ISO 9001 clause 7.1.6: retain and use the knowledge quality needs

What clause 7.1.6 requires in practice

Clause 7.1.6 asks the organisation to determine the knowledge it needs to operate its processes and to reach the intended results of its QMS. That knowledge must then be kept, used and passed on as far as is necessary. When conditions change, the organisation considers what it already knows and decides how to acquire or reach any additional knowledge and updates it needs.

A note shows how knowledge can take different forms: experience held by people; learning from education, training and others; knowledge built into methods, processes and products; and knowledge held in digital systems, other media and documented information. The point is that knowledge is wider than documents.

The clause does not require a knowledge base, a lessons-learned register or a particular tool. It requires the organisation to know what it must know, to keep it from being lost, and to keep it current. The outputs are identified critical knowledge, arrangements for keeping and sharing it, and a way of closing gaps.

Identify knowledge that the process depends on

Ask what people need to know to make the relevant decisions correctly. This may include customer-specific requirements, reasons for a process setting, lessons from earlier failures or an understanding of how connected activities interact. Focus on knowledge that affects the process and intended results.

Do not confuse a long reading list with an assessment of knowledge needs. A team may have access to extensive information while lacking the explanation required to apply it. Conversely, a simple process may rely on a small amount of well-understood knowledge that is effectively shared through supervised practice.

Why organisational knowledge matters to the business

Much of what makes an organisation good at its work lives in the heads of a few experienced people. When they leave, change roles or fall ill, mistakes that were once avoided return, and customers feel it. Deciding what knowledge is critical, and making sure it is passed on and refreshed, protects service quality through staff turnover, growth and new offerings. It also speeds up training and reduces dependence on individual heroes. Looking outward for new knowledge helps the business keep pace with changing technology and customer expectations instead of repeating yesterday's methods.

How to implement clause 7.1.6

Focus on the knowledge whose loss would hurt customers, and use methods that people will actually follow. One way Sterling's teams do this is to ask each process owner who they would call if a problem arose that nobody else could solve, because the answer reveals concentrations of knowledge. The clause does not require a knowledge base or lessons register, and mentoring, worked examples and conversation can serve just as well.

1. For each key process, ask what knowledge makes the difference between a good and a poor result.
2. Note where that knowledge sits today: in people, in methods, in systems or in documents.
3. Identify the single points of failure, such as one expert who holds a critical skill.
4. Choose ways of retaining and sharing it, for example mentoring, job shadowing, worked examples or updated methods.
5. Capture lessons from incidents, complaints and projects and feed them into procedures and training.
6. Decide how to learn about developments outside the business, and who will bring them in.
7. Check periodically that the critical knowledge is still available and current.

Illustrative IT example: a specialist's diagnostic reasoning

Illustrative manufacturing example: lessons behind a process method

A hypothetical manufacturer has a stable method for a product family, but the reason for a particular preparation step is known only to the original process team. A proposed efficiency change removes that step because it appears unnecessary in the written instruction.

Review reveals earlier trials showing why the step matters to the intended result. The organisation retains the relevant learning and makes the rationale accessible to people evaluating future changes. It also checks whether the knowledge remains valid for a new material. The example illustrates preserving useful reasoning, not an instruction to retain every historical experiment indefinitely.

Choose ways to retain, apply and share

Methods may include mentoring, peer review, controlled instructions, lessons learned, communities of practice or suitable knowledge systems. These are implementation choices. The 2026 wording calls attention to application and sharing, so the organisation should not treat uploading information as the end of the task.

Consider whether the intended users can understand and use the knowledge at the point of need. If information is difficult to retrieve, lacks context or is no longer current, its practical value may be limited. Where knowledge is sensitive, appropriate protection and access arrangements remain necessary.

Respond to changing needs

New products, customer requirements, technology or operating methods can create knowledge gaps. Examine what the organisation already knows and what must be acquired or accessed. External sources may include providers, customers, professional learning or other suitable expertise, depending on the need.

Evaluate how new knowledge will be incorporated into the process. Staff may need more than access to a presentation: they may need practice, revised information or a way to ask questions. The related competence requirement addresses people's ability to apply knowledge and skills, while this clause focuses on the organisation's knowledge resource.

Evidence and avoidable failures