Good starting point for a new QC Manager? Evaluating Existing Procedures

[Claes Gefvenberg]

I have been promoted to the position of QC manager

Hullo hawk. Congratulations on you new job, and welcome to the Cove You have been given a lot of good advice already, but I'd like to add my bit to.

...new procedures are put in place with the intention of preventing further occurances instead of determining what EXISTING procedures have failed and modifying them.

Which tells us that nobody had a clue about the procedures already in place.

...I want to break the company down to individual departments and determine what procedures can still be used and which ones to toss. Then I want to see management is looking for ways to combat this problem.

Sounds good apart from the breakdown into departments. You will probably be better off breaking your company down into processes, as Taz and others already suggested (they will often span across several departments and if a dep. describes just their part of a process you are bound to have problems in the interaction between departments).

I suggest a look at the following threads:
Functional vs Process Based Documentation
ISO 9001: Avoiding Over Documentation
Keeping Procedures Simple
Are we required by ISO 9001:2000 to have process maps for each department?
Advice on Structuring Documentation

You may also want to consider going for a paperless system... Have a look at
Moving to a Paperless Electronic Doumentation System - Seeking Ideas

My thoughts are that to get everyone on the same page, procedures need to be in place to give some type of order to each person's responsibilities. Then I can look at and address other quality issues.

Yes... You have got it right. And having gotten that far you'll find that many of the problems have disappeared along the way. Be prepared though: Your forehead will hit some pretty solid objects along the way. That's just the way it is.

/Claes

 

[Mike S.]

Hawk,

Are the procedures in the shape they are in now seen as a problem to the average worker on the floor? If so, your task will be much easier. Ask some of the floor people for their advice -- and listen to it -- it is one of the best "first things" you can do, IMO.

 

[Randy]

Remember to keep in mind.. www.monster.com just in case. :mg:

Ooooo, am I bad or what?

 

[CarolX]

Hawk,

Are the procedures in the shape they are in now seen as a problem to the average worker on the floor? If so, your task will be much easier. Ask some of the floor people for their advice -- and listen to it -- it is one of the best "first things" you can do, IMO.

Mike is SOOOO right on this!!! You can go to them as their champion! "buy in" is then a breeze!

Carol

 

[Greg B]

Hawkeye,

I agree very much with Dave Scott and Claes (check out the other threads and you may be surprised that you are not the only one this has happend to). One point that I saw that I had trouble with is that you said YOU were going to do this and that in regard to reviews. Please remember (IMO) that these procedures are THEIRS and should be THEIR responsibility. I have fallen into the trap of rewriting peoples Procedures only to be expected to do it always or for other departments.

I agree with the breaking the company down into process areas and I am sure that the threads Claes has chosen will help your on your path. I have (along with many others) have posted alot of work on Process Mapping and this may also help. Just let your fingures do the walking and do a search. (I not as good at the research as Claes - It takes me too long)

PS: Congrats on your promotion

Greg B

 

[hawkeye]

Hawk,

Are the procedures in the shape they are in now seen as a problem to the average worker on the floor? If so, your task will be much easier. Ask some of the floor people for their advice -- and listen to it -- it is one of the best "first things" you can do, IMO.

Mike,
Yes the procedures (or lack thereof) are seen as a problem by the average worker on the floor. A lot of the shop workers aren't really clear on their job responsibilties. I've already gotten quite a bit of input from them to this point. Another feather in my cap is that up until 5 yrs. ago, I was one of them. That gives me more credibility to them than someone fresh out of college who takes on this project. I also spend a day every month actually working with the people in the shop doing my old job that I used to do before I was promoted to the office. I think they see me as someone who is on their side. (for the most part) Anyway, I think I have a lot of support from the guys in the shop, and I will use A LOT of input from them. One of my old management professors used to say "solve a problem by talking to the person who is closest to it." That's what Iintend to do.

 

[QCAce]

Hawkeye,

I would first say that I agree with other postings that a good place to start is to focus on the processes over the documentation, but I would like to add a few more thoughts.
I have helped develop quality management systems at four different companies now and one thing I have learned is to help get the focus on the processes, one thing that I think helps is to look at the key metrics from those processes. For example:

- Customer Returns: # of returns per month versus orders shipped, top 5 type of returns each month, (same metrics could be used for nonconforming material process).

- Engineering Changes Notices (ECNs): # of ECNs generated per month, # generated to fix errors versus # generated for productivity/improvements, top 5 reasons ECN's generated to fix errors.

1) Why focus on the metrics? - because it will help your team adopt a process focus, fact-based decision making, continual improvement focus, and the other ISO 9k2k guiding principles.

2) What would sound better to your customers: "we have the best document control system in place with the right number of procedures," or "we've improved our processes and our metrics are now showing that our shipment of nonconformances reduced from 30% to under 1%."

3) If the data is not being collected that can give you the key metrics you identify, I would focus on getting that setup first. Then use the data to identify the key areas that need the most help and feed that into your corrective action system. Also make part of the corrective action response the act of improving your procedures and process documentation for the area you are focusing on.

By focusing on the metrics this can help you shift the focus on the processes, get the documentation aligned with your key processes as well as drive improvement in data, which is what really matters to the customer.

Good luck.
Andy

 

[Peter Fraser]

Hello everyone! I have been promoted to the position of QC manager in the pr company for which I work. Quality is a rather large problem here.

Here is what I'm thinking of doing. I want to break the company down to individual departments and determine what procedures can still be used and which ones to toss. Then I want to see if any of the procedures need to be modified and I also want to cros check my procedures to see if there are any that apply to more than 1 department.

Thanks for any comments

Hawkeye

First of all: since you are in PR, how about rebranding your position as "Process Improvement Officer" or "Management System Supremo" or "Business Excellence Champion" or ...? Be radical and positive!

Second: (and this is extreme!) remove ALL the existing procedures and see which ones are missed. You will know what to do with the rest.

Third: as said by others, look at your processes, not the departments (do they speak to each other, by the way?) To do that, start with the company's mission, then ask how it is achieved, and you will soon reach the process level. You will then be able to refer to any procedures where they are required at the appropriate stage in a process. NB getting people to describe what they do can be a nightmare!

Good luck.

 

[qualitygoddess - 2010]

How is Hawkeye Doing??

Hello everyone! I have been promoted to the position of QC manager in the pr company for which I work. Quality is a rather large problem here.

I was actually doing a search for some other information, and came across this thread. Hawkeye -- how are your efforts going?? What product/service does the company provide??

--QG

 

[Wes Bucey]

I was actually doing a search for some other information, and came across this thread. Hawkeye -- how are your efforts going?? What product/service does the company provide??

--QG

Alas, hawkeye hasn't signed in since April. You might be interested in looking at another thread he figured prominently in:
(broken link removed)