Placed in the position of implementing ISO 9001:2000 but have no formal training

[hokieman]

Like Yugender, I find myself in the same situation. I have been placed in the position of implementing ISO 9001:2000 but have no formal training. I do have a quality manual produced by a consultant. Due to the size of our Co. (48 employees), we have decided to use a two-tier system which our manual reflects. This system will consist of the manual(procedures included) and other necessary forms and documents. We have been told that this is appropriate for a company our size. We are also trying to register only a part of our business. That being aerospace/defense. 75% of our commercial business is highly competitive and is protected by security agreements that disallow anyone other than an employee to come in contact with the product, drawings, etc...This poses a problem for me. Our mgmt. is highly protective of this side of our business. We are a precision machine shop(if this helps). Can someone recommend a good class that would help me to learn about what I am tasked with. Like Yugender, it is frustrating! Opinions appreciated!

[RCBeyette]

Hi, Hokieman and Welcome to the Cove!

As we have told Yugender many times, "seek and ye shall find." The only way you will be successful is if you have the knowledge and that means TRAINING! The only way your project will be successful if you have COMMITMENT!

I see USA in your profile. Can you provide a more specific location? That might help some of the Covers in your area (if there are any) recommend some local institutions for you to consider.

In the meantime, there are courses out there on "Implementing ISO 9001:2000" and "Transitioning to ISO 9001:2000". If you have a Quality Manual, etc., it sounds as if the Transition course might be more suitable for you. Both courses, however, will focus on the ISO 9001:2000 Standard and all of it's requirements (and even some interpretations to help you understand the requirements).

The concept of applying the Standard to only a part of a business is not all that uncommon. But, when you think about it, are the different overall processes between aerospace/defense and the commercials sides that different from each other? What applies to one, most likely applies to the other, so should you decide to go and register the entire organization, it shouldn't be that difficult. You can, however, stipulate that the registration applies only to designated aspects of your business.

[hokieman]

I am from Virginia, hence my name "hokieman" as Va Tech. The quality manual has not been adopted, it's only a starting point done by the consultant prior to my arrival. There currently is no ISO QMS in place. The Co. is certified under MIL 45208. The mgmt is wanting to (1) bypass 7.3 and (2) insure the auditors cannot view any documentation whatsoever to do with approx. 3 of our biggest customers. These 3 customers are competitors in a highly proprietary field. That is the reason for just doing the one sector of our business. We produce to customer print on the aerospace/defense side of ou business. Thanks for the help! Keep'em coming!

[Craig H.]

Hokieman:

We have a signed confidentiality agreement with our external auditing firm. Would that help with your management? Surely the company must have others. Also, you could make sure that the auditor is from another industry (although my company does exactly the opposite of this).

Would that help?

[jaimezepeda]

hkieman,

I had no clue what a QMS when I was given the job I now have (what does that say about our QMS ). That was 18 months ago. Today I am still clueless but have enough knowledge to be dangerous .

I attended a course by AQS on the transition from ISO 9000:1994 to ISO 9000:2000. It was of great help to learn what the ISO 9000:2000 standard says. The best tool I came out with from that course was a gap analysis.

Later I found this book: ISO 9001:2000 Explained (2nd edition) by Cianfrani, Tsiakals and West, ISBN 0-87389-508-8. Get this book, read every page and make notes all over it. I did. I still use it today as a quick reference.

All of us here at The Cove wish you success. We've all been there before.

Jaime

[NAOTB]

During transition did anyones level 2 procedures basically reflect the numbering system of the 1994 standard. QCP1.0 reflect QAM 1.0 etc.
So that there were 20 procedures for the 20 sections of the standard. If so how did you incorporate the procedures into the new standard and renumber them since so many fragment into other areas in the new standard.

[Govind]

Hokieman,
Try to rephrase your thread header. From time to time, users search the database with select keywords. This thread may not come up in the result, if the header is not phrased properly.

See the instruction while you initiate a new thread
"For the benefit of members, all titles should reflect the content of the post.
Titles are extremely special cases. Titles are used on the active list,
the title of the page, by search engines, the site search engine, and in new post
email notifications. They are used by everyone when viewing forums.
PLEASE! Title your thread appropriately!"

Regards,
Govind.

[Jennifer Kirley]

In Reply to Parent Post by hokieman

I am from Virginia, hence my name "hokieman" as Va Tech. The quality manual has not been adopted, it's only a starting point done by the consultant prior to my arrival. There currently is no ISO QMS in place. The Co. is certified under MIL 45208. The mgmt is wanting to (1) bypass 7.3 and (2) insure the auditors cannot view any documentation whatsoever to do with approx. 3 of our biggest customers. These 3 customers are competitors in a highly proprietary field. That is the reason for just doing the one sector of our business. We produce to customer print on the aerospace/defense side of ou business. Thanks for the help! Keep'em coming!

I invite anyone to dispute me, but the ISO registration purpose is to acknowlege compliance of systems; not accounts, designs, customer contracts, specific test data or any other proprietary/sensitive data. A system can be shown to be functioning without compromising critically confidential aspects or data.

An auditor should ask to follow a process from start to finish, but is generally compelled to respect the client's wishes to exclude certain processes if they are deemed secret.

What little is asked for in order to verify the system's functioning, is held in strictest confidence by the registrar's binding code of ethics. It should not be difficult to find out which registrar has a good reputation among your industry peers.