Innovation - TS 16949 requirement? Clause 6.2.2.4 Employee Motivation and Empowerment

[Randy Lefferts]

The only reference to innovation I can find in the TS standard is 6.2.2.4 Employee Motivation and Empowerment. "The organization shall have a process to motivate employees to achieve quality objectives, to make continual improvements and to create an environment to promote innovation."

Have I just overlooked the requirement, does it not exist, or is the above excerpt "the" requirement?

 

[D.Scott]

The requirement is, as stated, to provide an environment to promote innovation. Notice that innovation itself is not the requirement. You will need to measure the effectiveness of providing that environment. The measurement should be made and analyized against whatever goals you set. On a very simple level the environment to promote innovation could be as little as setting up a suggestion box and policy that encourages employees to make inovative suggestions. The measurement could be as simple as numbers of submissions / suggestions implemented.

I can't think of anywhere else it is listed as a specific requirement.

Dave

 

[Mike Smith]

I will put in my two cents worth.

The requirement is that you only have a environment that is condusive to innovation. How this environment is measured for success is another question that I think could be interesting. How do you know when an environment is condusive to innovation. Happiness surveys for employees, the number of suggestions put in by employees. How do you know when your employees are motivated, I think that is the bigger question. It is one that I have struggled with myself.

 

[Randy Lefferts]

Thank you

The requirement is, as stated, to provide an environment to promote innovation. Notice that innovation itself is not the requirement. You will need to measure the effectiveness of providing that environment. The measurement should be made and analyized against whatever goals you set. On a very simple level the environment to promote innovation could be as little as setting up a suggestion box and policy that encourages employees to make inovative suggestions. The measurement could be as simple as numbers of submissions / suggestions implemented.

I can't think of anywhere else it is listed as a specific requirement.

Dave

Thank you Dave and Mike. We have addressed the environment in the form of suggestions with a monetary reward given to the originator of any suggestions implemented. We currently measure it exactly as you state, submissions vs submissions implemented.

The question I posed originated when we saw, what we thought to be, an audit from a registrar regarding innovation. The sole purpose of the audit worksheet was to audit the innovation process. The audit sheet was a collection of process audit worksheets that appeared to be samples of what an organization would be auditing. For example, there were audit worksheets for the Production process, Mgt. Review process, Auditing process, Purchasing process, etc. Innovation process was one of them.

Thanks for your input on this.

Would innovation and continual improvement be the "same" thing? Seems that they are very close to being the same thing, if not the same thing. Perhaps I am just not clear on what would be the difference.

Edit: I should add that I mean that I am not clear on the difference as it pertains to this requirement. IMO, continual improvement is improving something that already exists whereas innovation is creating something new/different. Although I think you could be guilty of innovation by improving something that already exists. Therein lies my confusion

 

[db]

Would innovation and continual improvement be the "same" thing? Seems that they are very close to being the same thing, if not the same thing. Perhaps I am just not clear on what would be the difference.

Edit: I should add that I mean that I am not clear on the difference as it pertains to this requirement. IMO, continual improvement is improving something that already exists whereas innovation is creating something new/different. Although I think you could be guilty of innovation by improving something that already exists. Therein lies my confusion

I really don't see the confusion, Randy. I think you have it pegged! I would argue that innovation is a form of continual improvement. Not all continual improvement will involve innovation, but I can't envision innovation that is not continual improvement. It is entirely possible, I believe, for you to use innovation to to improve something that already exists. In this case the innovation would be applying an improvement that was either new or different. See what I mean?

 

[Randy Lefferts]

I really don't see the confusion, Randy. I think you have it pegged! I would argue that innovation is a form of continual improvement. Not all continual improvement will involve innovation, but I can't envision innovation that is not continual improvement. It is entirely possible, I believe, for you to use innovation to to improve something that already exists. In this case the innovation would be applying an improvement that was either new or different. See what I mean?

Thanks Dave

Although I think you could be guilty of innovation by improving something that already exists.

I absolutely see what you mean. I believe the same thing. Although I just have to convince an auditor, should he believe differently.

Thanks again Dave