I've been asked to start looking for a consultant to help us achieve TS16949 compliance by year end (2005). We're already ISO 9k2k certified. Having never shopped for a consultant, I'm not sure where to begin, ie what criteria to use when looking. Yeah I know money is always a part of the equation but there's more than just money in the id & selection process for example,

- do I look for someone local (we have 3 locations, plants in LA, MD & corporate in NJ)
- what amount / type of help should I ask for (phone/ email/ site visits?)
- should I ask for references and/or examples of previous work
etc.

I just sent an email to our ISO auditor asking for a recommendation but I'm not sure if him suggesting anyone is a conflict of interest.

Any advice/ guidance is appreciated!

??????
-Ana

Having been a consultant (and no longer am one, so hopefully I am unbiased) I can give you some pointers.

Definatly get references, call them, ask detailed questions, get samples of work, and visit if possible. I always carried a reference list and samples of work when I made the initial sales call. I would even provide some free "mini-audits" and advice on my walkthru - showed I knew what I was talking about. Make sure you get them out on the shop floor. Any good consultant should take a tour - otherwise how do they have any idea how much work it will take. I no quoted (or really inflated my quotes) for several places that either had no chance at registration or were in such bad need of infrastructure it would take forever.

If you are looking at a firm with more than one consultant, make sure you check on the one(s) that will be assigned to you. I don't know that you could guarantee in a contract that you will always have the same person, but watch out for bait & switch of the people.

Ask references about how the consultant handled interpretations. Did he/she have a fixed way of doing things (must use my form, or else) or were they open to learning how you do things now and using the good stuff that you have? I learned a lot from my clients that may not have had very good overall systems, but did some things great.

I would recommend local to where the most work will be needed since you will most likely be paying travel expenses. It can also help to fit your schedule. When I consulted out of town, I typically tied up my clients for a full day or two. Locally I could schedule to meet for a 1/2 day, or maybe only an hour, if they needed some help but could not give me a full day and then move to someone down the street for 1/2 day. Depends on how you want to structure the program.

On-site visits are a must. Even if you will do most of the work, the most important thing is the consultant understands your operation. My first step was always a baseline assessment where I got a basic understanding of how they operated to set up the rest of my project plan. Should get a report of the good and bad of what you are doing now. The number of visits and amount of support will really depend on the condition of your system now and how much time your people can devote to the program.

Be careful with auditor recommendations. I did have a few that recommended me to their auditing clients since they knew I did good work. I also had one tell my client the system I set up was no good, and I should contact "John Doe". I knew that this was a buddy of his as I had repaired a system he had built before. Nothing was wrong with what I had set up, just a ploy to get business for a friend. If you solicit the opinion, it should be a little safer. Still go back to checking references.

Ask about different ways to structure the contract. Some I did were strictly time & material (safest for the consultant). Most were fixed price to get you certified (safest for you). Some were a hybrid. I would often put two or three options in the contract and let the client pick what they wanted. Again this will depend on the amount of work needed. I got burned several times since I had a guaranteed contract and dysfunctional company that took much longer than planned.

Indepent vs. small company vs. big company has many variables. Worked for small (me and owners) and large (accounting firm). Small will probably be cheaper due to lower overhead (same with independent). Large may cost more, but may have additional services to offer (we could do accounting, business planning, financial recovery, tons of stuff). With the accounting firm, the economy really hurt since I could not compete with the independents since my bill rate had to cover the fancy office, Red Wings suite, etc. My department dropped from six to two which is when I ran out of clients. There is a better continuation plan if the consultant leaves, but again you may not get a good person. I got a call recently from a client that tracked me down asking if I could help since they were not happy with my replacement. Independents can be good too (never had the guts to become one), but there is the risk they get out of the business or are too busy to handle your account. If you go independent, look for someone who audits part time for registrars and consults part time - they know both sides of how things work.

Avoid canned packages - if you are already 9K2K build on that.

Hopefully that helps. Let me know if I missed anything.

JMO
If you are already certified to ISO 9K2K, why get a consultant. In my opinion, you are already 90% there. Obviously, you already have someone in your company that is familiar with the standards. My reasoning: We were 9K2K certified, going for TS2, hired a consultant, did not tell us anything we did not know already. Bad consultant, Maybe, did we pass our TS audit, Yes. It was a complete waste of money.
I do not have anything against consultants. They are needed and it can be justified when starting from scratch or just beginning to implement a QMS. Just not in a case like this.
Again JMHO

I thought the information in this 17 page brochure about choosing a "management consultant" was equally applicable to any kind of consultant.

It is important to interview several consultants and get an idea of whether there is a "good fit." A consultant may be the most knowledgeable person on the planet, but if he's incompatible with the people at the client company, he's a waste of money.

The other side of the coin is that some consultants are perfect charmers at the initial session, but really don't have the capability and capacity to help the client achieve its goals.

Disclaimer:
Other than saying this brochure is only one tool of many you might consider, I have no personal stake in the association which produced it.

I dont know if this was mentioned before but there exists an ISO standard that focuses on selecting consultants - ISO 10019 Guidelines for the selection of quality management system consultants and use of their services.

Introduction of this standard states the aim of ISO 10019 is to provide guidance on the factors to be taken into consideration when selecting a
QMS consultant. ISO 10019 is applicable for:


- organizations, for selecting a QMS consultant who is able to meet their specific needs, expectations and objectives in the process of QMS realization,

- QMS consultants themselves, as a guide to develop their competence in consulting,

- consulting organizations, for selection of QMS consultants.


Warm regards to everyone!!!

Also see:

The ISO 9000 family - Status of all the documents administered by ISO TC 176 (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=7578) and
ISO/TS 21095 - QM consultants - Study on capacity of QM service providers (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=5041)