ABSTRACT
The idea of continual improvement of the system emerged from the work done by Deming in Japan in the early 1950s. This chapter examines the two requirements of clause 10.3, namely: improving the suitability adequacy and effectiveness of the QMS and determining additional opportunities for improvement. The reason for requiring continual improvement of the QMS rather than simply its improvement reflects the nature of the QMS. As a system, interaction between the elements is continual and once interaction ceases the system ceases to exist. There are periods of relatively stable performance followed by improvement to a new level of performance. The intervals are shown in years, but depending on what is being improved it may be achieved in much shorter intervals. As an organization is not homogeneous, there are infinite ways in which conformity with a requirement can be tested, and therefore it's not practical to calculate a conformity ratio.
