Merged with duplicate record 10026.1/795 on 14.02.2017 by CS (TIS)This work in the domain of quality management and business process design looks at how
the requirements of the ISO 9001 standard for quality management systems are designed
and implemented in business. It is the aim of the research reported in this thesis to support
manufacturing companies when modelling a Fulfil Order Process by identifying the links to
the ISO 9001 quality standard and highlighting potential impact from any changes in the
process or the standard during a redesign project. It does so by presenting a modelling
technique, named IDEF9000, which will enable companies to take a systemic perspective of a
Fulfil Order Process identifying all relevant links to ISO 9001.
A research strategy based around the experiences of companies when designing business
processes with links to ISO 9001 was adopted. In-depth case studies carried out by the
author showed that simply documenting what an organisation does to satisfy the various
elements of ISO 9001 is still one of the most common approaches adopted. This results in a
process-oriented character only at the documentation stage. It is the result of limited
guidance on how to integrate the requirements of ISO 900 I in business processes. The
work proceeded by exploring the domains of business processes, the use of systems thinking
to explain business processes and the relevance of ISO 9001 requirements from a process-based
viewpoint. A set of criteria was developed to identify activities, information and other
flows controlled by ISO 9001 to design a Fulfil Order Process in a manufacturing company.
This provided the context for the development of the modelling technique IDEF9000, which
is an enhanced version of IDEFo, and its validation by review and by use in two
manufacturing companies.
The originality of this work lies in the identification and emphasis by the author of the need
to take a systemic view of business processes when designing or redesigning a process-based
ISO 9001 quality management system. Also, criteria for a technique to address the
modelling of a Fulfil Order Process were identified. Furthermore this contribution to
knowledge includes the identification of links between ISO 9001 requirements and a holistic
Fulfil Order Process. This led to the development of further criteria for modelling such a
business process showing the links to ISO 9001. IDEF9000 represents an improved modelling
approach that fulfils the identified criteria and permits the systemic design or redesign of a
Fulfil Order Process while establishing the links controlled by the ISO 9001 quality
standard