customers. The seven types of waste identified in Lean (Ohno, 1988).

• Overproducing

• Waiting

• Transportation

• Excess Inventory

• Unnecessary Motion

• Overprocessing

• Defects

Lean Principles

Overproduction

• Producing more than needed.

Waiting

• Idle time due to bottlenecks.

Transportation

• Unnecessary movement of goods.

Excess Inventory

• Overstocking materials.

Unnecessary Motion

• Inefficient movements of workers.

Overprocessing

• Doing more work than required.

Defects

• Errors requiring rework.

Lean Tools

• Businesses use these tools to streamline their processes, reduce waste, and improve efficiency.

5S Methodology

• A workplace organization method that helps improve efficiency.

• Sort

• Set in Order

• Shine

• Standardize

• Sustain

5S Methodology

Sort

• Remove unnecessary items.

Set in Order

• Organize tools logically.

Shine

• Keep the workspace clean.

Standardize

• Establish consistent procedures.

Sustain

• Maintain and continuously improve.

Kaizen (Continuous Improvement)

• Encourages small, frequent improvements that lead to long-term efficiency gains.

Value Stream Mapping (VSM)

• A visual tool used to identify inefficiencies in processes.

Gender-Responsive Quality Management Systems

• Ensures that quality policies, processes, and outcomes are equitable, inclusive, and responsive to the different needs, roles, and vulnerabilities of all genders.

• Integrates Gender and Development (GAD) principles into planning, implementation, monitoring, and continuous improvement.

• Recognize that women, men, and gender-diverse individuals may experience organizational processes, workplace risks, access to resources, and disaster impacts differently.

• Improves not only product or service quality, but also workplace fairness, safety, and resilience, aligning with SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth)

Inclusive Quality Standards

• Benchmarks that ensure organizational systems are fair, accessible, and non-discriminatory

• Go beyond technical compliance and explicitly embed gender equality and social inclusion into quality objectives

Inclusivity

• Improves employee engagement, process reliability, and customer satisfaction.

• When people feel safe, valued, and heard, errors decrease, communication improves, and organizational performance becomes more sustainable.

Key Features of Inclusive Quality Standards

• Gender-fair policies in recruitment, promotion, training, and performance evaluation.

• Safe and inclusive work environments, including gender-sensitive facilities, anti-harassment policies, and flexible work arrangements.

• Participation of diverse stakeholders in quality planning and decision-making, ensuring that women and marginalized groups have a voice.

• Disaggregated data (by sex, age, and other factors) for monitoring quality outcomes and identifying gaps.

Risk-Based and Disaster-Resilient Systems Quality Frameworks

• Integrates Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) into the core of quality systems.

• Organizations proactively identify, assess, and mitigate risks that may affect operations, people, and service delivery.

Framework

• Risk identification and assessment (natural hazards, operational risks, supply chain disruptions, and human risks).

• Gender-sensitive risk analysis, recognizing that disasters often affect women, children, and vulnerable workers differently.

Business continuity and contingency planning

• Resilient infrastructure and processes that can withstand and recover quickly from disasters.

• Embed DRRM into QMS to ensure that quality is maintained even during crises.

• Protect both employees and stakeholders.

• Aligns with ISO 9001’s risk-based thinking.

• Supports SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) and SDG 13 (Climate Action.

Lean and Six Sigma

• provide powerful tools for continuously improving disaster preparedness and response within quality systems.

Lean

• focuses on eliminating waste, streamlining processes, and improving flow. In disaster preparedness. The following helps the process about this topic:

• Reduce delays in emergency response

• Simplify evacuation and communication procedures

• Ensure critical resources are available when needed

Six Sigma

• focuses on reducing variation and errors through data-driven analysis. In DRRM, This also helps:

• Identify root causes of failures in emergency drills and response systems.

• Improve accuracy of risk assessments and early warning systems.

• Standardize procedures to minimize human error during crises.

PDCA (Plan–Do–Check–Act) or DMAIC (Define–Measure–Analyze–Improve–Control) Cycles

• organizations can regularly test disaster plans, evaluate outcomes, and refine systems.

• When combined with a gender-responsive lens, improvements ensure that preparedness measures are inclusive, practical, and effective for all employees, not just a few