ISO 9001 clause 7.2 competency - Three questions to ask

Aaron Hoare Date published: Jul 25, 24

ISO 9001 clause 7.2 requires your organization to determine the competency requirements for people performing work under its control, take any actions necessary to resolve any competency gaps and evaluate the effectiveness of the actions. Making sure that people have the right competencies to perform their role in your organization effectively is essential for upholding quality, hence clause 7.2 of ISO 9001 has these specific requirements around training and competency.

In this article, we share three questions to ask when planning your strategy to tackle this clause, and how you can use Ideagen’s quality solutions to identify, assess, monitor and address competency gaps. We expect that with the planned 2026 revision to ISO 9001 that clauses like clause 7.2 will be subject to a further evolution, and we will update our ISO 9001 resources accordingly in line with that change. But for now, here are three questions to ask of ISO 9001:2015.

1) Who are the people performing work under our control?

ISO 9001 clause 7.2 refers to people performing work under its control. This embraces contract, agency people and all other outsourced providers.

Many organizations lose track of all their different external providers and this poses a great threat to their ability to produce products and services at a consistently high quality.

Ideagen quality management solutions enable organizations to keep a central record of anyone performing work under the organization’s control, and associate any risks, non-conformance reports (NCRs), issues, audits and training documentation. If you want your suppliers to manage their training requirements, the Ideagen software provides a very simple and easy to understand view of their actions. This controlled view ensures each supplier will only ever see the information relevant to them.

This oversight of your entire business ecosystem is essential for compliance with ISO 9001 clause 7.2.

2) How do I retain appropriate documented information to evidence competence?

ISO 9001 clause 7.2 requires organizations to retain documented information to evidence competence. There are two fundamental parts to this: documentation and evidencing competence.

Documentation best practice

With Ideagen’s quality solutions, each stakeholder can be given access to update and manage their set of training records and requirements. Custom forms ensure the relevant information is captured.

Training and competency records are kept in virtual folders and easily accessible for reference to health-check training and competency levels.
In terms of managing any gaps, any quality management system needs to identify training requirements, expired records, unconfirmed training, valid training and training that is soon to expire. Ideagen’s quality solutions provide all of this, and whichever software you opt for should do the same.

Evidencing competence

Evidencing training and competency is crucial for ISO 9001 compliance, as well as clause 7.2 specifically, and is made simple using Ideagen’s quality solutions. This ensures that all personnel are adequately skilled to perform their tasks effectively. This not only enhances the quality of products and services but also reduces errors, increases customer satisfaction and maintains consistent operational performance.

Comprehensive documentation serves as proof during audits, demonstrating a commitment to continuous improvement and adherence to the standard's requirements.

3) How do I determine competency deficiencies?

ISO 9001 competency requirements defines “competence” as the "ability to apply knowledge and skills to achieve intended results." So, how do you monitor whether intended results have been achieved?

Marguglio’s Seven Human Error Causal Factors

• Knowledge-based – Error-based on the absence of knowledge of the requirement, expectation, or need
• Cognition-based – Error-based on the absence of ability to process the knowledge necessary to fulfil the requirement, expectation, or need
• Value-based – Error-based on the absence of willingness to accept the requirement, expectation, or need
• Reflexive-based – Error-based on the absence of ability to immediately respond to a stimulus
• Error-inducing condition-based – Error-based on the absence of ability to counteract the error-inducing condition
• Skill-based – Error-based on the absence of manual dexterity
• Lapse-based – Error-based on the absence of attention

Start with assessing non-conformities

Ideagen’s CAPA module, for example, provides a report with statistics of certain issue types, issue type sources, actions completed, time to complete and outstanding actions. This data will tell a story of employee competency gaps. From that report, you can then drill down into more detail.

Then, look at customer and supplier feedback

This is a useful tool to collect feedback from your customers, suppliers and employees. From here, you can automate workflows that can be used for reports.

This is key for:

• Whistle-blowing
• Capturing risks, opportunities and vulnerabilities
• Identifying training gaps

You could also schedule “war room” meetings

In a war room meeting, you gather all the vital information in one place and brainstorm with all the people who are working on a particular project. Scheduling a monthly or quarterly war room meeting can be a valuable tool to training, learning and filling any competency gaps.

Invest in the right tools for ISO 9001 clause 7.2 compliance

Investing in the right software solutions can significantly simplify compliance with ISO 9001 clause 7.2. The right tools not only streamline the process of documenting and tracking training and competencies, but also ensure that data is accurate and easily accessible during audits. By automating these processes, organizations can reduce the risk of human error, save time and maintain an up-to-date record of all training activities and employee competencies.

Ideagen’s solutions provide all the necessary tools to meet these requirements efficiently. The software helps organizations manage training records, track employee competencies in real-time and generate comprehensive reports to demonstrate compliance during audits. This comprehensive approach ensures that organizations are always prepared and in line with ISO 9001 standards, ultimately supporting continuous improvement and operational excellence.

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Looking for more resources on ISO 9001 to help with your compliance efforts? Visit our knowledge hub for ISO 9001 for free downloads, webinars on demand, helpful articles and guides to how Ideagen’s software solutions can help you simplify compliance.

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