Consultancy service that produces independent reports - Is 7.3 applicable or not

[SteelMaiden]

I might be able to buy the fact that you might design a study, and that is your true product, but a report is just a report.

[DrM2u]

In Reply to Parent Post by SteelMaiden

I might be able to buy the fact that you might design a study, and that is your true product, but a report is just a report.

I agree and I have to correct my previous statement that the 'product' is the report! The report is just the format in which the output of the process is presented to the customer. The content of the report is the result of the service provided. I'd venture to summarize that the service of data collection, data analysis and reporting of results constitute the actual 'product' to the customer.

[JaneB]

In Reply to Parent Post by glenn0004

In an initial meeting with the registerars, it was commented that section 7.3 of 9001 would have to be complied with as there would be "design and development" of the reports produced.

Warning: you have your blinkers on. It's why just having only the word 'product' throughout the Standard misleads so many people. Please do NOT forget it is meant to be read service/product.

Jeff is completely correct:

In Reply to Parent Post by Jeff Frost

you need to change the way you are viewing the standard. When reviewing the standard replace the word “product” with “service” and yes you must apply 7.3 to the design and development of the product, which in this case is the report. If this company designs and develops a report that does not meet the needs of the client then they are non-conforming to clause 7.3 of the standard.

This is a service provided. The content of the report is the product (or result of the service).
It's typical of such analytical types of businesses (eg, consulting) where the end product IS the report supplied. No, it isn't 'just a report' - what the customer has paid for is the information - the content - of that report. Similar thing, perhaps, to a market research report. Again, it isn't 'just a report', it's the findings, the data and the conclusions in it.

In Reply to Parent Post by DrM2u

The report is just the format in which the output of the process is presented to the customer. The content of the report is the result of the service provided.

Yes, exactly.

Perhaps if they're doing exactly the same kind of assessment and producing exactly the same kind of report (albeit with different data) for every customer, then you can argue design isn't applicable.

But a more intelligent approach would be to look at the requirements and say, how and where do we do this? (And it'll be very different from manufacturing widgets). A comptent auditor will interpret & apply the requirements in a way that is appropriate for the nature of the organisation, its activities and of course the registration scope.

[arios]

I will go for non applicable.

[JaneB]

In Reply to Parent Post by DrM2u

there has to be a systematic approach to the collection, analysis and reporting of data to ensure that customer's needs are satisfied. Unless the organization uses a pre-defined 'standardized' approach to doing this (same approach to every project or 'family' of projects) then each project/assignment has to be treated as a separate 'product' that needs to be 'taylored' (designed & developed) to meet the customer's requirements.

Just so -

If tailored to each unqiue circumstance = design. If already standardised and consistently applied, the 'design' happened only once (consider it as planning in that case) and then just keep doing it..

[Jeff Frost]

In Reply to Parent Post by arios

I will go for non applicable.

You should go back to step one. Read ISO Guidance on ISO 9001:2008 Sub-clause 1.2 'Application' and if you can justify the exclusion then go for it. But you cannot just say “Not Applicable”, you must explain why it is not applicable to your business model and the ISO 9001 Standard.

http://isotc.iso.org/livelink/liveli...nodeid=3554792

[JaneB]

In Reply to Parent Post by Jeff Frost

You should go back to step one. Read ISO Guidance on ISO 9001:2008 Sub-clause 1.2 'Application' and if you can justify the exclusion then go for it. But you cannot just say “Not Applicable”, you must explain why it is not applicable to your business model and the ISO 9001 Standard.

Yes, indeed. More excellent and very accurate advice from Jeff.

[glenn0004]

The final reports always follow a standard format - the only variable is that some areas of a business could be excempt from the report (ie graphics print). This would be defined prior to accepting the instruction from a customer to provide consultancy.(7.2 ?)

Hope this helps