We just went through three weeks of customer audits. The questions made total sense, except that they were intended to verify that the ISO 9001 certification was valid. Since we have completed two cycles of registration audits, we really questioned the need for these detailed all-day question sessions.
What we found is that big company paranoia has set in. They are afraid that many small businesses have bought their certificates!! Or, that they can get through an audit by picking their evidence that complies with the requirements!!!
The reality is this: a small business will not have a full staff to keep up with large volumes of records. There are many valid records of transactions that come out of normal business. It seems to me that a company should simply keep those records in order, and be able to produce them on demand. That should be enough.
When the decision is made to NOT put in the effort to get certified, it should not be a point of contention with the big companies. It just takes longer to go through the complete checklist to verify the business practices that a small company must perform to stay in business. Like it or not, that is the essence of ISO 9001. It's just good business.
One of my auditor friends loves to ask this question of everyone he encounters during an ISO audit, “Can you tell me how your work affects the achievement of your department’s quality objectives?” (from 6.2.2 (d))
Many small businesses struggle with this concept. It concerns the third item in the revised ISO 9001:2008 clause 6.2.2 Competence, Training and Awareness. Awareness was ‘demoted’ in the 2008 revision from second in the title to third. But, this should not be taken to diminish its importance. One explanation that I like is that Awareness comes from Training, so it should follow…
Company-wide Quality Objectives are often provided to employees to comply with the requirement in 5.4.1, but they are seldom broken down to the department or individual levels. Thus, many employees are stumped by the question. Their job descriptions seldom address their quality responsibilities—just their productivity duties.
The combination of awareness training and objective spreading should alleviate this problem, so that our employees will understand how their work fits into the big picture along with ‘how they contribute to the bottom line.’
If you have ever wanted to use Lean Six Sigma to improve your manufacturing plant--and who hasn't--you might want to read the book Velocity, authored by the Goldratt Institute's Dee Jacobs, Suzan Bergland and Joe Cox. As Goldratt and his colleagues are wont to do, they wrote a business novel. By the middle of the book, the reader realizes that the plant in the book has been operating pretty successfully using the Theory of Constraints Management system. Then, the plant is sold to a company that endorses Lean Six Sigma. When the new regime tries to balance the flow through the workcenters, there are few gains on the bottom line. It takes them a while to realize that the best application of the three systems is to schedule with TOC, streamline with Lean and improve specific processes with Six Sigma.
They make an interesting case for being careful before we jump into new "Flavor of the Month" programs. None of these programs are sufficient alone. They all can be useful in the areas where they apply best. But none is The Answer.
You must appreciate everyone who works for you...and with you. Some people prefer the former, some prefer the latter. People who work for you support your policies and procedures, and usually don't question very much--they just get their job done. These are valuable contributors--routines are the vital life blood of the organization.
Then there are the people who consider everyone their equal. They are always willing to "help" others with an unsolicited opinion or to point out some flaw in the crystal of the inner workings of your special projects. These are valuable leaders--those who influence without authority.
It is important to understand that you need all kinds of people to make an organization to work well. Appreciate them all for what they offer.
The worst thing you can do is make any of them feel unwanted.
This is the dilemma: we keep everyone busy realizing our products and services. No one is idle. We can't afford to have any time when our staff has 'nothing to do.' So, when do we have time to train for new skills? Or, to train for backups when vacations and illnesses take critical people out of action?
The answer is NEVER! Therein lies the dilemma.
You have to ask yourself and your leaders, "Which is worse? Slowing production to take time for training? OR: Slowing production because no one on site that day can do the work that is needed to meet deadlines?"
It's a gamble if you don't train at all!
I recommend that small businesses take 10% of every week to train--that's only half a day. But it will probably save you many hours of anquish, later.
Obviously, resources are limited in small businesses. That's part of the definition. But the useful employee can do several jobs well. 'Wearing a lot of hats' is a euphemism for being versatile.
It is important to find the right people to run a small business. Conversely, if a person has only one talent, they may become expendable. Is everyone 'really' doing all they can? As harsh as that may seem, limited people should be encouraged to expand their capabilities to enhance their contribution to the bottom line.
The successful small business needs to be adaptable and versatile. I believe the only way to do that is for individuals to commit to personal improvements. Figure out what you need. Don't put an ad online. Get someone in your existing staff to learn the new skill.
I am Claud M Russey, CMQ/OE. I work as a practitioner consultant under the dba of Fusion QHSE, based in Houston, Texas. I also serve the ASQ Quality Management Division as Vice-Chair for Technical Committees and as Program Chair for the Institute for Continual Quality Improvement, a conference-within-a-conference attached to the ASQ WCQI.
I have done a lot of work in Quality, Health, Safety and Environmental System Development and Management, Change Leadership and Performance Improvement for a variety of service and manufacturing companies in the USA, the Middle East and China. This includes two decades of experience in information technology and industrial control systems.
My recent work has been in design, implementation and maintenance of integrated QHSE management systems and ISO 9001 and AS9100 compliance and certification.
During the early 90s I ran a self-sufficient compound in Saudi Arabia for 2560 residences and businesses--about 10,000 residents. Since coming to Houston, I have worked with companies that have three people in the office up to one organization with 1200 workers in 315 locations. I have worked in aerospace manufacturing, oil field services, shipping logistics and machine shops.
We are offering you a place to go to get real-life information to help you with small business quality issues. Theory is great to begin planning, but real answers come from real experience.
