ISO 9001 Implementation - Quality Manual is Dreary! Documentation Requirements

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Sweetsue28uk

I have now been given the instruction that we need to be ready for ISO 9001:2008 by Christmas. I have only just introduced a new document management system on Sharepoint and currently trying to get that in some sort of legible order. I have reviewed processes and we have very little so a lot of them need to be written from scratch and then rolled out to the masses.

How long do processes have to be in place before an audit can take place on them?

We have no customer Focus or any sort of way to catch customer satisfaction or complaints so a new system needs to be introduced and a way to capture this information - any ideas? How long does this need to be in placed before an audit can take place.

I have documented what I have done so far in the Quality Manual but Oh my lord it is a dreary read. I have stuck to the standard as a template because this is my first time of writing a manual and I didn't want to get it wrong but even I am bored by it. Do you have any examples of more up to date, light weight manuals that I could have a look at to see if I can structure mine better and make it less well dreary!

Uphill struggle, only 2 of us in the department, little to no management assistance and it is like swimming through mud!

Any help would be more than appreciated.

Sue:mg:
 
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Peter West

Hi Sue,

Sounds like quite a few people's situations. Firstly if there is no management support the whole QMS is instantly flawed.

That would be your first area to concentrate in. Procedures and processes vary company to company. I am sure some have been created and rolled out in weeks but those that I am involved with interconnect and so we ensure all is in place before releasing tidbits that may not necessarily make sense on their own.

I have been told by an external auditor that it is helpful to have at least 6 months records etc for inspection but from further study I consider any amount of information ok as long as it shows that there are procedures in place and that they are adhered to continually over a period over time (I would expect any auditor may frown if you turn up with just one weeks worth of information).

I am unsure how large your company is but would think that 3 months to get stage 1 and stage 2 is unlikely. The other coveists will be able to offer much more helpful information.

If I were you I would approach management with the development and implementation of the QMS clearly broken down with a timeline so they understand what is involved.

Good luck with it.
 
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Peter West

Oh and on the note of trying to make it a more appealing read - if you find the solution to that bottle it and sell it.

I find people respond to different approaches so most of our procedures have both a written explanation as well as a flowchart. Some people find that pictorgrams help keep things in their heads.

Try and make it so that the procedures relate to actual positions in the company and not just relate to the requirements of the Standard. If people read something and can see how their role affects this they are more likely to remember it and (hopefully) in turn read further on.

Finally without compromising on detail, keep the manual a reasonable length for the content. By this I mean try not to use too much "padding" or unnecessary wording. I managed to cut my manual down by 1/5th a week after I finished writing it.

Hope anything above helps.
 

qusys

Trusted Information Resource
Hi Sue,
as to candidate for ISO TS certification ,the organization shall demonstrate at least of year of implementation of QMS.

I would think the same for ISO:9001.
For example it is important complete a cycle of the internal audit planning to assess QMS processes overall as well as at least one Management review competation.

Overall, the organization should be able to have awareness of the new fashion of working accroding to the prepared Quality manual as well as be aware of the mission and goal of the organization.

hope this helps:bigwave:

I have now been given the instruction that we need to be ready for ISO 9001:2008 by Christmas. I have only just introduced a new document management system on Sharepoint and currently trying to get that in some sort of legible order. I have reviewed processes and we have very little so a lot of them need to be written from scratch and then rolled out to the masses.

How long do processes have to be in place before an audit can take place on them?

We have no customer Focus or any sort of way to catch customer satisfaction or complaints so a new system needs to be introduced and a way to capture this information - any ideas? How long does this need to be in placed before an audit can take place.

I have documented what I have done so far in the Quality Manual but Oh my lord it is a dreary read. I have stuck to the standard as a template because this is my first time of writing a manual and I didn't want to get it wrong but even I am bored by it. Do you have any examples of more up to date, light weight manuals that I could have a look at to see if I can structure mine better and make it less well dreary!

Uphill struggle, only 2 of us in the department, little to no management assistance and it is like swimming through mud!

Any help would be more than appreciated.

Sue:mg:
 
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seank

Do you have any examples of more up to date, light weight manuals that I could have a look at to see if I can structure mine better and make it less well dreary!


Sue:mg:

We have designed our Quality Manual to be a customer facing document - a brochure in effect that reflects our companies position on Quality. This has made it less dry :lol: then it can be. It still contains all the required information, and is based around the 9001:2008 QMS, but has turned into a document we'd be proud to give customers.....

Hope that helps....
 
M

Migre

Sue,

First things first - best of luck with this. To my mind though, given the situation you describe, a 3 month target date is completely unrealistic. Attempting any of the 3 main tasks in their own right (document management system, customer focus/feedback/complaints & (to a lesser degree) updating the Quality Manual) would be ambitious given the timescales - to aim to complete all 3 is extremely ambitious. Especially if you aim to do it to a reasonable level. And that is assuming that every other aspect of ISO9001 is adequately addressed within your organisation which, and excuse me if I sound cynical, I doubt will be the case from how you have described the current state?

Detailed information on each of the tasks is available elsewhere on the Cove and may well act as further proof of the extent of the challenge you are facing. I cannot believe that whoever issued you with the original instruction truly understands the amount of work required. If there is any opportunity at all to extend the deadline, press for it. Follow the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) system to determine the effectiveness of your system / sub-systems. Ensure it is effective and afford yourself the time needed to truly determine this. Try as I might, I simply cannot see any positive outcome (for your organisation, the system you're looking to implement or for you personally) as a result of cramming all this in over the next 3 months. But as I said earlier - best of luck with whatever approach you decide to take.

Regards,

Mick
 
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rkasparek

Sue:
I am in a similar situation as I am new to an oilfield company that wishes to get ISO certified. I originally gave them a target of a year and a half - which they bought off on, but I can tell that the unspoken target is of course "as soon as possible" - which from a business standpoint is understandable but not realistic.

I too have a complete system to put in place. Luckily, they (we) do have a good inspection group with good records. The engineering function is superb and light on its feet and I know I am going to get push-back when I try to put procedures in place there, but... they know that it needs to be done.

seank... a customer-facing document? very cool:agree1: - would it be something you could share a snippet of?
 
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seank

Sue:


seank... a customer-facing document? very cool:agree1: - would it be something you could share a snippet of?

Sure; no problem - please find it attached :)
I must just say that first and foremost though, it is a Quality Manual! The customer facing aspect means we just present it in a way that we feel customers could relate to..

And I kept it away from the eye's of marketing ........ :notme:
 

Attachments

  • QUALITY MANUAL REV G.pdf
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Peter Fraser

Trusted Information Resource
I have now been given the instruction that we need to be ready for ISO 9001:2008 by Christmas. I have only just introduced a new document management system on Sharepoint and currently trying to get that in some sort of legible order. I have reviewed processes and we have very little so a lot of them need to be written from scratch and then rolled out to the masses.

How long do processes have to be in place before an audit can take place on them?

We have no customer Focus or any sort of way to catch customer satisfaction or complaints so a new system needs to be introduced and a way to capture this information - any ideas? How long does this need to be in placed before an audit can take place.

I have documented what I have done so far in the Quality Manual but Oh my lord it is a dreary read. I have stuck to the standard as a template because this is my first time of writing a manual and I didn't want to get it wrong but even I am bored by it. Do you have any examples of more up to date, light weight manuals that I could have a look at to see if I can structure mine better and make it less well dreary!

Uphill struggle, only 2 of us in the department, little to no management assistance and it is like swimming through mud!

Any help would be more than appreciated.

Sue:mg:
Sue

If you feel that you really MUST have a separate QM document, leave it until the end, and avoid copying the standard if at all possible. Concentrate on defining what is done just now. You will find all sorts of potential rationalisation and improvements by doing that. Define your processes only to the level of detail needed. Refer to your supporting documents once you have then set up in Sharepoint (good luck with that...).

PS have you asked management why they want ISO as a Christmas present?
 
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rkasparek

Thanks seank - I see what you're getting at.

Sue, I agree with Peter that the first order of business is to document what you're doing now. That's what I am doing in my arena. I am documenting every process I can find, to see how they work with each other. When I did this for another company, we found out there was an 'extra' process that wasn't required, and I wound up with the person previously assigned to it, and used them as a configuration control assistant!
 
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