Internal and External Communication for ISO 9001
ISO 9001 Clause 7.4
This clause requires the organisation to determine the internal and external communications which are relevant to the quality management system.
What Does ISO 9001 Clause 7.4 Require?
Clause 7.4 of ISO 9001:2015 requires the organisation to determine the internal and external communications relevant to the QMS. For each type of communication, five things must be considered: what will be communicated, when, with whom, how, and who is responsible for communicating it.
The standard does not require a communications policy or a detailed communications plan - it requires that these considerations have been thought through and that there is some structure to how quality-relevant communications are handled. The clause does not specify what format the evidence should take.
Internal and External Communications
Internal communications under Clause 7.4 include how the quality policy and objectives are communicated to staff, how audit findings are reported, how management review outputs are shared, and how staff raise quality concerns or report nonconformities. External communications include how the organisation communicates with customers about requirements, complaints and feedback, how it communicates with suppliers about quality expectations, and how it responds to enquiries from regulators or other external interested parties.
For organisations using IMS1, a communication arrangements section is built into the manual, covering the key internal and external communications relevant to the QMS.
For Clause 7.4, I'm looking for evidence that the organisation has thought about its key communications and has some structure in place for them. A communications table in the management system manual, or a section in the IMS1 Manual covering communication arrangements, is the clearest way to demonstrate this. I'll also look for evidence that the arrangements are actually working - that audit findings are being reported to management, that customer communications are being handled consistently, and that there is a clear route for staff to raise quality concerns.
A simple communications table covering the key items - what is communicated, to whom, how often, by what means, and who is responsible - satisfies Clause 7.4 for most organisations. The IMS1 Manual includes a section for this. For organisations with more complex communication requirements, a standalone communications policy provides a more comprehensive framework. The F-Q76 Communications Planner is a useful tool for organisations that want to map their communications more formally.
Clause 7.4 is asking you to be clear about how you communicate quality-related information. The IMS1 Manual has a communications section built in - fill that in and you've covered this clause. For most small organisations that's all that's needed. If you're a larger organisation with more complex stakeholder communications, a separate communications policy adds structure, but it's not required by the standard.
Practical Compliance Guidance
To comply with Clause 7.4, the organisation needs a defined approach to internal and external QMS-relevant communications, addressing what is communicated, when, with whom, how and by whom. This can be documented in the management system manual or as a separate communications framework.
The alphaZ documents below support compliance with Clause 7.4.
| alphaZ document | How it supports Clause 7.4 |
|---|---|
| ISO 9001 Management System Toolkit | The complete toolkit for implementing an ISO 9001 compliant management system. Includes the IMS1 manual with communications section and all supporting documents. |
| IMS1 Integrated Management System Manual | covers communication arrangements - including a structured table of key internal and external communications relevant to the QMS - directly addressing the requirements of Clause 7.4. |
| P-17 Communications Policy | A standalone communications policy for organisations that want to formalise their communication arrangements beyond what is covered in the management system manual. |
Note - all the above files can be downloaded with an alphaZ subscription
