Title
Why
Quality management is an activity that can only exist when the complete organization understands the need to have a quality management system in place and knows benefits of such a system. Everybody must be committed to implement quality management in their own activities.
What
Every staff member must be motivated to implement the procedures and carry out the activities that come with managing quality. The laboratory manager must discuss the advantages (e.g. work efficiency will increase, money will be saved in the long term, the work will be safer, working in an accredited laboratory is a valuable addition to personal CVs, etc.).
Important is to also discuss the (perceived) disadvantages to prepare the staff (the workload will increase during the implementation of the quality management system; if this is a surprise for the staff the chances of resistance/protest may increase).
How & who
Laboratory Manager:
- Organize a work meeting to carry-out this activity.
In the right-hand column of this webpage, an introduction to quality from the WHO Laboratory Quality Management System (LQMS) handbook is provided. This can be used to explain the staff the first basic principles of quality management. There is also a document with information for the laboratory manager regarding the implementation of the quality management system.
Also provided is a publication by Walters (2011), which discusses the importance of involving staff in the implementation of an ISO 15189 quality management system. Permission to reproduce the paper was kindly provided by NP Communications/Medical Laboratory Observer Magazine.
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