Jessen Yeoh, CQP, MCQI, IRCA QMS/EMS/OHS Principal Auditor, Principal Advisor, P Excel Advisory Pty Ltd, explains the benefits of the Appreciative Inquiry approach in auditing. The motivation and ultimate intention of audit is to check conformance and determine whether audit criteria are fulfilled. Audit should not be a “non-conformance focus” process, concentrating on identifying non-conformances and problem-solving, or even worse, fault-finding and…
Category: ISO Quality Management
A Question of MSS 1000.
Ian Dalling explains how MSS 1000:2014 will impact on the future of the quality professional. Quality professionals now have free access to a very powerful management tool called MSS 1000:2014, with many novel features that will help them gain recognition, respect and influence at the highest levels of management. It is a universal management system…
Driving Quality Excellence in 2021
Eric Stoop, CEO at EASE Inc – a developer of plant floor audits and insights software in the US – provides his top five tips to help manufacturing businesses overcome the obstacles posed by Covid-19. As the UK’s manufacturing sector continues its recovery, a feeling of optimism is spreading throughout the industry as vaccines…
ISO 9001:2015 Documented Information.
Alex Woods offers a guide to the documented information requirements in ISO 9001:2015. One of the more eagerly discussed differences between ISO 9001:2015 and its predecessor is the absence of the terms “documents” and “records”. The six mandatory documented procedures are gone, so too has the requirement for a documented quality manual. Instead, throughout the…
Utilising the ‘8D Approach’ in Business.
Stephanie Herring, Quality Manager at Wales Fertility Institute, UK, explains why the 8D approach should be applied when investigating non-conformances. Within all aspects of any service, quality remains the integral commodity of how we continue to improve our services, our staff and ourselves. Working towards continual improvement can sometimes cause staff and service fatigue, due…
Six Sigma in the Manufacturing Industry.
Husain Al-Omani, Master Black Belt, Board Member of the AACE (Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering) International Marketing Board, highlights the importance of the Six Sigma approach and why more businesses should adopt this quality management methodology. Over the past 50 years, there has been an increasing interest in the application of the Six…
Understanding design and development of products and services.
Ravindiran Gurusamy, IRCA Certificated Associate Auditor, offers an overview of ISO9001:2015; Clause 8.3. It is useful to have an enhanced knowledge and understanding on the applicability of ISO9001:2015; Clause no 8.3, Design and development of products and services for audit clients in the service sectors. This article outlines how to implement and demonstrate conformance to…
Can your tendering process build potential failure into your project?
Dave Sheedy, CQP MCQI, Quality Assurance Manager at Arcelor Mittle Kent Wire Ltd, UK, explains the life-saving importance of suppliers producing the correct accreditation for the latest construction quality standards. As part of the tendering process within the construction industry, major projects require the completion of a pre-qualification questionnaire at all levels within the supply…
ISO 9001:2015 what Quality Policy means for Auditors
Andrew Holt examines how ISO 9001:2015 sets out the development and communication of the quality policy and what this means for auditors. It is in sub-clause 5.2.1 of ISO 9001:2015 that sets out the requirements of top management in respect of the organisation’s quality policy. Top management must establish a quality policy that is appropriate…
The Context of the Organisation
Bob Hughes, CQP FCQI, managing director of Temple Quality Management Systems, explains why understanding the organisation and its context offers the management team an opportunity to reflect on its successes. Many businesses are apprehensive about the new requirement in ISO 9001:2015 – clause 4.1 ‘Understanding the Organization and its Context’. However, management teams should think…