An evaluation of the quality management systems (QMS) at a South African electricity state owned company compared to the requirement of ISO 9001:2015

Abstract: This paper assesses the gap between an established QMS at the South African national electricity company in the metering division compared to ISO 9001:2015 requirements standard and finding ultimate ways to close the gaps. The study follows a quantitative approach with questionnaires distributed and semi-structured interviews conducted to collect the data for more reliability and validity of the study. A sample of 200 employees was selected form the metering division, however, the response rate translated to 82.5%. It is found that some of ISO 9001:2015 clauses are not respected, and the expected requirements were not met in terms of process approach, with 77% of respondent indicating that there is a lack of resources and competencies, while 73% indicated that there is a deficiency in design and operation compatibility. Recommendations made on the failure in the process approach include the use of internal and external audits and the development of quality awareness programs of metering employees