The Ministry of Industry is proactively encouraging small and medium industry (SMI) players to keep developing the quality of their businesses by applying Quality Management Systems (QMS) in line with international standards. Quality management is one way for SMI players to develop their businesses holistically, with a positive impact on their business performance and credibility.
“SMI players who apply quality management in their businesses will be able to meet consumer expectations consistently. This is because quality management involves all parts of the organization in achieving common goals,” Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said in a statement in Jakarta on Tuesday (2/8).
The Director General of Small, Medium and Miscellaneous Industries (IKMA), Reni Yanita, said quality management is not only about product quality, but also all operational activities of a business, from organizational culture, human resource management and production processes to continuous improvement efforts.
“A quality management system is drawn up taking into account business characteristics and organizational culture, but there are still basic principles to observe. Drawing up a quality management system should therefore refer to the international standard ISO 9001:2015,” she explained.
Reni believes that by drawing up a QMS in line with ISO 9001:2015 and obtaining ISO certification, SMI players will have a solid operational foundation and increase their chances of entering the supply chains of large industries or export markets, because they can meet the quality expected by customers and partners.
To introduce QMS principles to SMI players, Ditjen IKMA held a webinar titled “ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System Awareness Workshop” recently, attended by 118 participants consisting of clothing SMI players and stakeholders who provide guidance to SMIs.
The online workshop was held in cooperation with the Center for Craft and Batik Industry Standardization and Services (BBSPJIKB) and featured two Junior Expert Industrial Advisors as speakers, Demas Yogo Pranoto and Vivin Atika.
“By understanding and applying this standard, participants who are clothing SMI players can increase consumer trust, expand their markets and build sustainable competitive advantages,” Reni said.
The Director of Chemical, Clothing and Craft SMIs, Budi Setiawan, explained that the workshop also discussed the quality management clauses of ISO 9001:2015. These include customer satisfaction focus, leadership, engagement of people, process approach, improvement, evidence-based decision making and relationship management.
“We want SMI players to first learn about the concept of quality management and the ISO 9001:2015 standard. After that, SMIs can apply QMS principles gradually so that their competitiveness increases,” he said.
Applying QMS in SMIs is also one of Kemenperin's efforts to encourage partnerships between SMIs and large industries as well as other economic sectors. “As we all know, the clothing industry sector has a wide range of commodities, from garment making, fashion and sportswear to wastra such as batik and woven textiles. We therefore hope that applying QMS can pave the way for clothing SMI players to form partnerships,” Budi added.
Source: Press Release of the Ministry of Industry of the Republic of Indonesia