Too many well-intentioned improvement projects end up in the weeds. How does this happen? Too much focus on the process and not enough focus on the goal. Unless that process is really causing people grief they won’t be all that interested in it. If you can relate improving the process to relieving some kind of […]
Two Keys to Process Improvement Read More »
Tip #2 – Make your audits pay: Audit by Objectives Are your Quality Objectives considered when you plan Internal Audits? One of the driving forces in a management system is the need to improve – do it faster, have fewer errors, ship on time. That’s why ISO has us set objectives – to have something
Auditing by Objectives – Make your audits pay! Simplify your System Tip #2 Read More »
Building Block #9 You need to be ready to trade off other values in favour of Quality There’s an anecdotal ‘constraint model’ in the world of Engineering: Quality – Price – Timing: pick any two. By staying focused on ‘errors are unacceptable’ (or at least have a rate of errors we can live with) we
Trade off other Values for Quality?? Read More »
Here’s a VENN diagram we created to get you started down your integration path. You’ll may find this ‘Why Integrate?’ article by Peter Elias Alouche helpful, too: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/case-integrated-management-systems-peter-elias-alouche. Here’s the VENN diagram – click on it to enlarge it: Here’s the link to our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7I1MLs8oH0&t=19s
An integrated management system? Why not? Read More »
Of course we want to measure our performance to know how well we’re doing. In fact, if we don’t measure how things are going, we run the risk of experiencing ‘unplanned results’. Never a good thing, unless the results are better than we had planned for. In order to meet the requirements of this section, we’ll
All you need to know – Clause 9: Performance Evaluation Read More »
Seven changes you may not have noticed in this revision of ISO 9001… One of the exercises we use in our Auditor Training is ‘Where’s Waldo?’ Participants look through the new version of ISO 9001 and try to spot where the Standard has changed. These will be part of your ‘how to..’ information so you know
All you need to know…Operations – Clause 8 of ISO 9001:2015 Read More »
Well, this is interesting! If you’re already ISO 9001 certified, you’ve probably got this covered, for the most part. Let’s take a look… As in the past, we need 3 major categories of resources to support our operations: People (7.1.2), Infrastructure (7.1.3) and a suitable Work Environment (7.1.4). You’re already demonstrating that you have these in
All you need to know…Support – Clause 7 of ISO 9001:2015 Read More »
Now that you’ve started your transition journey, perhaps we can save you some time and still make sure you end up with a system that is an asset for your organization, not a liability. This series is more of a ‘how to…’ rather than just a description of the requirements. The requirements series starts here,
All you need to know…Context of the Organization – Clause 4 of ISO 9001:2015 Read More »
The Toyota Production System (TPS) The TPS is renowned for its focus on reduction of the seven wastes to improve overall customer value. If you haven’t read the originator, Taiichi Ohno’s version, find a copy. (http://www.amazon.com/Toyota-Production-System-Beyond-Large-Scale/dp/0915299143). The 106 pages in this book will provide you with all “you really need to know” about quality and
Toyota Production System Stands the Test of Time Read More »
John Seddon, Vanguard Consulting, has been using the Toyota Production System and Systems Thinking for almost 3 decades. His work is well known throughout the Quality World and he has made significant improvements in processes for hundreds of organizations and UK government departments. This article is based on his ‘Lean Tactics’ document Measurement. What to
Measurements can mess you up! Read More »
