Quality Management Systems (QMS)

A Quality Management System, usually shortened to QMS, is the structured set of interrelated elements through which an organization directs and controls its work to achieve defined quality objectives. Those elements include organizational structure, processes, responsibilities, resources and documented information. ISO describes a QMS as a collection of processes and procedures that ensures a business runs as intended and continuously delivers products and services that meet regulatory and customer requirements. The ISO overview is at iso.org.

In Canadian public procurement, QMS requirements usually show up as references to ISO 9001, "Quality management systems: Requirements." In defence work they also appear as NATO quality assurance publications such as AQAP-2110. A QMS is not a single procedure or tool. It links day-to-day operations with quality objectives and customer expectations, and buyers can ask suppliers to prove that it exists and works.

What ISO 9001:2015 requires of a QMS

ISO 9001:2015 is the internationally recognized standard that sets out requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and continually improving a QMS. You can find it on the ISO standard page. The standard defines what a QMS must contain but does not prescribe exactly how an organization must operate, so each supplier tailors its system to its own context and risks.

• A process approach built on the Plan, Do, Check, Act cycle
• Risk-based thinking and leadership commitment
• Customer focus and documented information
• Monitoring, measurement and performance evaluation
• Continual improvement

ISO 9001 does not set the quality objectives for you. The organization defines its own objectives and improves its processes to reach them.

QMS clauses in federal solicitations and contracts

The Standard Acquisition Clauses and Conditions (SACC) Manual, available on CanadaBuys, contains clauses that reference ISO 9001:2015 directly. Item D5540C is titled "ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems, Requirements (Quality Assurance Code Q)." Item D5545C is the Quality Assurance Code C version. Both sit in the delivery, inspection and acceptance subsection, so a QMS requirement can affect how work is inspected and accepted.

A CanadaBuys procurement document, file 039mdF2599-205004, shows how this works in practice. Clause 6.8 requires the bidder to have a QMS registered to ISO 9001:2008 or modelled on it. At bid closing the bidder must provide either valid certification or an example of a Quality Control Plan. The contractor's QMS must address each requirement in the standard, even without formal registration.

The same document requires a Quality Control Plan prepared to ISO 10005:2005. The plan must include a traceability matrix and must be available to the inspection and technical authorities within five calendar days after contract award.

CGSB registration of a QMS

The Canadian General Standards Board, part of Public Services and Procurement Canada, runs a Quality Management System registration program. It assesses an organization's documented QMS against an accepted standard such as the ISO 9000 series. It also carries out ongoing audits of the facility to confirm the system is implemented and effective. Registration gives a supplier recognized evidence that it can provide goods and services that consistently meet client specifications.

QMS under DND policy and NATO AQAP-2110

Defence Administrative Order and Directive 3009-0, Quality of Materiel and Services, bases the Department of National Defence approach to quality management on the ISO 9000 series. It encourages DND and Canadian Armed Forces organizations to develop QMSs in line with the criticality and risks of their functions. It also calls for harmonizing quality management practices with NATO and other military organizations.

AQAP-2110, "NATO Quality Assurance Requirements for Design, Development and Production," requires the supplier to establish, document, implement, assess and improve an effective and economical QMS that includes the requirements of ISO 9001:2015 as needed to satisfy the contract. Its NATO-specific requirements add risk management, configuration control, traceability and quality assurance across the supply chain. The Acquirer and the Government Quality Assurance Representative can reject the supplier's QMS as it applies to the contract. The supplier's documented scope, internal audit records, self-assessments and other objective evidence must be readily available to them.

What a QMS means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

Read the quality clauses in each solicitation first. Note whether the buyer requires registration or accepts a QMS modelled on ISO 9001, and whether a Quality Control Plan is due at bid closing or after award. Keep your quality manual, audit records and plans current, since federal quality assurance authorities can audit them. For defence bids that cite AQAP-2110, confirm that your system covers the NATO-specific requirements as well as ISO 9001, because the QMS itself can be accepted or rejected under the contract.