CONSULTING ISO 9000

INTRODUCTION

What is Quality Assurance?

You may work in a perfect organisation where everybody always knows what they are doing, nothing ever arrives late, work is always passed to you in the exact form you need it in, your suppliers never let you down ..., you may, but I doubt it.

For most of us, our experience of work is more frustrating. We can readily remember work which arrived late, work which was so poorly done that it had to be repeated, changes to the system and procedures which we were never told about.

In fact, most of us, most of the time, think that our organisations could be run more effectively.

Quality is an approach that shares that belief.

You can easily work out whether your organisation could benefit from a Quality Assurance system (QAS) by asking yourself if you have ever experienced the following:

Now look back at your list and ask whether any or even most, of the problems would not have occurred if:

In the "undocumented" approach to management systems, the only way to find out how something is done is to ask someone: 'Ask Joe, he always knows'; 'Try Mary, I think she has done that before'. In very small organisations this can work quite well, but as an organisation grows, this system falls apart.

Really, the "undocumented" system is not a system at all - it's a lazy approach in which the organisation never decides how anything is to be done.

The Quality Assurance (QA) approach to management is very similar to the documented method but adds three (3) essential extras:

Quality is the method used to correct mistakes. Quality Assurance is the method used to prevent mistakes - i.e. get it right first time, zero defect standard.

Why should an organisation register for ISO 9002?

Why go through the hassle of being subjected to a continuous assessment by an outside body who is not even a customer? What are the benefits to the company?

Let's look at what benefits there are for your customers.

What are the advantages of Registration?

Improved quality through:

A documented QMS ensures all employees understand their role and objectives: "WHAT GETS WRITTEN DOWN, GETS DONE!"

Increased morale. Implementing a QMS can remove pent up frustration; it gets things done. It is seen as a positive mode of operating, and everyone develops a sense of pride in achieving the goals of registration and customer satisfaction.

Long-term, it will improve productivity and save costs as you improve processes.

Through the audit and review process you identify those areas for improvement.

Cut down on waste, inappropriate inventories, bad practices, rework, inefficiency; it aids rationalisation.

Provides you with a competitive edge.

Assists sales in situations where support is the key to getting the order

Overall it aids profitability and growth.

In summary

Using outside expertise

The most important phase for using outside consultants is at the beginning or 'discovery' stage of the standard. An outsider can come in, address senior management, discuss what it will mean to the company to go for ISO 9002, and the penalties for not doing so. The most important phase for using outside consultants is at the beginning or 'discovery' stage of the standard. An outsider can come in, address senior management, discuss what it will mean to the company to go for ISO 9002, and the penalties for not doing so.

S/He may say things such as 'This is not an audit of your shortcomings as much as an opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to quality. It is something to celebrate, not to suffer. Above all, it will improve both productivity and staff morale'. S/He may say things such as 'This is not an audit of your shortcomings as much as an opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to quality. It is something to celebrate, not to suffer. Above all, it will improve both productivity and staff morale'.

Managers will react to that last point. Many will also welcome the opportunity to have a set of real specifications for the first time, and a set of actual procedures detailing how the specifications can be met.

Obvious phases to which a consultant can contribute are: Obvious phases to which a consultant can contribute are:

The initial audit

Many of us are so close to our daily operations that we may welcome the outsider's view of things we cannot see, or to say some things about our company which may be too difficult for us to say, such as: "The shop floor and the canteen are too dirty"; "The production department has an 'it will do' attitude"; "Deadlines are more important than quality"; "That the chief executive still does not understand what the customer is demanding." Many of us are so close to our daily operations that we may welcome the outsider's view of things we cannot see, or to say some things about our company which may be too difficult for us to say, such as: "The shop floor and the canteen are too dirty"; "The production department has an 'it will do' attitude"; "Deadlines are more important than quality"; "That the chief executive still does not understand what the customer is demanding."

The independent consultant also helps staff get used to the very independent inspector from the certification agency, who will have no compulsion in saying that some practice is totally unacceptable, and that you fail to qualify. The independent consultant also helps staff get used to the very independent inspector from the certification agency, who will have no compulsion in saying that some practice is totally unacceptable, and that you fail to qualify.

erefore should not be visible to browsers and is merely to keep the table size consistant between pages. This text is white and therefore should not be visible to browsers and is merely to keep the table size consistant between pages. This text is white and therefore should not be visible to browsers and is merely to keep the table size consistant between pages. This text is white and therefore should not be visible to browsers and is merely to keep the table size consistant between pages.