Ed Bones

Destructive auditing.

When I first entered the management system audit arena, it was common practice to measure auditor skills by the number of Non-Conformance reports they managed to raise. As an unwilling newcomer I found this a disturbing feature of a business I didn't want... Read >

How to Establish Objective Driven Meetings

A short time ago I attended several meetings in a row during an introduction to a new client's business. Every one of these meetings was a complete waste of time, in that absolutely nothing was accomplished. People on the 'calling list' weren't there, w... Read >

An Unsuccessful Policy - Receiving Inspection

The application of a quality management system such as ISO 9001 requires in depth consideration of almost every detail of an organisation's structure and working procedures. Incorporated are the policies and methods associated with the acquisition of prod... Read >

Kickstart service improvement.

Much of the business our organisation conducts is focussed on the product generation aspects of our clients business. For a manufacturer this means the shop floor activities where parts are assembled in a sequence to produce a saleable product. When we sp... Read >

Identifying the Primary Cause

Whenever quality professionals get together to talk about quality management questions, eventually the question of 'root cause' becomes the general topic. There seems to be a firmly held perception that if you work hard enough, or perhaps long enough, at ... Read >

Which Direction - Business Management or ISO Certification?

The point of view that an ISO standard registration is clear evidence of an efficiently organised and managed company is steadfastly set in the minds of business managers across the country, despite the extensive information to the contrary and the logic ... Read >

Key points of Synergy - Quality and Environmental Management

In this era of declining business expenditure there is an obvious reduction in the willingness of businesses to take on new ventures, such as the implementation of ISO management systems. What is plain for all to see is a renewed motivation to embrace po... Read >

Improvement Objectives - An Uncomplicated Approach

With the publication of ISO9001:2008 auditors will be rejuvenated in their examination of management systems required for audit and registration, even though the actual changes listed by the amended standard are subtle ones. It is very probable that the f... Read >

Who directs the priorities of the internal ISO audit?

What an odd question you may respond, but is it really? Assuming we are talking about a typical organisation, where audits are planned in advance, conducted and reported in a more or less clearly defined manner, probably because of a mandatory requirement... Read >

FMEA - What is it?

FMEA - Failure Mode and Effect Analysis is a method - a systematic process - for discovering and halting product and technical difficulties. In ISO9001 language it is a real 'Prevention' tool, it is a Risk Assessment. As might be expected, FMEAs were f... Read >

Your auditor, is he the best selection for your audit process?

To achieve any level of accreditation, in any discipline requires the applicant to undergo a level of training and experience that will fit them to carry on their profession with minimal risk to their clients. So, for example, a doctor must have specialis... Read >

Approval Sampling

For much of the past hundred years it has been common practice within manufacturing to employ sampling techniques to determine the acceptability of product. The purpose of this sampling is to permit an assessment of specified features of a product withou... Read >

ISO9001 and Management Inspection

In the context of ISO9001 Management Review has a particular meaning that is continued into the newest 2008 variant of the standard. It directly relates to the review of management systems performance and the chances for developing long term improvement. ... Read >

ISO9000 - Quality Management and the economic decline

You may have read the title of this article as being relevant to the introduction of the new ISO 900 standard [ISO9001:2008], whereas the intention is to try to protect the integrity of audit and quality management in a time of economic downturn. While... Read >

The ISO9001 in 2008. More than subtle amending?

As predicted a new iS09001 Standard has been finalized and is now available. Rather like its predecessor it arrived in time-just! Throughout the development process we have been told that the document would not have any significant revisions, just a se... Read >