Best visual description for SOPs?

[ISO_Man]

Most processes are cross functional to some extent.

Process owners, therefore, are authorized to work across departmental boundaries as necessary to monitor and improve processes so they are effective.

Naturally, the heads of departments will ensure the processes are given the necessary resources!

Properly authorized process owners can then work with other process owners (and the system manager) to ensure the system is effective.

: ) - I don't think we have enough people to have separate process owners and department heads - they're turning out to be the same people in many cases. Thanks for all of your input.

 

[John Broomfield]

Indeed, it makes sense to organize around your multidisciplinary processes instead of forming unidiscipline departments.

 

[ISO_Man]

I don't know what Organizational Leadership procedures are. The 9001 expectations are for support, commitment, customer focus, communicating and taking accountability. Trainingmag described it pretty well.

I am not affiliated with Trainingmag.

In the past I have had success with helping my internal (non-Quality) customers develop flow charts to replace dense text. With others I tried to develop turtle diagrams and they were utterly lost with the subject.

Section 5 of the ISO standard talks about leadership and its responsibilities, Section 6 is Planning for the QMS - my SOPs reflect those areas. Lower level documents reflect the "how to" for each section.

 

[John Broomfield]

Writing procedures around the clauses in the standard?

I thought this approach had died long ago!

 

[ISO_Man]

Writing procedures around the clauses in the standard?

I thought this approach had died long ago!

they wrote them before they hired me - still getting my head around what to do

 

[John Broomfield]

they wrote them before they hired me - still getting my head around what to do

Invite your colleagues to help you to understand the system they actually use to fulfill customer requirements. Respect this system and develop it with them so it’s largely implemented by the time you’ve documented it. Deployment flowcharts can show who does what to fulfill process objectives.

Tie-in the SOPs as necessary to document the “how to” parts of the system. Likewise with forms to gather any required data.

Your organization should then have a greater appreciation for its management system.

As a bonus it will also happen to conform to the standard.

Best wishes,

John

 

[John C. Abnet]

they wrote them before they hired me - still getting my head around what to do

Good day @ISO_Man ;
Just be careful not to throw out the proverbial "baby with the bathwater". There is no specific right or wrong way to organize your management system. Whatever your organization does it should be in the selfish best interest of the organization and NOT done to please an auditor. If your current system works, and is vibrant (i.e. the needing individuals know and understand where to access them and do so), then maybe the current structure works for your organization. One thing you may want to do is simply "reverse engineer" from the existing processes and documentation. i.e . Look at who owns what and "what" is defined (i.e. documented processes, etc...) and then look to see what requirements of the standard these existing methods address. I can only assume, but if your organization has been well established for some time, then one would assume that it is functioning well. You may find your organization's management system and process owners are better defined than you think.

Hope this helps.
Be well.

 

[Jen Kirley]

Section 5 of the ISO standard talks about leadership and its responsibilities, Section 6 is Planning for the QMS - my SOPs reflect those areas. Lower level documents reflect the "how to" for each section.

What I hoped to express is that I cannot imagine what such (leadership, clause group 5) procedures would say. Leadership and commitment is not a process; leaders inspire and support. Leaders enable others to succeed through their behaviors. Such behaviors are not defined in procedure. Indeed they may need to be more nimble and creative than procedures typically allow.

 

[tony s]

I'm trying to decide whether having them create turtle diagrams, SIPOCs etc. for the SOP's that they owne is the best way. Thoughts?

If you want to complicate your documentation, then by all means.

my SOPs reflect those areas. Lower level documents reflect the "how to" for each section.

You don't need SOPs for major sections of the standard. It serves no value. Documenting the "how" should be anchored to your processes - not the sections of the standard.