This management of change procedure can assist your business comply with AS/NZS ISO 9001, Quality Management Systems clauses:
Management of change (MoC) is a process of continual improvement that leads to the successful implementation of change within an organization. It is an application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to a range of activities to help organizations achieve their desired outcomes.
Management of change may occur proactively and reactively. Regardless of circumstances, an effective change management process should always follow the ‘as low as reasonably practicable’ approach to risk management.
A management of change procedure is the formal process used to ensure that any changes made to a company’s culture, processes, products, or services are properly documented and approved.
The procedure should be designed to prevent unplanned or unauthorized changes from being made, which could potentially lead to problems or disruptions in the company’s operations.
The change management approval process is the sequence of steps or activities that a company uses to introduce meaningful changes to its products, services, or processes.
Change management model processes will follow the general steps as outlined below. Each step in a change management process may be detailed in change request documentation, to clarify the change.
Upon identifying and considering a change (proactive or reactive), a change request must be assessed by the controlling person, to determine the nature of the change management plans, e.g. emergency, major, minor or if further information is required.
Depending on the nature of the change, it may need to be recorded in an approval form and put forward to management for review and approval.
The applicable person or manager will review the change request and will either:
If approved the change implementer(s) and/or key stakeholders will communicate the proposed change to the relevant persons. If not approved the reasons why need to be communicated to the impacted persons.
The change implementer(s) will then undertake the tasks to accomplish the change within the designated time frames.
A post-implementation review should then be undertaken to assess whether the process was successful in change management or if it requires further modification for a long-term management strategy.
Note: If necessary, training should be given to all persons that participate in any new work or operational processes.