ISO 9001 Training

Understanding ISO 9001:2008
Requirements for Quality Management Systems

7.5.4 Customer Property

7.5.5 Preservation of Product  

7.5.4 Customer Property 

ISO 9001 Training - Key Explanation Points and Tips:

Customer property may include material; production equipment; tooling; measuring and test equipment; facilities; transport vehicles; returnable packaging; intellectual property (drawings, specifications or proprietary information); product returned for servicing under warranty, product sent for outsourced work; etc.

All customer property is exposed to the risk of being damaged, lost, misused; misplaced; stolen, become unsuitable or obsolete for use. You must establish controls for each of these risks. Notify the customer in writing if their property is lost, damaged or otherwise found to be unsuitable (perishable past its shelf life, e.g. paint) for use.

Control to minimize the risks to customer property include - inventory management; preservation and storage; identification, status and traceability indicators; maintenance; notification; traffic flow; authorized use; restricted access; etc. Marking customer property with a unique identification number that can be traced to a record that provides details of ownership is one of many acceptable controls.

This clause requires records to be kept of customer property that is lost, damaged or otherwise found to be unsuitable for use. This implies tracking the storage and use of and quality status, of customer property.

While this clause does not call for a specific documented procedure, these controls may be included in your product realization processes through your product quality plans; work instructions and other specific documentation. Many of the controls needed for clause 7.5.3 Identification and traceability and clause 7.5.5 Preservation of product apply to customer property. The processes, controls and documentation for these other clauses could be expanded to include customer property.

If the nature of your business does not require the use of any customer property, then you must clearly state this exclusion to your QMS scope, in your Quality manual.

Performance indicators (to measure the effectiveness of processes that control customer property) may include - reduction in identification errors and omissions; loss due to damage or unsuitability; scrap; rejects; etc., as well as increased customer property turnover rates.


7.5.5 Preservation of Product 

Key Explanation Points and Tips:

All raw materials, work in progress; finished product; supplies; customer provided materials or product; product sent for outsourced work; etc, are subject to risk of being damaged, lost, misused; misplaced; stolen, become unsuitable (perishable) or obsolete (past shelf life) for use. This could occur during receipt, handling; storage; use in production; transportation to the customer, etc.

Controls include - identification, status and traceability indicators; inventory cycle counts and condition evaluation; stock rotation methods such as FIFO; just in time; tracking shelf life; MRP systems for tracking requirements and usage; special, controls for restricted access; handling and storage of hazardous materials, climate and environment; maintenance procedures; bar codes; training; use of special equipment for handling; condition reports; etc.

While this clause does not call for a specific documented procedure, these controls may be included in your product realization processes through your product quality plans; work instructions and other specific documentation. Many of the controls needed for clause 7.5.3 Identification and traceability apply to preservation of product.

Performance indicators (to measure the effectiveness of processes that control preservation of product) may include - reduction in obsolete and spoint materials an product (e.g., fresh produce, fruits, or frozen foods), identification errors and omissions; rejects; waste; scrap; etc., and increase in inventory turnover and material/product availability; and product safety.