What is working here...
Well, It's Friday not Monday...but better late than never right?
This is a bit lengthy, but I hope helps:
For the past 6 months I've been trying to prepare everyone here for the transition and began by trying to achieve a 'shift' in the perception of responsibility for the system from "QA function" to "We are all involved". This is 'shift' nothing new, I have had sucess int he last three years by getting the operators to be hands on involved and bringing to me changes needed to forms, SOPs, work instructions, etc...but I did pull the focus of my attention from the operators to the staff. Of course, I hit many roadblocks
everyone busy protecting their own territory, and there were some that just refused to listen at all 
When they first began talking about Lean, I noticed parallels because as I saw it the added advantage to applying the ISO transition to our system (going beyond the requirements - based on training exercises I participated in during a weeklong transition training seminar held by DNV) we could:
We have an opportunity to re-evaluate our processes based on what 'Goals and Objectives' are outlined as well as taking a truely focused internal customer look at our process interrelationships.
My sell was that while we were identifying the inter-relationships and interchanges of our processes we could identify areas and sources of waste and eliminate them. Which at first...was treated with...The ISO system has nothing to do with our manufacturing processes and that is where we're focusing Lean. {this said by the plants Eng Mgr}.
This showed me I had more educating to do, and along the way I also would have to prove not just to this person but to others on the management team that there were relationships and we could/should use them to our best advantage.
After pushing to be included in the Kaizen event (at first I wasn't even considered) because I felt if I could show my team the relationship, I could sell it to the whole group, I finally was. During the exercise, I would mention where the current and updated standard was associated with the aspects we were reviwing and how they connected. Eyes were opened, I was encouraged to show more and even the Kaizen Sensei (spelling?) during his wrap up made mention of it.
Now, I'm enjoying more cooperation when discussing the transition project (which for us officially begins in Feb). I also (and I mentioned this in other posts) have proposed removing Management Responsibility for ISO from the QA Manager [and remove from the QA Dept entirely], adding it to my own position (which I've been groomed for anyway) and changing the job title to 'Compliance Manager' [recommended by another Cove participant!] and effectively making (all) the process managers (not just mfg) responsible for managing their processes relationship to the ISO standard (with my help and guidance) rather than them pointing to the QA Mgr and sayng "That's his job, I have real work to do". I would continue to head the internal audits (and auditor training) and we work as a team to ensure that no changes would be made to a process without reviewing it's affect on associated processes nor our ISO certification.
At the same time we could continue to use the Lean methods to eliminate the sources of waste (we have an ongoing program that progresses through several levels of achievement), putting the onus on all associated with a process to know the impact of any changes made, and allowing the QA Manager to focus and deal with product quality issues [where he is needed most].
Time will tell how sucessful I am at my goals. I hope in the months to come I'll be able to show more connections. I hope at least some of who read this find it helpful, that is afterall why we are all here
Time to get back to updating databases and tackling the other stacks in my boxes.
Best Regards, Eileen
PS: Since all of our businesses and processes are different - I focued my response specifically to not point out 'Detailed' tit-for-tat relationships in hopes that it would be more beneficial to others by doing so.
Well, It's Friday not Monday...but better late than never right?
This is a bit lengthy, but I hope helps:
For the past 6 months I've been trying to prepare everyone here for the transition and began by trying to achieve a 'shift' in the perception of responsibility for the system from "QA function" to "We are all involved". This is 'shift' nothing new, I have had sucess int he last three years by getting the operators to be hands on involved and bringing to me changes needed to forms, SOPs, work instructions, etc...but I did pull the focus of my attention from the operators to the staff. Of course, I hit many roadblocks
everyone busy protecting their own territory, and there were some that just refused to listen at all When they first began talking about Lean, I noticed parallels because as I saw it the added advantage to applying the ISO transition to our system (going beyond the requirements - based on training exercises I participated in during a weeklong transition training seminar held by DNV) we could:
We have an opportunity to re-evaluate our processes based on what 'Goals and Objectives' are outlined as well as taking a truely focused internal customer look at our process interrelationships.
My sell was that while we were identifying the inter-relationships and interchanges of our processes we could identify areas and sources of waste and eliminate them. Which at first...was treated with...The ISO system has nothing to do with our manufacturing processes and that is where we're focusing Lean. {this said by the plants Eng Mgr}.
This showed me I had more educating to do, and along the way I also would have to prove not just to this person but to others on the management team that there were relationships and we could/should use them to our best advantage.
After pushing to be included in the Kaizen event (at first I wasn't even considered) because I felt if I could show my team the relationship, I could sell it to the whole group, I finally was. During the exercise, I would mention where the current and updated standard was associated with the aspects we were reviwing and how they connected. Eyes were opened, I was encouraged to show more and even the Kaizen Sensei (spelling?) during his wrap up made mention of it.
Now, I'm enjoying more cooperation when discussing the transition project (which for us officially begins in Feb). I also (and I mentioned this in other posts) have proposed removing Management Responsibility for ISO from the QA Manager [and remove from the QA Dept entirely], adding it to my own position (which I've been groomed for anyway) and changing the job title to 'Compliance Manager' [recommended by another Cove participant!] and effectively making (all) the process managers (not just mfg) responsible for managing their processes relationship to the ISO standard (with my help and guidance) rather than them pointing to the QA Mgr and sayng "That's his job, I have real work to do". I would continue to head the internal audits (and auditor training) and we work as a team to ensure that no changes would be made to a process without reviewing it's affect on associated processes nor our ISO certification.
At the same time we could continue to use the Lean methods to eliminate the sources of waste (we have an ongoing program that progresses through several levels of achievement), putting the onus on all associated with a process to know the impact of any changes made, and allowing the QA Manager to focus and deal with product quality issues [where he is needed most].
Time will tell how sucessful I am at my goals. I hope in the months to come I'll be able to show more connections. I hope at least some of who read this find it helpful, that is afterall why we are all here
Time to get back to updating databases and tackling the other stacks in my boxes.
Best Regards, Eileen
PS: Since all of our businesses and processes are different - I focued my response specifically to not point out 'Detailed' tit-for-tat relationships in hopes that it would be more beneficial to others by doing so.
what a vision that would be.
