Looking for opions/comments about the following quality policy.
Please note: I'm working on the manual, policy, objectives etc. (mostly by myself - see note below), and I'm just looking for some helpful COVE input. :bigwave:
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XXX is committed to ensuring customer satisfaction in product performance, delivery, and customer support.

Our primary goal at XXX is to manufacture and supply defect free products to our customers, on time every time.

XXX will continue to meet or exceed our customers’ expectations through effective quality planning and continual improvement efforts throughout the organization, which are driven by our quality objectives and regular review and analysis of our quality management system.
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The statement above in bold red is our current/1994 quality policy/statement (which is currently posted throughout the shop). This pretty much is our goal as a company regardless of ISO... Rather simple but to the point.

I/we still need to work on "documenting" our objectives, but I have several ideas, and we have had some brief discussions about them. I think The 1st and 3rd senence above will include our objectives and I HOPE they cover the actually REQURIMENTS for a quality policy.
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Comments? Suggestions? Could we "get-away" with just the red sentence?
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NOTE: I DO REALIZE determining a company policy and its objectives SHOULD NOT be the sole responsiblity of the Quality Manager/Mgmt Rep. but at the moment I'm doing it alone. (There is a commitment here just bad timing and boss/owner has been busier than usual lately. We WILL discuss/approve this soon, but I'm just looking for feedback).

Hi Bob,

If you are good at debating you could possibly make a case that everything is implied by the red sentence :), but personnally, I would go with all three sentences. I would say that it meets the requirements and should satisfy your auditor.

I'm sure the owner might have some suggestions (they always do), but this is definately a good start to give him.

Looking for opions/comments about the following quality policy.
Please note: I'm working on the manual, policy, objectives etc. (mostly by myself - see note below), and I'm just looking for some helpful COVE input. :bigwave:
---------------------------
XXX is committed to ensuring customer satisfaction in product performance, delivery, and customer support.

Our primary goal at XXX is to manufacture and supply defect free products to our customers, on time every time.

XXX will continue to meet or exceed our customers’ expectations through effective quality planning and continual improvement efforts throughout the organization, which are driven by our quality objectives and regular review and analysis of our quality management system.
-----------------------------------
The statement above in bold red is our current/1994 quality policy/statement (which is currently posted throughout the shop). This pretty much is our goal as a company regardless of ISO... Rather simple but to the point.

I/we still need to work on "documenting" our objectives, but I have several ideas, and we have had some brief discussions about them. I think The 1st and 3rd senence above will include our objectives and I HOPE they cover the actually REQURIMENTS for a quality policy.
-----------------------------------
Comments? Suggestions? Could we "get-away" with just the red sentence?
-----------------------------------
NOTE: I DO REALIZE determining a company policy and its objectives SHOULD NOT be the sole responsiblity of the Quality Manager/Mgmt Rep. but at the moment I'm doing it alone. (There is a commitment here just bad timing and boss/owner has been busier than usual lately. We WILL discuss/approve this soon, but I'm just looking for feedback).


Bob:

Just a suggestion, but have you considered saying just "our objectives" and "our management systems"? Under the new standard the lines between departments has blurred, due in part to the emphasis on processes, instead of just functionality.

When you have reviews, is the conversation held to just "quality" issues? I know ours are not, and because we don't have many meetings with everyone in the same room, it would be difficult to argue in favor of staying strictly on the agenda.

Heck, with our managers it wouldn't matter if I tried anyway!! But, those discussions are important, even if a little "out of bounds".

Just a thought. And my $.02.

Craig

Just a suggestion, but have you considered saying just "our objectives" and "our management systems"? Under the new standard the lines between departments has blurred, due in part to the emphasis on processes, instead of just functionality.

Good point. Thanks


When you have reviews, is the conversation held to just "quality" issues? I know ours are not, and because we don't have many meetings with everyone in the same room, it would be difficult to argue in favor of staying strictly on the agenda.

Acutally now we take care of our Management Review topics during our monthly staff meeting (boss and all managers). Saves the trouble of a "special" meeting" that repeated the topics we discuss regularly. AND some of our yet-to-be documented objectives are discussed in those meetings already. :)

For some ideas, see:

http://Elsmar.com/pdf_files/Quality_Policies.txt

The long and short of it!

Skewing the topic slightly here...

The Quality Policy has to be controlled. Currently ours is a page in our Quality manual (Controlled document, Issue level, yada yada)

So, if I wanted to place copies of the quality policy around the factory for employees/visitors to read, I would have to create a seperate document which follows doc' control rules?

Which means 2 documents you have to update if the policy changes.

If the quality policies around the factory were not controlled, then they might not get updated, or I might forget there was a copy in the Maintenance room.

Thoughts?

Stick with the "Printed Copies are Uncontrolled" statement. It reduces doc control headaches.

Stick with the "Printed Copies are Uncontrolled" statement. It reduces doc control headaches.

I agree with this statement. We use it here and it makes things much simpler.

Stick with the "Printed Copies are Uncontrolled" statement. It reduces doc control headaches.
Do you mean for ALL docs or just for the Q policy? What about companies without an extensive intranet?

I say all printed copies are uncontrolled UNLESS they contain a red "controlled copy" stamp -- this let's me give printed copies to areas with no computer access.

We apply it to all documents. We have a statement in the quality manual and in the doc control procedure that covers this. All of our procedures have a statement at the bottom that says 'This copy is uncontrolled unless otherwise stamped in red ink.'

Each employee is responsible for checking to make sure they have the most current version when using anything printed.This works pretty good for us, but we have a pretty good intranet and quite a few computers scattered throughout the company. I could see how it would be different with a limited amount of computers though.

220, 221 whatever works! :vfunny:
That's fine, as long as everyone knows what constitutes a "Controlled" copy.
When I see a system that allows for controlled and uncontrolled copies I like to ask to see if the employees know what an uncontrolled copy is (definition). Not that not knowing is a nonconformance in itself, but it sure can lead you in the right direction!
So Shaun, if you decide to use a dual system ensure your people know what an uncontrolled document is and how to verifiy lastest rev.
:thedeal:

Thanks for the helpful replies folks.

After reviewing the other threads on Quality Policies (Which were very informative) I have done a draft for my companies new policy using the "easy for the assessor" format.

This is the first one I have ever written, so any comments greatly appreciated.

And I must confess the policy is written to take into account the metrics we already do, I know, I know its wrong.... but I am short on time.

And I must confess the policy is written to take into account the metrics we already do, I know, I know its wrong.... but I am short on time.

There's nothing wrong with that at all. If there were no objective in mind, why would anyone have established these metrics?

There's nothing wrong with that at all. If there were no objective in mind, why would anyone have established these metrics?

I guess its just my guilty conscience. I am in a difficult position with lots of responsibility & little power.

Instead of "Reduce proportion of Customer Complaints compared to internal NCR’s", which is what I currently measure, I know it should be "Reduce the number of customer complaints from X to Y".

But that would be creating a rod for my own back.

Guilt! guilt! I am a sinner! aargh!

Shaun, remember that the standard calls for continual improvement....as such, that pretty much lays it out in black and white: You Do Not Have To Be Perfect the first time around! Chill out man, it's only an audit. Go with the flow, and enjoy life a little. If you stroke out before the audit how will your company pass the audit? Have a good day (by the way you kind of sound like that house elf from Harry Potter...Bad Dobby!)

Shaun, remember that the standard calls for continual improvement....as such, that pretty much lays it out in black and white: You Do Not Have To Be Perfect the first time around! Chill out man, it's only an audit. Go with the flow, and enjoy life a little. If you stroke out before the audit how will your company pass the audit? Have a good day (by the way you kind of sound like that house elf from Harry Potter...Bad Dobby!)

Dobby!

Heh yes I do.

But I think I prefer a Darth Vader analogy, turning away from the light of quality towards the dark side of dodgy management :)

BTW any comments on the policy, too wordy? Not enough content?

Dobby!

Heh yes I do.

But I think I prefer a Darth Vader analogy, turning away from the light of quality towards the dark side of dodgy management :)

BTW any comments on the policy, too wordy? Not enough content?


Shaun:

Overall, your policy is much more complex than I am used to seeing. Also, since you have dates named, you will have to revise as those points in time are reached. Neither of these is a problem, but I thought I would point them out.

To be more specific, one of your points is:

" Implement Reward Based Employee Suggestion Scheme during FY03-04".

I was wondering if you have looked into Reward Based Employee Suggestion Schemes, and what approach you are taking, if I can ask? If it was me, where I work, I would be tempted to water this down, saying something like "increase employee suggestions by 10%" or something like that.

We have looked at rewards, but have yet to find an approach we are happy with. If you have an idea that has, or you believe will, work, I sure would like for you to share it, if you are able.

Craig

Shaun:

Overall, your policy is much more complex than I am used to seeing. Also, since you have dates named, you will have to revise as those points in time are reached. Neither of these is a problem, but I thought I would point them out.

To be more specific, one of your points is:

" Implement Reward Based Employee Suggestion Scheme during FY03-04".

I was wondering if you have looked into Reward Based Employee Suggestion Schemes, and what approach you are taking, if I can ask? If it was me, where I work, I would be tempted to water this down, saying something like "increase employee suggestions by 10%" or something like that.

We have looked at rewards, but have yet to find an approach we are happy with. If you have an idea that has, or you believe will, work, I sure would like for you to share it, if you are able.

Craig

Comments noted.

Our old quality policy written by the ex-quality manager was also quite wordy. Though when I really looked into it, I was surprised to find it already covered 6 of the 8 Quality management principles (He was that good in 1988!). I rewrote it & based the new one around the full 8 as it seemed a good idea at the time, as they are the core principles of the new standard.

All of our ISO14001 Environmental Targets are based around comparing the current FY performance to the previous FY - with the intention of bettering the score - aka Continual Improvement. Reissuing the the policy every year is a slight administrative chore, but forcing myself to do it will lead to an annual review of the policy, which will keep it abreast of changing circumstances.

The "reward based suggestion scheme" is one of the needles I torture senior management with. They dont want to do it, they like to treat emplyees like mushrooms. I honestly think it would help, (anything would help believe me), people are an asset, but we rarely use them that way.

Reward based? Nothing gets gets the brain cells stirring like enthusiasm, or a cash reward (Im an old cynic). We have tried non-reward based schemes before, & only garnered rude comments about the management.

A customer we had used to run Quality Circles where star performers would get a cash bonus & even trips to Japan. It generated a lot of ideas & gained popularity among the workforce.

My initial thoughts were either a one-off small salary bonus for each idea, or 10% of any saving the idea made.

Implementing it would be the objective for this year, improving the No of suggestions could be next years Objective - ta! :)

But as the policy still has to be submitted for management approval, it will probably be vetoed - Ce la Vie!

Dobby!
BTW any comments on the policy, too wordy? Not enough content?

Shaun, looks like you covered the bases and if everyone can remember the main gist of it, then it is a fit for your company. Mine is quite a bit shorter, but we have a big spread on education levels throughout, but what works for us, is not what is best for you.

"...committed to meet customers' expectations through continual improvement of products and processes." Our objectives then further define how we plan on improving the products and processes.

Hi Bob,

What I do know in establishing a Quality Policy. It should be "Measurable" You should have a way to track the performance of each goal that you've presented here.

Hope this helps.

Best regards,
Raffy

I guess its just my guilty conscience. I am in a difficult position with lots of responsibility & little power.

Instead of "Reduce proportion of Customer Complaints compared to internal NCR’s", which is what I currently measure, I know it should be "Reduce the number of customer complaints from X to Y".

I see what you mean. It is often difficult to convince some that this "ISO stuff" is not one persons job. I'm fortunate at my current job. They understand that this is the way we run our business, not something we do in addition to it.

The best way I have found to make my case on a lot of issues or improvement ideas is to attach a dollar amount wherever I possibly could. "This is how much money we wasted" or "This is how much money we saved after implementing ..."

I don't quite understand why this wording was chosen. Trying to catch more defects in-house, rather than getting through the system and to the customer, is always a good goal. Either way it is worded, the end result will be a reduction of customer complaints.

Perhaps the next step in the overall plan would be to catagorize your defects in order to create a "Prioritized Reduction Plan". Try to reduce or eliminate recurring defects at the source rather than just trying to catch them before they get away.

Hi Bob,

What I do know in establishing a Quality Policy. It should be "Measurable" You should have a way to track the performance of each goal that you've presented here.

Hope this helps.

Best regards,
Raffy

Well "officially" tracking objectives is not something we've had much practice with.
Our ISO 1994 goals "as written" we not measurable, they were good and wordy goals but not realistically measureable.

Our current "documented" goals still need to be developed/approved.
This does not mean we do not monitor things like:
Scrap, Rework, Customer Satisfaction/Complaints, Vendor performance, etc.
We've just never really kept track or compared the info over long periods. This is something we're currently trying to do, regardless of ISO. We're just slow in some areas, and change/loss of personnel has improved some tracking and required additional in other areas...

The difficulty I'm having now is putting what we do/want to MEASURE into our Quality Manual. I don't want to put in stuff we CAN'T measure and get a NC for later...

At the moment I think the "Policy" is OK, we just need "Objectives" that complement it, preferably ones we already strive for and measure.

Bob,

List all of the things you currently track, and then write the policy to take account of them.

For example, lets say you already track the % of defect units of your assy line, this would equate to "We are committed to supplying ever improving products to our customer" in the policy.

Of course you have to try & keep the levels reducing. But if you have a hiccup, put in a Corrective Action Plan if you fail to meet a target. As long as it contained some action which *might* improve the situation, you would avoid a NC from as Assessor.

That what we have done with our Environmental System for years. At some point in the future, it will be financially not-in the firms interest to improve a situation any further, then just dump the objective & switch to a new one and modify your policy to suit.

You may have missed this thread
http://www.16949.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=6430

This site has a nice discussion on Objectives.

http://www.oxebridge.com

Just be crafty!

=Shaun Daly
Bob,

List all of the things you currently track, and then write the policy to take account of them.

For example, lets say you already track the % of defect units of your assy line, this would equate to "We are committed to supplying ever improving products to our customer" in the policy.

You may have missed this thread
http://www.16949.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=6430


ROFL - You pointed me to my own post :vfunny:
But thats OK - I've been concerned/thinking about the policy and objective for awhile now (less than 2 weeks to finish manual, policy, objectives, and possibly design program before I need to submit for Pre-Assessment off-site document review).

Current policy in today's "draft" of manual is:

VDI is committed to ensuring customer satisfaction in product performance, delivery, and customer support.

Our primary goal at VDI is to manufacture and supply defect free products to our customers, on time every time.

VDI will continue to meet or exceed our customers’ expectations through effective quality planning and continual improvement efforts throughout the organization, which are driven by our objectives and regular review and analysis of our management systems.
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The current system wide "things" we are currently tracking and reporting on monthly include:

Scrap dollars, Scrap quantities, and reasons for large quantities or dollars. (Production - In-House Scrap - typically very low and related to beginning and end of coil problems and blown spot welds - Not much room for improvement other than improved setup which is ongoing and difficult to "measure")

Overtime and miscellaneous production time tracking.
On-Time Delievery
General / Specific Customer Satisfaction / Complaints
Sales and Accounting info and goals (how are current bottom line)
Purchasing info and ratios ($$ in vs out)
Vendor performance / problems
Typical Management Review Stuff: Internal Audits, NC's, Rejects, etc.

Not to brag or claim we're perfect, but things typically go well here on a monthly/yearly basis. So "documenting" our realistic and measurable goals and objectives is still not very easy for me/us yet... *shrug*

I'm sure I'll get something on PAPER for the auditor, but it may be awhile be for we tweak the goals to mean something...