4. Manage changes to the production process or service delivery

A company of any kind evolves, sometimes at a rapid pace:

• organizational changes, such as purchases/sales of activities or staff reorganizations;

• changes to products or services, either on its own initiative (R&D projects) or imposed by clients (changing specifications, etc.);

• changes in technologies or processes (innovation or performance improvement), changes in production tools (new machines) or ways of delivering a service (for example, moving from face-to-face training to distance learning).

The quality management system is there to support the company through these changes, enabling it to provide a quality product or service during the transitional phase and beyond. The challenge of change management is to provide a framework...