ISO 9001 Management Rep, Who Me?
Has this just happened to you? You walk into a staff meeting and it is announced that the company has decided to implement a quality management system and you will be the proud own of this system. Does a deer in the headlights come to mind as you struggle to catch your breath. How will I ever be able to run this program and do my real job too? I have little to no experience with ISO 9001 and I don’t have the foggiest idea of how to begin, Help!
Stop panicking and Liston up. ISO 9001:2008 is the newest version of the popular international standard that many manufacturing and service industries subscribe to. Some of the requirements in ISO 9001:2008 include:
- a set of procedures that cover all key processes in the business;
- monitoring processes to ensure they are effective;
- keeping adequate records;
- checking output for defects, with appropriate and corrective action where necessary;
- regularly reviewing individual processes and the quality system itself for effectiveness; and
- facilitating continual improvement
Take a lead auditor course, or hire a professional quality management consultant to help you implement your quality system. Depending on the size and complexity of your organization and its processes, you can find a competent consultant that can help you document your system, train your employees to the system and facilitate your management reviews and internal audits.
If you opt to go it alone, the best advise, get educated to the ISO 9001 standard. Some companies use templates to document their system. This can be a great time saver if done properly. The key with using templates is to make sure you customize them to your individual processes. Another option is software applications that help organize and manage your new system. One in particular that I have found helpful is CIS Software. This software application is an on line SaaS system which includes all of the required criteria of the ISO 9001 standard.
What ever you do, “KEEP IT SIMPLE”. Do not invent processes and producers that you will never use, these will be the land mines that will sabotage your certification efforts.
