I’ve been a big fan of Edward de Bono for about 30 years. Over that period of time he has given us hundreds of ideas about Creative Thinking. In fact, if you’ve ever heard the term ‘lateral thinking’, according to Wikipedia, “The term was coined in 1967 by Edward de Bono”. In my role as […]
Ten Building Blocks for a Quality Culture 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 »
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 »
Risk! Clause 6 has a number of new requirements, but you’re already doing some of them. For example, if you have an estimating department, they are already practicing ‘risk management’. If you have project managers, they are following the path of a project and trying to anticipate what could go wrong. Letting Top Management in on
All you need to know…Planning – Clause 6 of ISO 9001:2015 Read More »
During the planning session of my very first ISO 9001 management system in 1992, the president of the company told me that he was very busy and didn’t want to be bothered until the press came to take the picture of his team and the ISO 9001:1987 certificate. Times have changed! Today, this kind of
All you need to know…Leadership – Clause 5 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 »
ISO 9001:2015 Clause 10 – Improvement This Clause is the ‘money maker’ for any organization – improvement = profits! Since the 2015 version of ISO 9001 has removed specific requirements for a procedure for ‘Preventive Action’, Clause 10 places increased importance on an organization to be proactive and prevent non-conformances rather than waiting for a problem
If we’re not getting better, it feels like it’s getting worse… Read More »
