Clause 9 requires that we monitor and measure the effectiveness of our management systems. For many, this becomes a chore with little or no valuable information to show for all their work. So if we’re measuring, let’s make sure it’s giving us great info and helping us determine if our system is working. John Seddon …
To deliver what your customer wants, you need resources! The better you manage them, the more profitable you’ll be. The better motivated your people are, the more resilient your organization will be, even in the Public Service – you’ll be more likely to stay within your budget if you manage your assets and your activities …
Clause 6.2 requires that we set measurable objectives. This helps motivate people – just strap a FitBit to someone’s wrist and watch what happens! Try SMART targets to make things clear to your folks: Specific Measurable Attainable (or Action-oriented) Relevant Time Limited Next, don’t set your targets until you know what your processes are capable …
In Clause 4 of ISO Standards using the High Level Structure (HLS) you’ll see that we’re required to identify ‘internal issues’, ‘external issues’ and ‘interested parties and their requirements’. What possible value can this bring us? First of all, change the word ‘issues’ to ‘conditions’ or ‘circumstances’ so that the negative association with the word …
The last two posts got us on the road to ‘understanding customers better’. By the time we’ve gathered information on our customers’ perceptions of how well we met their expectations, we could be lost in the weeds. ISO 10004 has some more guidelines on what to do next in Clauses 7.4 and 7.5… 1. Analyze …
Not everyone LOVES doing corrective actions, and that’s an understatement! So why bother? Here are a few good reasons to carry out corrective actions: Corrective actions are one of the building blocks to system improvement. System improvement is required in 11 places in ISO 9001:2015 4.4.1 – Context, QMS requirements: continually improve a quality management …
You may recognize Deming’s 8th ‘Point’ – Drive Out Fear. There’s no better way to get people ‘engaged’ (ISO 9001, 5.1.1 h) than creating a work environment where people feel listened to and respected for their expertise, no matter how ‘basic’ that expertise is! In this Point, he talks about 4 things to do to …
John Seddon, Vanguard Consulting, released a great book called ‘Freedom From Command and Control’. There are plenty of great ideas in there, and I enjoy sharing them with you! Seddon started applying the ‘Toyota Production System’ to the service industry back in the 90s. You’ll find his insights very helpful. Systems Thinking is what he …
You’ll notice in ISO 9001:2015 that clause 6.2.2 requires action plans for Quality Objectives. Yikes! Here’s the good news: these plans will help. Design your Action Plans to help you reach your targets – hitting targets will help you improve your Management System. You’ll see that the requirements include: What are we going to do …
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 …
