Andrew Nichols, Quality Programme Manager at Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center, argues that data breaches can be disastrous for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It’s time for quality managers to look at how their management systems can help protect their business. Cybersecurity breaches often make the news headlines, especially as large organisations tend to be the main victims – BA, Equifax, Marriott and NHS patient data have all been subject to…
Category: ISO Quality Management
Improving Effectiveness through Evidence-based Decision-making.
Ravindiran Gurusamy, IRCA Certificated Associate Auditor, offers an overview of how evidence-based decision-making can play a vital role in quality management and decision-making. Facts, evidence and data analysis can support objectivity and confidence in decision-making – but how does evidence-based decision-making really benefit organisations and audit professionals? For a start, evidence is more reliable and…
Why quality assurance is a vital ingredient for a UK nutrition’s business.
Cambridge Commodities takes a “no-nonsense” approach to ensuring transparency in its quality operations, says the firm’s Head of Quality and Technical Becky Smith. When you’re sourcing and supplying more than 2,500 ingredients via a complex supply chain, you need to earn the trust of your customers. And a key way to do that is to…
ISO 9001 Gets Quality Check.
Used by millions of organizations around the globe, the world-standard reference for quality, ISO 9001, Quality management systems – Requirements, has just passed its “warrant of fitness”. Like all ISO standards, ISO 9001 undergoes a systematic review every five years to decide whether it is still valid or needs updating. This is important to ensure the standard is still…
Building Trust in Food Safety Auditing.
Marie-Claude Quentin, Senior Technical Manager at the Global Food Safety Initiative, explains how it is troubleshooting issues of trust in auditing and certification processes. With sudden and significant disruptions in the audit processes during the pandemic, third-party food safety certification has faced one of its most challenging times. However, this period of disruption has served to highlight the significant and increasing threats that third-party food safety certification has faced for some time. For…
Driving Clinical Improvement in the NHS through Audit Management.
Improvement, Innovation and Effectiveness Lead Tracey Brailsford at Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust explains how a cloud-based system is helping senior leadership and frontline staff learn from performance and continually improve services for patients. When Tracey Brailsford joined Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust in 2015, the organisation’s clinical audit activity was based around paper forms and spreadsheets….
Continuing Risk-based Audits During a Pandemic.
Gordon McNeil, IRCA Principal Auditor, has conducted audits globally in a variety of industries, including nuclear, defence, aerospace and civil aviation. He shares his experience and advice on how remote audits can continue to be conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic. Many organisations, including national and international certification and accreditation bodies, have introduced remote assessments in…
Essentials for a Safe On-site Audit.
Sharjeel Farooq, IRCA Principal Auditor, and Director of Advanced Certifications Pvt Limited in Pakistan, shares his experience and advice on how to hold a safe on-site audit during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Covid-19 pandemic has introduced new challenges to most organisation’s management systems. For compliance with conformity and assessment requirements, most national and international certification…
Avoiding Auditing Pitfalls.
Stanley O’Donnell IRCA Principal Auditor, has conducted audits globally in a variety of industries including aerospace, medical, oil and gas, to name a few. He has experienced many pitfalls when auditing and shares some of the obstacle’s auditors should avoid. When auditing any internationally recognised management system e.g., ISO 9001 (quality), AS9100 (quality for the…
Selecting the Right Problem-Solving Strategy.
Derek Scott, CQP FCQI, Quality Manager at Rubberatkins, Scotland, takes a look at models and strategies for problem-solving. Quality professionals are frequently required to engage in two areas that are as certain as death and taxes. The first is involvement in activities intended to result in continuous improvement, and the second is problem-solving. There are…