Tag Archives: ISO9001:2015

List 17 2014

Internal Auditing – How Often ?

audit image4

Internal Auditing – How Often?

Any organisation/business is required to conduct internal audits to maintain its ISO9001 standard. The audit involves testing out company processes and procedures to determine the standard at which they operate when compared to how they should work. Audits are designed to help employees but the mere mention of the word can see your staff sent into a panic, scrambling around to make everything look perfect. However, communicating yourself well to your staff on the benefit of the audits, and letting them know that this is not a finger pointing exercise, can serve well to make these audits more positive.

Internal audits should be viewed in a positive light, a chance to take a step back and have your process reviewed by a fresh set of objective eyes. They are an ideal way to prepare for external assessment too. In some ways internal assessments can be more thorough as processes are examined more closely, more frequently and in greater detail than external auditors.

ISO 9001 does not specify how often internal audits should be conducted. Instead, the requirements are that organisations audit based on how important a process is, the risks involved and whether there is an existing record of previous concerns. Consideration should also be given to quality objectives as these can dictate audit frequency. At the least, internal audits should be carried out annually. There are two ways around this – auditors may decide to review processes in one go, or they may portion off aspects and have a plan which details the schedule over a number of months. Complex processes may require more frequent assessment and this should be built into an internal audit plan.

The audit plan removes the need for panic and helps eliminate an atmosphere of mistrust. It lets everyone know what will be happening and when, as well as allowing process owners time to complete any improvements that may be taking place. Although the audit plan is made general knowledge, the detail relating to timings should be confirmed with respective process owners as soon as is possible.

The internal audit should not be seen as second string to an external audit and for that reason it needs to be as thorough as possible. Appointed auditors may benefit from some training and development to support them in getting the best out of the process. Auditors should apply a variety of methods to test the process including talking to employees, reviewing data and relevant documentation as well as and perhaps most importantly observing the process in practice. Part of being thorough is keeping accurate documentation that is a true reflection of the findings, for both management and future audits.

The aim of the audit should not be to purely report non-conformance, but auditors should also use the opportunity to highlight areas of a process which may benefit from change. Therefore as important as the audit is the follow up. Follow ups are critical to ensuring that the audit cycle is closed off, and they are also a great motivating factor for further improvements.

source: http://synergosconsultancy.co.uk
List 13 2014

Global management standards

The ISO 9001 family – Global management standards (International Organization for Standardization).

 This video from the International Organization for Standardization, explores the worldwide impact on business of the ISO 9000 family of international management standards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq1Zi_V4KyE

List 13 2014

TRAINING PLAN AND TRAINING REALIZATION – TRAINING NEED ANALYSIS,

choose-personIntroduction

The Quality management principles underlying the ISO 9000 family of standards (of which the ISO 10000 series form a part) emphasize the importance of human resource management and the need for appropriate training. They recognize that customers are likely to both respect and value an organization’s commitment to its human resources and its ability to demonstrate the strategy used to improve the competence of its personnel.

Personnel at all levels should be trained to meet the organization’s commitment to supply products of a required quality in a rapidly changing market place where customer requirements and expectations are increasing continuously.

This International Standard provides guidelines to assist organizations and their personnel when addressing issues related to training. It may be applied whenever guidance is required to interpret references to “education“ and “training“ within the ISO 9000 family of quality assurance and quality management standards. Any references to “training“ in this document includes all types of education and training.

An organization’s objectives for continual improvement, including the performance of its personnel, might be affected by a number of internal and external factors including changes in markets, technology, innovation, and the requirements of customers and other stakeholders. Such changes may require an organization to analyse its competence-related needs. Figure 1 illustrates how training could be selected as an effective means of addressing these needs.

Training Need Analysis, Training Plan and Training Realization

Training can be described as “the acquisition of skills, concepts or attitudes that result in improved performance within the job environment”.

“Training is process to provide and develop knowledge, skills and behaviours to meet requirements” (ISO 10015 Clause 3.2)

Training analysis looks at each aspect of an operational domain so that the initial skills, concepts and attitudes of the human elements of a system can be effectively identified and appropriate training can be specified.

Training analysis as a process often covers:

  • Training Analysis is most often used as part of the system development process. Due to the close tie between the design of the system and the training required, in most cases it runs alongside the development to capture the training requirements

Training Analysis (sometimes called Training Needs Analysis (TNA)) is the process of identifying the a gap in employee training and related training needs.

Training Needs Analysis (TNA) is defined as the “Identification of training requirements and the most cost effective means of meeting those requirements”.

A TNA should always be performed where a major new development in policy, equipment acquisition or procedures is deemed to have potential impact upon the current training regime.

What is ISO 10015?

The ISO 10015 Quality Standard for Training is a sector specific quality assurance system. It focuses on training processes at the workplace.

ISO 10015 complements ISO 9001 Standard and further elaborates on the clause 6.2.2 — “Awareness, Competence and Training” and gives clear guidance for its implementation.

The role of this ISO 10015 International Standard is

  • to provide guidance that can help an organization to identify and analyse training needs,
  • design and plan the training,
  • provide for the training,
  • evaluate training outcomes,
  • and monitor and improve the training process

in order to achieve its objectives.

It emphasizes the contribution of training to continual improvement and is intended to help organizations make thier training a more effective and efficient investment.

Scope of ISO 10015

This standard cover the development, implementation, maintenance, and improvement of strategies and systems for training that affect the quality of the products supplied by an organization.

This International Standard applies to all types of organizations.

It is not intended for use in contracts, regualtions, or for certification.

It does not add to, change, or otherwise modify requirements for the ISO 9000 series.

This International Standard is not intended to be used by training providers delivering services to other organizations.

Training providers may use this International Standard when addresing the training needs of their own personnel.

Source: www.ngusuyasa.wordpress.com

Mar 3 2014

Involvement of People

People at all levels are the essence of an organization and their full involvement enables their abilities to be used for the organization’s benefit.

Key Benefits :

Applying the principle of involvement of people typically leads to :

• Motivated, committed and involved people within the organization
• Innovation and creativity in furthering the organization’s objectives
• People being accountable for their own performance

• People eager to participate in and contribute to continual improvement.
• People understanding the importance of their contribution and role in    the organization
• People identifying constraints to their performance
• People accepting ownership of problems and their responsibility for solving them
• People evaluating their performance against their personal goals and objectives
• People actively seeking opportunities to enhance their competence, knowledge and experience
• People freely sharing knowledge and experience
• People openly discussing problems and issues.

Paźdź 17 2013

How to Select Quality Vendor

How to Select Quality Vendor

contact:  kris@themanagementsystems.comchoose-person

The vendor selection process can be a very complicated and emotional undertaking if you don’t know how to approach it from the very start. Here are five steps to help you select the right vendor for your business. This guide will show you how to analyze your business requirements, search for prospective vendors, lead the team in selecting the winning vendor and provide you with insight on contract negotiations and avoiding negotiation mistakes.

1. Analyze the Business Requirements

Before you begin to gather data or perform interviews, assemble a team of people who have a vested interest in this particular vendor selection process. The first task that the vendor selection team needs accomplish is to define, in writing, the product, material or service that you are searching for a vendor. Next define the technical and business requirements. Also, define the vendor requirements. Finally, publish your document to the areas relevant to this vendor selection process and seek their input. Have the team analyze the comments and create a final document. In summary:

-Assemble an Evaluation Team

-Define the Product, Material or Service

-Define the Technical and Business Requirements

-Define the Vendor Requirements

-Publish a Requirements Document for Approval

2. Vendor Search

Now that you have agreement on the business and vendor requirements, the team now must start to search for possible vendors that will be able to deliver the material, product or service. The larger the scope of the vendor selection process the more vendors you should put on the table. Of course, not all vendors will meet your minimum requirements and the team will have to decide which vendors you will seek more information from. Next write a Request for Information (RFI) and send it to the selected vendors. Finally, evaluate their responses and select a small number of vendors that will make the „Short List” and move on to the next round. In summary:

-Compile a List of Possible Vendors

-Select Vendors to Request More Information From

-Write a Request for Information (RFI)

-Evaluate Responses and Create a „Short List” of Vendors

3. Request for Proposal (RFP) and Request for Quotation (RFQ)

The business requirements are defined and you have a short list of vendors that you want to evaluate. It is now time to write a Request for Proposal or Request for Quotation. Which ever format you decide, your RFP or RFQ should contain the following sections:

-Submission Details

-Introduction and Executive Summary

-Business Overview & Background

-Detailed Specifications

-Assumptions & Constraints

-Terms and Conditions

-Selection Criteria

4. Proposal Evaluation and Vendor Selection

The main objective of this phase is to minimize human emotion and political positioning in order to arrive at a decision that is in the best interest of the company. Be thorough in your investigation, seek input from all stakeholders and use the following methodology to lead the team to a unified vendor selection decision:

Preliminary Review of All Vendor Proposals

Record Business Requirements and Vendor Requirements

Assign Importance Value for Each Requirement

Assign a Performance Value for Each Requirement

Calculate a Total Performance Score

Select a the Winning Vendor

5. Contract Negotiation Strategies

The final stage in the vendor selection process is developing a contract negotiation strategy. Remember, you want to „partner” with your vendor and not „take them to the cleaners.” Review your objectives for your contract negotiation and plan for the negotiations be covering the following items:

-List Rank Your Priorities Along With Alternatives

-Know the Difference Between What You Need and What You Want

-Know Your Bottom Line So You Know When to Walk Away

-Define Any Time Constraints and Benchmarks

-Assess Potential Liabilities and Risks

-Confidentiality, non-compete, dispute resolution, changes in requirements

-Do the Same for Your Vendor (i.e. Walk a Mile in Their Shoes)

6. Contract Negotiation Mistakes

The smallest mistake can kill an otherwise productive contract negotiation process. Avoid these ten contract negotiation mistakes and avoid jeopardizing an otherwise productive contract negotiation process.

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http://operationstech.about.com/od/vendorselection/a/VendorSelectionHub.htm

Paźdź 11 2013

Conducting Audits: Science or Art:

contact:  kris@themanagementsystems.com

Conducting Audits can be a Science but Meaningful Audits is an Art:

  • Identifying missing elements and obvious     audit image6noncompliance/nonconformances is easy,
  • Identifying what is good and/or done right is necessary but difficult,
  • Identifying nonconformances to the intent of the standards or ineffective processes and activities is  difficult in a working environment,
  • Separating the trivial (observations and findings) from the Important takes judgement and experience,
  • Lecturing about audit conduct and policy is easy,
  • Asking the right questions is harder,
  • Getting people to talk and listening to what they have to say can be difficult,
  • Establishing credibility (audit has value) is an art, it must be earned,
  • Maintaining control of the audit without turning off communications takes leadership,
  • Separating fact from fancy takes experience; reliance on objective evidence, 
  • Making recommendations to resolve findings & observations is not good audit practice:          – Lack of familiarity with the process and practice                                                                                – Lose objectivity and become part of the problem,
  • Making suggestions that would stimulate resolution is recommended, where necessary.