Tag Archives: ISO

Get back to the meaning of Quality with 9001: A Quality Odyssey

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Think quality is boring? That can only be attributable to human error. 

Sure: bolt sizes, calibrations, documents, procedures, work instructions…yeah, there’s nothing particularly compelling about all that, on the surface, anyway. Dig a little deeper, however, and you’ll be surprised what you find. 

If you missed our exclusive webinar, 9001: A Quality Odyssey, check it out whenever you like by heading over to our on-demand webinar library. This decidedly un-boring special presentation will open the pod bay doors of your mind by getting back to the meaning of quality management and turning to the very roots of standardization.

Far from a boring history lesson, A Quality Odyssey will link the quality standards of today to the very need for standardization and measurement in the first place, and look at the evolution of quality systems throughout the ages and what they mean for businesses today. 

Sign up today to learn how to put your quality system to its fullest possible use…which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.

Understanding the business benefits of consensus-based standards

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Businesses seek ISO certification for a variety of reasons: attracting and retaining customers and clients, boosting brand image, and more.

Getting executive buy-in for ISO certification can sometimes be a challenge, and even leaders who have made the decision to seek standards certification – be it ISO 9001, ISO 14001, or any other widely used standards – often fail to consider the unsung rewards of certification.

Businesses that implement ISO standards often focus on the perceived burdens of adoption, such as expansive paper trails, demanding document management, and seemingly interminable audits. They forget that, when executed and implemented properly, certification can spell rich financial rewards.

Well, thanks to the folks at the World Standards Cooperative (WSC), an organization that promotes voluntary, consensus-based standards, business leaders have access to a variety of tools that illustrate the business benefits of adopting ISO standards. The WSC website contains links to dozens of such resources, including:

So take a look at this valuable resource, and if you are in the market for stress-free certification, don’t forget to review Intelex’s array of streamlined ISO-related products.

Training and quality: peas in a pod

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According to experts, though the connection can seem distant or indirect, proper training has a clear impact on quality, just as it has a clear impact on every aspect of business.

As business process design and ISO 9001 expert Chris Anderson noted in a blog post on the top ten root causes of business problems, poor training is the number one source of business issues. Two decades of business management led Anderson to place poor training ahead of poor methods, poor employee placement and poor engineering and design on the list.

“People don’t make mistakes,” Anderson insists in the post. “Systems make mistakes.”

And just as product and service quality issues arise from systemic deficiencies, employee performance — and its impact on quality — is correlative to the integrity of training management systems.

Training and quality are best thought of as peas in a pod — inseparable elements that should always be mentioned in the same sentence. Even if an organization feels it is 100 per cent where it needs to be from a quality perspective, training is essentially what got it there.

Best-in-class companies have thorough, streamlined training management programs (most often leveraged by software) that deliver measurable results. For those that overlook thorough training, it might be due to lack of time and other resources. However, such an oversight often leads to harsh ramifications: product recalls, brand damage, injuries, fatalities and bankruptcy.

Intelex featured in Quality Magazine’s 2011 How-To Guide

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Here on the Intelex Blog, we love to preach the benefits of ISO 9001 certification, and how the right software solutions help facilitate fast, stress-free conformance.

Those interested in learning more about how to achieve ISO 9001 certification are encouraged to check out the latest edition of Quality Magazine’s handy annual How To Guide.

Head over to Quality Magazine’s website to view the latest issue of Quality Magazine. Click on the “How To” tab on the right and – in addition to reading the rest of the valuable magazine and guide – go to page 19 to read “How to Ensure Effortless, Ongoing ISO 9001 Certification and Perpetual Audit Preparedness” to learn, well, just that!

 

The advantage of web-based supplier management

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While a supplier management system can be implemented without software, the benefits of establishing a software-based system are numerous and significant. Depending on how comprehensive the solution is, a software-based system can be capable of providing real-time metrics that can be accessed instantly with the click of a button, thus rendering an entire supply chain and vendor base transparent. Some critical features of a comprehensive software-based supplier management system include:

Supplier management and evaluation

The system should be able to register and categorize suppliers by company name, supplier number and performance rating as well as other details in a centralized portal. The system should use this information to schedule, notify, and archive all supplier evaluation activities and results and develop a consistent supplier rating program with customizable surveys.

Risk management and continuous improvement

To avoid quality issues and ensure all elements of the supply chain run at peak performance, the supplier management system should be capable of:

  • Tracking supplier non-conformances and all details associated with those non-conformances.
  • Specifying target investigation dates or target response dates and manage all investigation related data.
  • Implementing corrective actions and measure their effectives over time.
  • Reporting on and analyzing root causes.

Streamlining workflow

To take the time and energy out of micromanaging data and issuing notifications, the system should be capable of streamlining supplier management workflow by tracking all supplier and vendor data in a central portal that’s accessible across the organization. A proactive system should also be capable of sending automated email notifications on pending and overdue supplier tasks to employees and their supervisors.

Real-time visibility and reporting

An ideal system should be capable of monitoring, reporting on and storing data on each stage of the process, including initial vendor registration and setup, ongoing supplier performance assessments, the implementation of corrective and preventive actions and evaluations on the success of those actions. Employees with access to the system should be able to instantly update information and generate ad hoc, boardroom quality supplier management reports on root causes, correction actions, and authorize claim amounts based on real-time data.

Some key requirements

A web-based supplier management system should be:

  • Accessible from multiple locations around the world under stringent security protocols.
  • User-friendly and intuitive, thereby increasing user adoption and reducing training and support costs.
  • Easily configurable to address company-specific requirements and metrics (initial and ongoing).
  • Scalable, allowing an organization to roll out the system to key suppliers.

Learn more about supplier management optimization strategies and tactics by checking out Intelex’s Optimizing Supplier Performance white paper, or by giving us a call to discuss our supplier management solutions.

Quality’s expanding role: from manufacturing to marketing

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Given the broad scope of applicability quality management has adopted in the past two decades, it is understandable that some level of abstraction clouds its purpose.

Before ISO 9001 — indeed, before its 1971 precursor, BS 9000, a set of standards published by the British Standards Institution (BSI) to guide quality management in the electronics industry — and even before the popularity of statistician and quality management pioneer Edward Deming, the need for robust quality management was quite concrete, especially in a military context.

During World War II, the inadvertent detonation of munitions in a weapons factory as the result of sloppy handling or process oversight carried particularly disastrous results: the loss of life, raw materials, time, money, manpower and military advantage. It was this very context that spurred the consistent documentation of specific control processes and procedures; the methodical execution of activities that conformed to documented standards; and the ongoing inspection and auditing of processes and procedures to ensure higher quality, better safety and organizational advantage.

The vast popularity of Deming’s ‘Plan-Do-Check-Act’ methodology and quality control philosophy in post-war Japan essentially solidified the role of quality management across manufacturing sectors in Japan and, eventually, across the U.S.

Nearly seven decades later, quality management has extended its reach significantly and, far from the assembly lines of munitions factories and discrete manufacturers, is now applied to the more nebulous realms of sales, marketing, client care, and service industries of all breeds. Now, rather than documenting how a bolt is fastened or a flow metre is calibrated to ensure consistency in machine operation, a service organization must document how a call is initiated to ensure customer satisfaction and retention, for example. Further, the need to expand the scope of a quality program beyond an organization’s immediate operations and across its entire supply chain and vendor base has become increasingly important. The need for quality management, in other words, is everywhere.

Though industries and applications have changed, the benefits are plain: a robust, electronic QMS means improved product and service quality, organizational advantage, and, most importantly, greater profits.

Take a trip to Planet ISO

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As a youth I remember passing large industrial buildings in my hometown featuring large signs emblazoned with one straightforward message: “ISO 9001 Certified.”

Though my father was a quality assurance manager at a large mining company, at the time I really had no idea what the statement meant. I figured ISO certification was a good thing, but couldn’t explain what it was. Now that I live in the world of environment, health, safety and quality, I have a pretty good grasp on what ISO standards are all about, but at the time, I really could have used a visit to Planet ISO.

Whether you’re new to the world of ISO standards or not, chances are you’ll find some value in the Planet ISO YouTube channel. The page contains a ton of useful videos on everything ISO, including:

Not only is the site useful for introducing yourself to the world of ISO standards; it’s also a great way to stay on top of new information coming out of the  International Organization for Standardization.

While you’re at it, check out ISO’s Facebook Page. It is a surprisingly useful resource for any personnel charged with implementing or maintaining conformance to ISO 14001, 9001 and 26000 as well as other standards specifications.