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In this edition of the newsletter, we will explore the fascinating topic of innovation and its intersection with Quality Management and Sustainability.

For most organizations, innovation is not an option. It has become the key to achieving the desired business sustainability in a rapidly changing world. Aware of this challenge facing organizations around the world, ISO has published the ISO 56002 - Innovation Management System standard.

“An organization can innovate more effectively and efficiently if all the necessary activities and other interrelated or interacting elements are managed as a system.”

In a rapidly changing environment, the ability to innovate and adapt is what sets leading companies apart.

For those who are curious about the subject, we have prepared this newsletter highlighting the key concepts for the 2 disciplines, existing types of innovation, secrets of success and challenges. This way, you can reflect and adapt these ideas to the reality of your business.

Innovation and Quality Management

Innovation is not just a buzzword; it is deeply rooted in Quality Management, being a key part of the PDCA A-cycle and highlighted as a Quality principle “Improvement”.

ISO 9001 treats innovation as an example of improvement:

“Examples of improvement can include correction, corrective action, continuous improvement, revolutionary change, innovation and reorganization.”

For ISO 9000, innovation is defined as:

“new or modified object that realizes or redistributes value“

In this context, we also highlight the word “value” presented in ISO 56000:

 “gains from the satisfaction of needs and expectations, in relation to the resources used”

Value can be of various kinds: revenue, savings, productivity, sustainability, satisfaction, training, engagement, experience, trust. The value that is added is not necessarily financial, it can also be social or environmental, for example, and that's why we also relate it in the sustainability issues.

It is important to note that value can be created, realized, acquired, redistributed, shared, lost or destroyed.

Note: For ISO 56000, innovation is an outcome and sometimes refers to activities or processes that result in or aim at innovation. When “innovation” is used in this sense, it should always be used with some form of qualifier, for example, “innovation activities”.

 Innovation and Sustainability

Innovation has been declared the path to sustainability. The UN has included this theme in Sustainable Development Goal 9, which emphasizes the relationship between industry, innovation and infrastructure.

“Building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and fostering innovation”

Industry is an important source of innovation, providing technological solutions for environmentally sound development.

One possible example of stimulating innovation is improving processes and activities with a focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a topic related to global warming and climate change.

Click here to see our post on “opportunities for improvement: quality and sustainability”

Innovation & Invention

According to ISO 56000, innovation can be of 3 types: incremental, disruptive or radical.

• Innovation INCREMENTAL is the most common.
  • It represents a series of small improvements or upgrades made to a company's existing products, services, processes or methods.
  • They are generally focused on improving the development efficiency of an existing product, productivity and competitive differentiation.
  • Used to maintain or improve a product's market position.
• Innovation DISRUPTIVE produces a significant change in the way you do business
  • It provides consumers with something demonstrably new (as well as “new and improved”).
  • It produces a substantial competitive advantage for a while, as disruption occurs when a significant proportion of users or customers adopt the innovation.
  • They can create new markets, value networks, users, new business models and value realization.
• Innovation RADICAL/REVOLUTIONARY has a high degree of change.
  • It happens when a new product, service, process or strategy is introduced to a market, but is designed to have a significant impact, completely replacing existing technologies and methods.
  • It requires a significant investment of time and resources, making it associated with greater risk than incremental innovation.
  • Radical innovation is the opposite of incremental innovation.

Innovation and invention are not synonymous. While innovation brings value, invention is the creation of something totally new. Leonardo Da Vinci, for example, was a great inventor, but many of his ideas were not implemented in his time, making him less recognized as an innovator.

The 7 secrets of successful innovation activities:

ISO, in its article “Innovate... or break!”, declares 7 secrets:

1. Add value to the organization.
2. Challenge the organization's strategy and objectives.
3. Motivate and mobilize for organizational development.
4. Be timely and focused on the future.
5. Enable context and promote the adoption of best practices.
6. Be flexible and holistic.
7. Have an effective and reliable process.

What secret can you apply to your organization?

Possible Challenge

Organizations need to balance innovation with their day-to-day operations.

In other words, a strong operational culture can sometimes inhibit the willingness to take risks, be creative, work in uncertain scenarios and innovate. These issues should be taken into account when the organization starts working on promoting a culture of innovation.

Qualiexpert Services - Processes that add value

Do you want to find out how innovation can increase the Quality and Sustainability of your organization? At Qualiexpert, Our tagline “processes that add value” reflects our dedication to innovation related to Quality Management and Sustainability.

We're here to help! If your organization is looking to structure innovation processes, count on us and let's turn your ideas into reality together.

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