Auditing Continual Improvement How much improvement is “enough”?

ISO 9001 Auditing Practices Group

It should be emphasised that the requirement in ISO 9001 is for continual improvement of the effectiveness of the QMS.
Continual improvement emanates from the objectives set by top management, which should (at least) address: the improvement of internal efficiency (for the organization to remain economically competitive), individual customer needs, and the level of performance that the market normally expects.
For example, in the aeronautical sector, the “acceptable rate” of  non-conforming delivered product is zero percent, so it would not be useful for the organization to set objectives for an “improvement" in this rate. However, it would be useful for the organization to have objectives aimed in improving its internal efficiency and its competitiveness (e.g. through
innovation).
The auditor should seek to determine if the auditee has attempted to set objectives that establish the correlation between the 3 factors of: corporate objectives, customer needs, and market expectations. Thereafter, it is up to the organization to balance the need for improving internal efficiency and the need to progress with external performance (although the two are very often closely related). No one in isolation can ever be considered as being
“enough” or “not enough”.

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