Keys to Quality Management: Strategies and Best Practices
What is quality management?
Quality management is an approach implemented by a company to improve the quality of its performance and organization, with a view to supplying a product that complies with regulatory and customer requirements.
It is based on the principle of continuous improvement, which consists in implementing permanent actions to improve the operation of activities and enable sustainable development of the organization.
Quality management is standardized and framed by one of the best-known and most widespread international standards: ISO 9001. This standard enables any type of organization to demonstrate its ability to provide a service or product under optimized conditions.
The importance of quality management in the cosmetics industry
In a highly competitive sector such as cosmetics, customer satisfaction is a key factor in a company’s long-term success. Implementing a robust quality system geared to customer requirements and expectations is therefore a major asset.
The standard on which Miyoshi Europe bases its good manufacturing practices is published by EFFCI (European Federation for Cosmetic Ingredients) and is based on ISO 9001. This standard sets out the rules for ensuring a quality product and guaranteeing the safety of the end consumer.
In addition, Miyoshi Europe has embarked on a project to comply with ICH Q7 regulations, in order to produce and sell products considered as active pharmaceutical ingredients in the US, including sunscreens. This corporate project is led by the quality management department and involves the whole company.
Why and what is ICH Q7?
Regulations governing sunscreens differ around the world. In Europe, we consider sunscreens to be cosmetic products, whereas in the USA, controlled by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), sunscreens are considered to be pharmaceutical products.
In order to manufacture APIs (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient) that can be incorporated into our customers’ suncare products, we have to comply with ICH Q7. This regulation is recognized worldwide for the manufacture and trade of active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates.
In Europe, we know it as GMP Part II (Good Manufacturing Practice). In France, the ANSM (Agence Nationale de Sécurité du Médicament et des Produits de Santé) oversees the application of these regulations.
How does MIYOSHI encourage active employee participation in continuous quality improvement?
One of the objectives of quality management is to ensure that everyone is involved in, approves of and understands quality issues.
As the approach to ICH Q7 requirements is based on product quality risk analysis, the efforts to be made are gradual and avoid over-quality and unjustified overloading of teams. MIYOSHI Europe makes it a point of honor to give meaning to all measures taken.
Training courses and awareness-raising sessions are regularly scheduled to present, remind and discuss the established rules.
An exchange of views and an evaluation of each of our training courses enable us to improve their effectiveness.
Visual management and an increased presence in the field ensure that indicators, information, etc. are properly understood and circulated.
To steer our continuous improvement, we use the Deming wheel method, which presents 4 iterative phases to improve an existing operation.
The 4 phases are Plan, Do, Check and Act, hence the second name of this method: PDCA.
In this cycle, the React part (Act) is presented at the end of the PDCA, remembering that it’s also the first of a new cycle, and that without feedback from the field, improvement wouldn’t exist.
Bastien Segot
Quality Management Manager