Posts Tagged ‘opportunities for improvement’
Quality Management Systems Auditing, Make It Worth Your Time
With the upgrade of the ISO9000 series of standards from the 1994 to 2008 series, the focus of the audits has shifted from purely procedural adherence towards measurement of the actual effectiveness of the quality management system or the total process, and the results that have been achieved through the implementation of a QMS. And now with the upgrades of the AS9100 quality standard, there are even more ways to develop and implement corrective and preventive actions that will greatly benefit the organization.
Audits are an essential management tool to be used for verifying objective evidence of processes, to assess how successfully processes have been implemented, for assessing the effectiveness of achieving any defined target levels, to provide evidence concerning reduction and elimination of problem areas. For the benefit of the organization, quality auditing should not only report non-conformances and corrective actions, but also highlight areas of good practice. By highlighting these areas other departments may share information and amend their working practices as a result, which contributes to continual improvement.
There are times that auditing feels like an arduous ordeal, and those being auditee feel as though they are being personally judged. The most important part of conducting an audit is to communicate with the auditee the intent of the audit and their role in it. For an audit to give meaningful information back to the organization, you must get the cooperation of those being audited. Let them know that the audit is not a tool to punish but rather an opportunity to improve the organization as a whole. Finds are not bad things, quite the contrary they are the building blocks for the continued success of the organization (continual improvement). Why not make it the responsibility of each employee to contribute at least one opportunity for improvement each year. Just think how much better your company will be after one year.
ISO 9001 Done Right, Done Wrong, What is the Ultimate Goal?
I have had the chance, as a consultant and Lead QMS Auditor, to see ISO 9001 in companies big and small in many industries such as manufacturing, service, technology, aerospace, warehousing and others. I’ve grown to understand a few things that seem to make all the difference in how ISO 9001 impacts an organization, either positively or negatively.
In the worst of circumstances, some companies regard their ISO 9001 certification as an accessory that has been uncomfortably inserted into the fabric of the organization. In these companies, ISO 9001 is something to present to an auditor once a year. When the annual audit comes due, everyone rushes around to tidy up the place because “we can’t allow them to see how we really live”. Somehow they placate the auditor enough to come away with an extensive list of corrective actions to address, while still retaining their certification. Once the auditor leaves, the “QMS” is quickly shoved aside so it is out of the way of the “actual” business that needs to get done.
Somewhat better are those companies who at least try to keep up with everything through the year unless an “emergency” comes up or everyone becomes too busy. Unfortunately the crisis-of-the-month and the too-busy-with-the-customer excuses are quite routine and, worse, acceptable justification to “work around the system”. In too many cases these short term lapses become the standard operating procedure. Once the dust settles things get mostly caught up until the next “all hands on deck” is signaled. These companies commonly think of ISO as a “necessary evil” that has to be tolerated.
On the flip side, there are a significant number of ISO 9001 certified organizations who appear to “get it” when it comes to achieving real value from their ISO 9001 quality management system and have incorporated it into their daily business processes. In these companies, the management team has learned how to use the requirements imposed by the standard to their advantage by solving real problems and consistently achieve real improvements in business objectives. These organizations actually achieve real benefits by using the standard as a lever for improving both customer satisfaction and their own bottom line.
I have worked with many ISO 9001 success stories over the years and have come to realize that there are a few unmistakable similarities in how they were able to reached their goals .
In either case, the “magical prescription” to achieve genuine value from IS0 9001 are a direct result of:
- Keeping it simple (K.I.S.S)!
- Focusing on business importance!
- Never doing anything just to please an auditor!
My Customer Wants Us Certified to AS9100, HELP!
You are a small business owner who has just been told you must become certified to AS9100 in order to continue to receive business from your largest customer. You have been putting this off for some time, hoping you would be able to wait until the economy gets better. Now what, you have a deadline and you haven’t got a clue how to get there from here? The best advice, find a competent consultant and get some training to the standard.
Those organizations who recruit good consultants get the job done roughly twice as fast. By helping you avoid mistakes, a good consultant can help you get the job done faster. But only a good consultant can do this. Not all consultants are created equally, and it is important to select a consultant that is right for you. A reputable consultant works hard to ensure that you fully own your quality management system at the time of registration. Key services you will require, if you have no idea what you are doing or how you will do it are as follows:
1. Required documentation development and implementation
2. Training: Quality policy and objectives, Management review, Corrective and Preventive action, Internal auditing, AS9100 Overview, Risk analysis, Overview of the Complete QMS, Collecting and analyzing data.
3. If software is being used to facilitate and run your quality system, you will also need training and implementation services for this.
4. Implementation of a competency, awareness and training program, internal audit, corrective and preventive action programs, management review and overall continual improvement programs.
5. Conduct internal audits for entire system (all processes), one high level internal audit to the AS9101C checklist in preparation for registration audit.
This is just a short list of services that you may need to accomplish your goal of certification to AS9100. Depending on the size and complexity of your organization and processes more may be needed. A good consultant can help you determine your individual needs.
The Internal Audit and Follow-up for Effectiveness
O.K. now that you have defined your internal auditing process, and have a few audits under your belt, what have you learned that will actually help you improve your organization? Corrective and preventive actions have been assigned, responses have been logged, and actions have taken placed. Did the actions taken, improve the process? This is probably the biggest stumbling block I have seen as a third party auditor, follow-up for effectiveness. Did anyone review the effectiveness of the corrective or preventive action; did it accomplish what you intended? If you do not go back and review the results of the actions taken, you have missed the boat on continual improvement. To merely find areas for improvement without making sure that they have been addressed and actual improvements have been made, is never going to move your company closer to sustained success.
Your business management system can be the best possible way to propel your organization to a new level of profitability and success, use it effectively! Make your quality management processes work for you and you will realize actual benefits that will lower costs, improve cycle times, reduce scrap, and improve customer satisfaction. You can skate by with your paper certificate, but wouldn’t you rather get something for your money?
Root Cause Analysis and Continual Improvement
Root cause analysis is a class of problem solving methods aimed at identifying the root causes of problems or events. The practice of root cause analysis is based on the belief that problems are best solved by attempting to correct or eliminate root causes, as opposed to merely addressing the immediately obvious symptoms. By directing corrective measures at root causes, it is hoped that the likelihood of problem recurrence will be minimized. However, it is recognized that complete prevention of recurrence by a single action is not always possible. Thus, root cause analysis is often considered to be a repetitive process, and is frequently viewed as a tool of continuous improvement.
Root cause analysis, initially is a reactive method of problem detection and solving. This means that the analysis is done after an event has occurred. By gaining expertise in root cause analysis it becomes a pro-active method. This means that root cause analysis is able to forecast the possibility of an event even before it could occur.
A well implemented quality management system will include training and understanding of how root cause analysis tools and techniques can be used to promote continuous improvement.
ISO 9001 And Corrective Action
A corrective action is a change implemented to address a weakness identified in a quality management system. Normally corrective actions are implemented in response to a customer complaint, internal nonconformities, nonconformities identified during an internal audit or adverse trends in product and process monitoring such as would be identified by In-coming, in process and final inspection.
In order to implement a corrective action one must first determine root cause. Root cause analysis is a type of problem solving aimed at identifying the root causes of problems or events. The practice of root cause analysis is based on the belief that problems are best solved by attempting to correct or eliminate root causes, as opposed to merely addressing the immediately obvious symptoms. By directing corrective measures at root causes, it is hoped that the likelihood of problem recurrence will be minimized. However, it is recognized that complete prevention of recurrence by a single action is not always possible. Therefore, root cause analysis is often considered to be a repetitive process, and is frequently viewed as a tool of continuous improvement.
Root cause analysis, initially is a reactive method of problem detection and resolving. This means that the analysis is done after an event has occurred. Expertise in root cause analysis can become a pro-active method. This means that root cause analysis is able to predict the possibility of an event even before it could occur.
Discusion Please! AS9100C
So let’s talk about this! There are a lot of companies out there right now, who are sitting in a holding pattern waiting for the proverbial shoe to fall, so they can decide how they want to approach this. Some companies are already implementing the new standard, but there is some confusion on what parts of the old standard go away and what new ones replace them.
I think this is a great forum for professionals and laymen alike to discuss different approaches to this subject. If we put our heads together, maybe we can all gain a better perspective of AS9100 C . What is it really going to take to get moving forward and how long before we are all on the same page. The real objective is to improve the quality management system and services of the aerospace community, not make it harder to maintain.
Don’t just read this blog post, be a part of it. Share your comments and concerns.
It’s Time To Get Of The Bench-You Can’t Win If You Don’t Play
I have been a third party registration auditor for some time now, and I see a lot of people on the field who haven’t a clue how to play the game. These people are going through the motions, but will never receive the full benefits of a quality management system such as AS9100 or ISO 9001. Doesn’t it make sense, if someone is making you do something anyway,or you doing it because your competion is, shouldn’t you get something out of it?
Investing in your business management system is the single biggest boost you can give to your organization. If you are ISO 9001 certified or AS9100 certified and you don’t see the benefits, you are doing something wrong! Simply meeting the requirements of the standard is not the point; continuous improvement is what should be driving your system. I don’t know how many times I have walked into a company where all of the internal audits were completed just before I walked in the door, or the management reviews all look the same, (No progress, no improvement, no commitment). If you are doing only the bare minimum, just to get by, you’re wasting your time, money, and resources.
If you are certified, you already have process maps that show you all of your processes and how they connect to one another. Now let’s take these tools and make them work for us. Let’s analyze the data that has been collected, review our customer satisfaction information, resolve non-conformance with a slant on correcting and preventing them from happening again. Let’s set goals and follow through on completing them. Get active in your quality management system and you will see all of the benefits of being the best that you can be, (Lower costs, increased customer satisfaction, improved processes, happy employees, and higher profits).
Business Process Mapping and Your Quality Mnagement System
Business Process Mapping (BPM) is a method for improving a company’s efficiency and quality. The methodology is applicable to any planned activity.
The increasing simplicity, (downsizing), and accountability of all organizations , including public service and government, together with the modern intricacy, infiltration and importance of computer technology, for even very small business organizations, has tended to heighten demand for business process improvement everywhere. This means that Business Process Mapping is possibly more widely important than say Total Quality Management, an earlier efficiency methodology.
Simply put, Business Process Mapping aims to improve business performance by optimizing the efficiency of connecting activities that result in the product or service an organization provides to its customers.
Business Process Mapping techniques are concerned with ‘mapping’ and ‘workflow’ to enable understanding, analysis and positive change. Diagrams – essentially ‘flow diagrams’ – are a central feature of the tactic.
The flow diagram of a Business Process Map represents the total business process for an organization and how each individual process connects with the next. There are many software applications which exist to enable this, but the basic principles of Business Process Mapping can also be applied using a pen and a dinner-napkin or a flip-chart or sticky notes, and in some cases these are still brilliant aids for creating and communicating basic ideas. So choose your methods wisely. Business Process Mapping generally needs support from people to work successfully no matter the methods used.
The Real Purpose of The Internal Audit
How a management system is audited and the data that comes out of a management system is analyzed will directly relate to how much money a company saves by using an ISO 9001 system. If a company wants the most from its internal audit system, it must go above and beyond checking to see if it does what it says, says what it does.” Questions such as these must be asked:
- How is the effectiveness of this process measured?
- What is done when desired results are not achieved?
- Why is something done in a certain way?
- How do other departments affect this process?
- What could improve this process?· What are some preventive actions that can be taken or have already been implemented for this process to prevent a potential problem?
The answers to these questions are what management will review to decide if it needs to, or should, take action to improve the process. The management team does not really care about pages of filled out checklists in a book that says the processes match the procedures and that there were no findings. If the management team is going to invest time and resources into the iso internal audit activity, it wants to have information brought to it on how it can improve processes and ultimately make the company better.