My company has a recertification audit upcoming in 3 months and we were just informed that this audit has been selected by the SMMT as a witness audit. I know that a witness audit has nothing to do with our QMS but the effect it has on the auditor tends to bring a bit more scrutiny than normal. As such I am making an attempt to tighten up the system to minimize the impact on the comapny.
One of the areas in contention is the whole CSR/SQM/QMS relationship that seems to be a hot topic with all the big players now with the new rules and such. There is a huge focus on Customer Specific Requirements.
My wife works for one of the largest (if not the largest) CB and is their Global TS manager and has been at this stuff since QS was implemented as well as having veto power with the IATF (for whatever that gets you) so I figure she knows her stuff. When I ask her for past experience/knolwedge of what is normally looked for, the answers I get tend to make my eyes glaze over. She and I can get into some really heated discussions due to the fact that I am a strong advocate of value added vs non value added and that generally is the basis of much of my argument to which she simply says, "that's just the way it has to be". Any way, I digress.
She has suggested that I create a matrix to correlate our Customer Specific Requirements with how we address them within our QMS. When I look at, for instance, the matrix that Stiljoor has posted in the documents section here I cant help but ask, what value does something like that add to our system? If a company has a functioning and certifiable TS system then all those items should be addressed within the QMS. Now, I can see anything specific that a Customer may require that is not completely detailed in the TS/QMS such as packaging, inspection sampling, Cpk requirements but those items should be addressed separately where they are required.
So, again I ask, what should I be getting as far as adding value to my system by creating a matrix that rehashes the TS standard and then lists where in the Customer Requirements that is stated besides being able to "check the box" as complete?
If anyone can explain to me the rationale behind the thought process of creating sucha matrix I would greatly appreciate that.
One of the areas in contention is the whole CSR/SQM/QMS relationship that seems to be a hot topic with all the big players now with the new rules and such. There is a huge focus on Customer Specific Requirements.
My wife works for one of the largest (if not the largest) CB and is their Global TS manager and has been at this stuff since QS was implemented as well as having veto power with the IATF (for whatever that gets you) so I figure she knows her stuff. When I ask her for past experience/knolwedge of what is normally looked for, the answers I get tend to make my eyes glaze over. She and I can get into some really heated discussions due to the fact that I am a strong advocate of value added vs non value added and that generally is the basis of much of my argument to which she simply says, "that's just the way it has to be". Any way, I digress.
She has suggested that I create a matrix to correlate our Customer Specific Requirements with how we address them within our QMS. When I look at, for instance, the matrix that Stiljoor has posted in the documents section here I cant help but ask, what value does something like that add to our system? If a company has a functioning and certifiable TS system then all those items should be addressed within the QMS. Now, I can see anything specific that a Customer may require that is not completely detailed in the TS/QMS such as packaging, inspection sampling, Cpk requirements but those items should be addressed separately where they are required.
So, again I ask, what should I be getting as far as adding value to my system by creating a matrix that rehashes the TS standard and then lists where in the Customer Requirements that is stated besides being able to "check the box" as complete?
If anyone can explain to me the rationale behind the thought process of creating sucha matrix I would greatly appreciate that.
