Resources — general & people
Plain-language summary
Provide the resources the QMS actually needs — money, people, equipment, time — looking honestly at what you have, what constrains you, and what must come from outside.
What the clause is really asking
Two short requirements with long shadows: determine and provide the resources for the QMS (considering internal capability and external dependencies), and specifically the people needed for effective operation of the system and its processes.
What auditors look for
Auditors rarely audit this clause head-on; they collect evidence everywhere else: chronic vacancies in quality roles, inspection skipped for lack of time, maintenance backlog. When agreed actions die of starvation, this is the clause cited.
Typical evidence
Budgets; headcount plans; resource decisions in management review; outsourcing arrangements.
How to comply — recommendations
Surface resource needs formally in management review with a decision recorded — even 'declined for now' is a managed decision. It protects the system's credibility and, frankly, the quality manager.
Common nonconformities
Quality function chronically understaffed against its defined duties; resource requests vanishing without decisions; reliance on a single key person with no backup.
Related clauses
IATF 16949: applies unchanged; ISO 14001 7.1; ISO 45001 7.1
In the book
Chapter 7 — Support — People, Kit and the Truth About Documents treats this clause family in full: what it is really asking, what auditors look for, the evidence that satisfies, how to make it work on a real floor, and where companies stumble.
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