AS9100 Certification for Small (2 man) Business

[AndyN]

I agree with Howste.

1st thing is to get training in AS9100 to know what you need and to set what you need for your business. Then if you get help, (cove, part-time help, etc.) you will be able to separate what is someone's idea and what is needed or required.

Greg

What 'training' are you referring to, in particular? An overview? A 2 or 3 day implementation course?

An understanding of the standard can be found from reading a good book on the subject and save the money to get focused, practical advise on this particular business's needs...most training is very 'vanilla' - because of the different audiences attending.

 

[tomvehoski]

The problem with a book is that you can't ask it questions. I doubt there have been many written targeting the two person shop. More likely you are going to see the books written towards the mega-corporations where they can sell hundreds of books to one company.

I don't have a recommendation on a particular course, but make sure you talk to the provider, and hopefully the instructor, to see if they have experience in your type of situation.

 

[AndyN]

The problem with a book is that you can't ask it questions.

That's what the consultant's for, plus they should have specific knowledge of a small shop's 'challenges'...

My thoughts were that to take 2 (or more) days out only to get some very generic guidance is not cost effective. A half day with a good consultant would get more done, quicker, to answer those points.

 

[gbcqc]

The Quotes I saw from consultants ( I did not send out the RFQs) were about $700 to $1000/day. Some plus travel and some not depending on how close they were located to the plant, plus so many days minimum.

Now that was several years ago. But a lead auditor course gives you 4.5 days for questions before the test (may vary pending on the group offering the course).

Right or wrong it was just at thought. And based on some of the questions people ask here it could help.

 

[NEWTOISO]

I am just a simple admin for a very small (5 man) business and also going through the wake of an eye-opening ISO audit..
(Now, I have NO formal training in ISO, so please bear that in mind. All I have learned has been here in the cove and forgive the terminology but I call it "googling the web for info" over the past year.)
I have spent the better part of 9 months "cleaning" records/files/and our QA Manual since I walked in the door last fall - completely green.
After being theoretically "assaulted" by this audit as I call it - my best advice to anyone who is trying to go for ISO cert for the 1st time is this: Keep your manual as short and sweet as humanly possible.
We got into trouble when the auditor came and the 1st thing we were told was that our Quality Manual was "too wordy".. Our audit was in Nov, and we are STILL fighting the auditing company on our "true root causes" because the fact that we are a small business just isn't good enough for them..
Also, Make sure you go through the Manual/procedures with a fine tooth comb to make sure that anything that is "not applicable" to your company - in your QA Manual should have "an exclusion statement" excluding your 2-man company from this requirement/spec/etc. That was our biggest stumbling block. The majority of the requirements didn't apply to us because we do not design/engineer - we only manufacture.
Hope this helps some!! and keeping my fingers crossed for your audit to go smoothly (and for our own ISO battle to end one day)!

 

[tomvehoski]

Newtoiso,

First, welcome. Second, I think you may be the perfect example of what can happen when you don't have someone with experience to ask questions of.

I agree that "small company" is not a valid root cause. Even small companies can comply with all of the requirements of the standard. Being small can mean you have a simple system which is not overly formal, but you still have to have a system for all of the requirements. Yes you do need to specifically exclude anything that does not apply to your organization, you can't just ignore it.

I don't mean to beat you up, but it just goes to show that if you had the ability to spend some money up front on formal training and/or some consulting, you would probably have saved in the long run.

 

[AndyN]

The Quotes I saw from consultants ( I did not send out the RFQs) were about $700 to $1000/day. Some plus travel and some not depending on how close they were located to the plant, plus so many days minimum.

Now that was several years ago. But a lead auditor course gives you 4.5 days for questions before the test (may vary pending on the group offering the course).

Right or wrong it was just at thought. And based on some of the questions people ask here it could help.

A Lead Auditor course, as much 'fun' as it is to attend, isn't the right place to learn the standard (it's a pre-req. that you know it) or how to document and implement a qms! So, to take 4/5 days out to find out you could have spent the same amount and got what you needed in maybe 1 day is more effective for a small business person, IMHO!

I can assure anyone here that getting some (focused) help is far more cost effective than buying canned programs and attending training courses which never address the specifics of what is needed to get started...

 

[Joy]

I agree with Andy and you may consider to develop your system.Sure,you would love your own baby .There are books available for understanding requirements or may find a course which meets your requirement.LA course is not appropriate for this.

 

[ouioui]

Dear All,

I'm from France, so I can't help you so far. As a consultant I could propose you, first to get the right training. That doesn't mean spending thousands of $. If you are aware of AS9100 "B" requirements, some companies such as Pri Nadcap Equalearn gives AS9100 webinar training on AS9100 "C". My English is not so good to offer you such support, but I can confirm that you should make your QMS as simple as possible. Never accept what a consultant could tell you without confirmation. It's your baby and keep going ahead with this sentence in mind. As a consultant I do audits for a large company like Airbus and a very small business with 2 employees. A good consultant must have the capability to adapt his behavior each time is entering in a premise. His force is offering his knowledge and experiences accumulated from the other companies and having the competence to never shadow his client with his "pride".
Once again, I appologize for all mistakes, but I' so please to entering Elsmar experts group. Olivier

 

[Angelika]

Dear All,

I'm from France, so I can't help you so far. As a consultant I could propose you, first to get the right training. That doesn't mean spending thousands of $. If you are aware of AS9100 "B" requirements, some companies such as Pri Nadcap Equalearn gives AS9100 webinar training on AS9100 "C". My English is not so good to offer you such support, but I can confirm that you should make your QMS as simple as possible. Never accept what a consultant could tell you without confirmation. It's your baby and keep going ahead with this sentence in mind. As a consultant I do audits for a large company like Airbus and a very small business with 2 employees. A good consultant must have the capability to adapt his behavior each time is entering in a premise. His force is offering his knowledge and experiences accumulated from the other companies and having the competence to never shadow his client with his "pride".
Once again, I appologize for all mistakes, but I' so please to entering Elsmar experts group. Olivier

Thank you, Olivier, for your nice contribution. I fully agree with you.

Regards from Germany,
Angelika