John Predmore
Trusted Information Resource
I was explaining to my coworkers how implementing a QMS is more than a checklist. (This is a small company, wanting to transition for the first time from a development firm to manufacturing a product for aerospace industry, desiring to become ISO certified). The quality standard is often perceived by the uninitiated as a checklist – if you have this verbiage in your procedures, if you show the auditor this evidence, he/she will mark you in compliance.
I explained that each of the elements of the quality standard should be thought of as a Plan->Do->Check->Act cycle. For the uninitiated, I explained P-D-C-A as Quality’s version of the Scientific Method (Hypothesis->Prediction->Experiment-> Act upon conclusion) which I hope is still taught in elementary school science class.
In this manner, every element in the standard is thought of as a continuous (and never-ending circular) process of Plan>Implement->Audit->Improve, which is analogous to P-D-C-A. Having a written Quality procedure is only the first tick-mark of the QMS continuum. To say a written procedure is fully implemented, it must also be in use, verified and shown to be effective.
I thought this comparison was a valuable explanation and I hope others find this analogy useful.
John
I explained that each of the elements of the quality standard should be thought of as a Plan->Do->Check->Act cycle. For the uninitiated, I explained P-D-C-A as Quality’s version of the Scientific Method (Hypothesis->Prediction->Experiment-> Act upon conclusion) which I hope is still taught in elementary school science class.
In this manner, every element in the standard is thought of as a continuous (and never-ending circular) process of Plan>Implement->Audit->Improve, which is analogous to P-D-C-A. Having a written Quality procedure is only the first tick-mark of the QMS continuum. To say a written procedure is fully implemented, it must also be in use, verified and shown to be effective.
I thought this comparison was a valuable explanation and I hope others find this analogy useful.
John