7.SUPPORT

7.1 Resources

7.1.1 General

The organization shall determine and provide the resources needed for the establishment, implementation, maintenance, and continual improvement of the quality management system.

The organization shall consider:

a. the capabilities of, and constraints on, existing internal resources;

b. what needs to be obtained from external providers.

7.1.2 People

The organization shall determine and provide the persons necessary for the effective implementation of its quality management system and for the operation and control of its processes.

7.2 Competence The organization shall:

a. determine the necessary competence of person(s) doing work under its control that affects the performance and effectiveness of the quality management system;

b. ensure that these persons are competent on the basis of appropriate education, training, or experience;

c. where applicable, take actions to acquire the necessary competence, and evaluate the effectiveness of the actions taken;

d. retain appropriate documented information as evidence of competence.

NOTE: Consideration should be given for the periodic review of the necessary competence.

NOTE: Applicable actions can include, for example, the provision of training to, the mentoring of, or the re-assignment of currently employed persons; or the hiring or contracting of competent persons.

7.3 Awareness

The organization shall ensure that persons doing work under the organization’s control are aware of:

a. the quality policy;

b. relevant quality objectives;

c. their contribution to the effectiveness of the quality management system, including the benefits of improved performance;

d. the implications of not conforming with the quality management system requirements;

e. relevant quality management system documented information and changes thereto;

f. their contribution to product or service conformity;

g. their contribution to product safety;

h. the importance of ethical behavior.