Quality management system (QMS)

A quality management system is the organized set of policies, procedures, records and responsibilities through which a manufacturer ensures its products are consistently made and tested to specification.

It is the framework that Good Manufacturing Practice regulations require. Core elements include written standard operating procedures, documented training, control of suppliers and incoming materials, batch records that trace every step of production, in-process and finished-product testing, handling of deviations and out-of-specification results, a change control process, complaint and recall procedures, and periodic internal audits and management review. Quality assurance oversees the system, while quality control performs the actual testing.

For hemp products, a quality system is what turns a certificate of analysis from a one-time snapshot into a repeatable assurance, because it governs how batches are defined, sampled and released and how records are kept for traceability. Manufacturers demonstrate their system through registration or certification against cGMP, dietary supplement GMP or standards such as ISO 9001, and laboratories through ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation. Readers encounter it indirectly, through lot numbers, batch-specific test results and the ability of a company to answer questions about a product's history.