Friday, May 31, 2013

Employee Awareness ISO Meeting


At 9:30am I was called into the conference room with everyone else in our company. It was time for the Employee Awareness ISO Meeting. I thought the presentation would last an hour and just go over the basics of what we need to know: like an idiot –proof training video. Then at 10:45am I found out it was going to continue until 12pm. I maintained my sanity by taking notes and occasionally spacing out. 

The following notes were taken between 9:30am-12:00pm on May 31st 2013 and covers everything you could ever want to know about the ISO Certification Process:

I.                    What is ISO? (Besides frustrating…)
a.      Our company is registering for 2 ISOs:
                                                              i.      ISO 9001: 2008 = Quality Management System (QMS)
                                                            ii.      ISO 14001: 2004 = Environmental Management System (EMS)
b.      ISO stands for “International Organization for Standardization”
                                                              i.      It was also given the “ISO” name for the Isosceles Triangle –which is equal on all sides.
c.       Blame the British –they started the process to standardize military procedures.

II.                  What does ISO Entail?
a.      ISO Standards contain “Shells” –Things that you Must Do (Mandatory)
b.      “Requirements” are contained within the shells that must be met

III.                Common Misconcept-Shuns + Benefits
a.      Not ALL Procedures need to be covered (Just the main ones)
                                                              i.      Too many procedures will lead to over complication
                                                            ii.      Don’t get caught up in semantics
b.      There isn’t as much paperwork as their use to be
c.       It can actually make communication and processes easier
d.      You can always change procedures to make them more effective/ updated
e.      Helps establish everyone’s roles + responsibilities so people can work well together and achieve overall goals
f.        Helps meet customer’s standards and expectations
g.      Helps establish customer’s faith in company/products/services
h.      Keeps company accountable  
i.        Leads to continual improvement of quality

IV.               Specific Aspects of the ISO Process
a.      In the ISO 9001 there are 126 shells
b.      There are Internal and 3rd Part Audits to Prove the ISO Process is being followed
c.       There are ongoing Quality checks
d.      ISO 14001 makes sure participate in Environmental Programs (like Recycling)
e.      ISO standards gives Templates + Requirements then your Company creates its own Manual on the specific ways it will achieve those requirements (and also notes the requirements that do not apply –and why)
f.        It starts with the Manual, then Flow Charts are made for how the Processes will be enacted, and then Concrete Records are maintained along the way to show Proof that they are being enacted.

V.                 Documentation
a.      Needs to be: Legible, Dates, Annotated with Revisements, Organized, Functional, Retained, Easy to Understand
b.      Maintain Hard Copies and Soft Copies of the ISO Process + Data Records
                                                              i.      Make sure they are easy to find + follow
c.       Share documents on a shared Database/ File System
d.      Also note when records can be discarded/thrown away

VI.               Process Approach
a.      Customer has Requirement/Request àProduct Created by Company (Input à Process à Output) à Product goes to Customer à Customer Satisfied? à Measure Customer Satisfaction w/ Analysis and Improvement à Management Responsibility Given à Resource Management Implemented à Product Adjusted by Company à Customer Satisfied

VII.             What You Show Auditors
a.      Show: Who the customer is, Who is responsible for pleasing the customer, How do they achieve that, and Where is the Proof?
b.      Establish Customer Needs à Manage Customer Relations à Ensure Customer Satisfaction
c.       ISO Compliant: Follows ISO Standards, but is not Registered
d.      ISO Registered: Has gone through Auditing and has met requirements
e.      Make sure Policies are Measurable and Consistent
f.        Management Review (after Audits) = Must review audit results/ feedback

VIII.           Your Company
a.      Quality Policy
                                                              i.      Introduction to Policy = 2 long sentences about policy
                                                            ii.      Policy Statement = 2 long sentences followed by 4 “Key Principles”
                                                          iii.      Key Principles = How you plan to achieve Quality Policy Goals
b.      Make sure each individual within the company can show how they specifically fulfill the Quality Policy in their own work
c.       Keep your “elevator pitch” to 3 floors
d.      Environmental Policy
                                                              i.      Same as Quality Policy (only we had 6 Key Principles)
                                                            ii.      Company decides what the Key Principles are and how many

IX.                Resource Management
a.      Know: What training is needed, What is the training process, and who/who provides the training
b.      Ensure Suppliers/Distributors are Qualified
c.       Make sure products and inventory are monitored/recorded
d.      Monitor input/output as well as housing inventory/shipments
e.      Make sure Assembly is recorded as well as Marking Individual Products
f.        Maintaining/ Handling customer property
g.      Report inconsistencies, malfunctions, nonconformities in product

X.                  Review Improvement and Maintain
a.      Analyze Data + Records à Interpret
b.      Maintain Audit Records + Improvement Efforts/ Records
c.       Prove improvements have been made during Management Reviews
d.      Show emergency preparedness and response
e.      CARs = Corrective Action Request (when someone makes an error)
f.        Look for Preventative Actions to prevent issues from arising
g.      Review effectiveness of Policies, Processes, and Management
h.      Anyone can join the Management Review + add topics to the Agenda

XI.                Environment (EMS)
a.      This policy really should have been implemented 5 years ago…
b.      Switch from plastic cups to everyone getting their own canteen water bottles
c.       Recycle as much as possible
d.      Policy monitors company’s effect on: Air, Water, Land, Flora, Fauna, Humans, Natural Resources, and their inter-relation
e.      Measures 2 things: “Aspects” and “Impact”
f.        Aspects = Elements that lead to company’s effect on the environment
g.      Impact = Company’s effect on the environment

XII.              Registration Process
a.      Stage 1 Audit: 3rd Party Auditor comes in and reviews company’s documentation that covers ALL of the ISO Standards and Requirements
b.      If the company is found to be compliant, they are then recommended to Stage 2
c.       Stage 2 Audit: On-sight 3rd Party Audit checks what they want (all/most employees)
d.      Internal Auditor oversees 3rd Party Auditor to ensure they are following rules

XIII.            Audits
a.      Like a job interview for a Company to see if they are ISO certified
b.      Occur every 6 months generally
c.       Things each person in a company should do:
                                                              i.      Explain what you do/ what you are responsible for
                                                            ii.      Just answer the questions asked à Keep it straight forward and simple
                                                          iii.      Explain procedures in place and apply to your job
                                                           iv.      Do you have the correct procedures in place? Do they work?
                                                             v.      What do you do if things go wrong?
                                                           vi.      Do you keep proof/ maintain records à Where?
                                                         vii.      How do you know you did things correctly?
                                                       viii.      What is the Quality Policy? How do you fulfill it?
                                                           ix.      Have you received ISO training?
                                                             x.      How is your work quality reviewed?
                                                           xi.      Don’t Add Info Not Asked For
                                                         xii.      Never Lie
                                                       xiii.      If you don’t know –say so or find the answer
                                                       xiv.      If you don’t understand a question –ask for it to be explained further
                                                         xv.      Know the company’s policy statement in general, but you don’t have to recite it

XIV.           Audit Fails
a.      Nonconformances = written up by Auditor and given Corrective Action
b.      Make a Root Cause Analysis to see what the underlying problem is
c.       Show proof that corrective actions have been made/ implemented
d.      2 kinds of nonconfromances:
                                                              i.      Quality system does not meet requirements
                                                            ii.      Company does not yet show they are complying with the system
e.      You need at least 3 months of “proof” put in place
f.        If there are nonconformities they will clearly list them for you
g.      Keep records of all Audits
h.      3 levels of Auditors:
                                                              i.      Provisional Auditors
                                                            ii.      Auditors
                                                          iii.      Lead Auditors