QMS for ISO

Implementation in
Hotel Industry

Introduction
The role of service quality in the success of hotel businesses cannot be denied. It is an
important factor of successful business. The concept of Total Quality Management has
gained prominence during the last two decades, both in developed and developing countries.
Total quality management is an approach to management that focuses on quality as the key to
success. Implementation of TQM in hotel process offers an opportunity to improve the
overall quality of the service in difficult market condition. Quality management is the
administration and monitoring of every aspect of your hotel’s business in order to improve
the standards set by the expectations of its guests. Designing of QMS using ISO Standard is
one of the widely used techniques of QMS implementation in an organization.

QMS for Hotel Industry based on ISO

As a result of higher quality requirement ISO 9000 series of international standards and
the Total Quality Management system were developed in hotel industry. The best way to
achieve quality is through Total Quality Management to obtain ISO 9000, which is a
certificate of a quality system.

ISO 9000 series defines perfect combination of certain elements, which comprise the
service of product served which meet customers' expectations. Companies, which do not
offer quality to their customers as their very first priority, will not survive in the next century
(table 2 shows the ISO 9000 standards structure). Turbulent business environment is quality
demanding. Improving the quality in hospitality industry will:

- Increase customer satisfaction;

- Increase sales;
- Get better profits.

ISO 9000 certification is the main key to obtaining customer satisfaction. There are eight
steps to this certification:

1. Evaluating of existing quality procedures against requirements of the ISO 9001 –

9003 standards;
2. Identification of corrective action needed to conform with ISO 9000 series standards;
3. Preparation of a quality assurance program;
4. Definition, documentation and implementation of new procedures;
5. Preparation of a quality manual;
6. Pre – assessment, meeting with registrar to analyze quality manual;
7. Actual assessment visit;
 8. Certification.
The key for success of hotel’s company lies in the companies' real commitment to
quality improvement and their true motives for certification, which finally dictate the way
and depth to which the standards are implemented. The ISO 9000 standards offer companies
the competence to improve an effective quality system. Focus is on continuous adaptation as
long as the companies show the necessary promptness to utilize it.
The key determinant for standard success is the depth to which company desires to
proceed in satisfying their requirements. Those companies limiting their efforts to the
satisfaction of the minimum necessary requirements for certification will not be able to
realize the full potential of the standards and are likely to fail. On the contrary, companies can
really benefit from the process if they see the standards as an opportunity to organize and
improve their internal operations and quality, by creating a dynamic ever – improving quality
system that may evolve in a TQM system. The real benefits can be realized only when the
companies that apply them truly understand both their capabilities and their limits.

Assuring the total quality service and implementing TQM in a proper way represent a
hard, but important task for every organisation since it provide benefits for the organisation
such as:

- Reduced wage and costs;

- Improved service;
- Fewer complaints;
- Increased customer retention;
- Improved staff commitment and morale;
- More efficient and effective use of resources.
First of all the customers will see that the company is committed to quality and they
will enjoy a quality system that will help to avoid mistakes. It leads to greater customer
satisfaction. On the other hand suppliers are ensuring in their capability to supply products
and services in accordance with the customer requirements. Also, the TQM will have
established all measures to convert Hotel Company into an environment – friendly
establishment. These benefits will help in achieving a better position in the market and higher
profits. To achieve TQM through ISO it is necessary to develop model for managing the
transition from ISO 9000 to TQM.

Elements of ISO 9000 Standard

ISO 9000 is an overview for selecting the appropriate standard. ISO 9001 covers the 20
elements of an effective quality management system (QMS), which include design,
production, servicing, and installation:
1. Management responsibility: Top Management is required to develop a Quality Policy
reflecting the organization's attitude to quality and ensure it is communicated
throughout the organization. It should allocate appropriate resources and trained
personnel to perform the work. It should appoint a management representative to
monitor the Quality System. It must conduct regular management reviews to ensure
the health of the quality system.

2. Resource management: It is the efficient and effective deployment for an

organization's resources when they are needed. Such resources may include financial
resources, inventory, human skills, production resources, or information technology
(IT). In the realm of Hotel management, processes, techniques and philosophies as to
the best approach for allocating resources have been developed.

3. Quality System: The system must be fully documented within the framework of ISO
9000. It should satisfy customer's requirements and specifications. The organization
should be made flexible enough to implement the quality system. It must define the
procedures to meet the quality requirements. It must demonstrate thorough planning
to meet customer requirements.

4. Contract Review: In the case of Hotel Industry, the contract would include servicing
of their customer. Any change must be reviewed and agreed to with the customer.

5. Design Control: All phases of product or service design must be controlled and
conducted by well qualified personnel, who are trained proficiently.

6. Document Control: Documentation is important in all industry, which would help the
management to monitor the performance. All documents and data used must be
controlled and authorized. Obsolete documents must be removed from circulation,
latest issues must be located at appropriate areas throughout the facility and available
at the workplace. Changes must be recorded and released in a controlled manner.

7. Purchasing: The Purchasing information must be complete and accurate to have clear
picture about the overhead costs. The Suppliers must be qualified and selected based
on demonstrated quality and they should be able to supply the ingredients on time.
 The quality must be monitored continuously to ensure better quality in terms of
service to the end customers.

8. Purchaser-Supplied Product: It is better to have a single supplier for the particular

product, to avoid confusion in case of any problem. The purchaser should report if
there is any discrepancy or damage to their products. The products must be easily
identifiable. The products should be handled and stored properly to maintain the
freshness and in good condition.

9. Product Identification and Traceability: Products must be identified at all times and
through all phases of production. The product should be delivered to the correct
customer and the customer’s specifications should be taken into consideration.

10. Process Control: The complete process should be taken into account, with
appropriate written procedures, to perform and monitor all production activities,
which should ensure quality.

11. Inspection and Testing: It is a must to document the verifications at all critical stages
of the process right from Receiving of raw material, intermediate product and Final
inspection.

12. Inspection, Measuring and Test Equipment: All inspection and measuring
equipment must be controlled and maintained in calibration. It is to provide unique
identification and list of all inspection and measuring equipment to determine the
required accuracy. The different kind of product has different metrics of
measurement, which needs to be taken care. It is a must to protect and maintain the
equipment to ensure continuing accuracy, calibrate each instrument on a pre-
determined cycle to established procedures.

13. Inspection and Test Status: The test status of the entire product must be identified
through all phases of production. The test status indicates whether the product has
passed or failed inspection. The Hotel industry must ensure quality in all regards to
maintain its standards.

14. Control of Non-conforming product: Any non-conforming product must be properly

identified and segregated with a documented disposition. It is a must for the hotel
industry to ensure the quality in terms of service and the food items that they provide.
 15. Corrective Action: It is a requirement to have a formal process to correct and prevent
problems from occurring. The process will insure that, root cause is investigated and
corrective and/or preventive action is taken. The effectiveness of corrective and/or
preventive action should be verified.

16. Control of Quality Records: Records which demonstrate compliance to procedures

and ISO-9000 must be identified, legible, accurate, filed and indexed properly, easily
retrievable, retained for a specified period of time.

17. Internal Quality Audit: It is a must to conduct formal internal audits to examine all
activities affecting quality, and evaluate their compliance to documented procedures.
Internal Quality Audit is a must to according ISO 9000 requirements.

18. Training: It is a must to identify training needs. The employees must be provided
with the appropriate training and training activities carried out should be
documented. The management must ensure only trained people carry activities related
to product quality.

19. Servicing: If "servicing" is the part of the contract, then it is required to control the
design and use of the service equipment. Here in this case, industry is basically a
service oriented along with an add on products. It should ensure product and parts
availability and should be documented with the working procedures and methods.

20. Statistical Techniques: Any data analysis, sampling methods, and SPC used must be
based on established procedures and sound statistical techniques.

Conclusion

New consumers in hotel industry, today, are influencing the pace and direction of underlying
changes. Change in consumer behavior provides fundamental driving force in hotel industry.
The increased travel experience, flexibility and independent nature of new consumer behavior
is generating demand for the better service quality. Therefore the quality is recently
identifiable as an important object for many hotels company.