ISO 9001:2000 QMS Implementation - How long will it take?

[Marc]

In my case, running the ISO implementation is only about 50% of my job... in a good week lately.
I have other things to do, as does the rest of the implementation team.
I can certainly see it being done faster if that's all I had to worry about... of course if that's all I had to worry about i'd also have to worry about a new job when I was done.

That's not an unusual way to go through the process and I don't have a problem with a long term approach. The important aspect here is that it is just that - A long term approach. I've worked with companies using long term implementations and with companies that took a focused, 'concentrated' approach.

 

[Sidney Vianna]

Sidney regarding The quate for ISO .I am just generalising the things the auditor only checks the parameters or procedure which you have defined in the procedure manual of your organisation .he is not going to check the things which is out of the procedura manual .thats why I toldin my quate fallow the procedure what you have mentioned or defined in the procedure manual

As long as you equate ISO 9001 implementation with

• "what the auditor will ask for" and
• developing procedures, documents and records

You will have not understood what an effective quality management system is. There are a lot of under-performing, dysfunctional, obtuse quality management systems in the developed world. As more and more of the manufacturing conglomerates are moved to places like China and India, believe me, you guys need to learn what makes a true QMS effective. I am sorry for being blunt, but using archaic cliches and approaches to ISO 9001 implementation will not serve your purpose. Do not follow outdated recipes. Not everybody will be able to be as progressive as a Toyota, but don't fall in the same old traps that many Western organizations have fallen and still do. Learn from our mistakes, instead of repeating them.

 

[RJD703]

Thanks to everyone for their comments. I see a great deal of trouble ahead for my task. We have a committment to be registered by the end of 2008 so it should be an achievable goal. But like I originally stated, we are starting form scratch. And the fact that we are a very profitable company makes it tough to get peolple to change the way they think. I have already heard the why do we need this crap comments. I will only be able to put about a third of my time into leading this effort. I figure that we may be able to allocate a total of 40 man-hours a week as a company. Any thoughts on How many months would be a good estimate for completion? 12? 14? Wish me luck!

 

[DsqrdDGD909]

Thanks to everyone for their comments. I see a great deal of trouble ahead for my task. We have a committment to be registered by the end of 2008 so it should be an achievable goal. But like I originally stated, we are starting form scratch. And the fact that we are a very profitable company makes it tough to get peolple to change the way they think. I have already heard the why do we need this crap comments. I will only be able to put about a third of my time into leading this effort. I figure that we may be able to allocate a total of 40 man-hours a week as a company. Any thoughts on How many months would be a good estimate for completion? 12? 14? Wish me luck!

Perhaps I missed it, but what does your Upper Management really think of ISO? That will be the key determinant of how long it will take and how hard the journey will be.

 

[Icy Mountain]

I have put two companies through the ISO9001 registration process. Both projects went about 12 months from start to finish. #1 was at a 250 person, 2 site (70 miles apart) company with an outdated, but pre-existing quality system at the manufacturing site, no experience with QMS at the headquarters. #2 was at a 70 person single site, starting from scratch on documentation, but with a good team-based measurement and communication system in place. Either could have been done in 6 months with a concerted "all hands on deck" effort.

At the 70 person site, comparable to your company, I would estimate we put about 35-40 man-hours per week into the project. About 20 for me as the Quality Manager/Project Manager, a weekly one-hour project planning/status meeting with 10 team members, plus the implementation time during the week for the team members. My project diary is posted here on the Cove.

 

[JaneB]

I know there are many determining factors in figuring out the amount of time needed. Any ballpark estimates would be appreciated.

Data from a recent published survey reported the mean time to implement ISO 9001: 2000 as 8 months - the range was 2 to 24 months. Good news was this was down from a mean of 10.26 for the old 1994 version (range from 1 to 36 months). But the upper limit of the ranges are huge & suggest to me that either people lost their way or they had problems such as not enough resources/skills, because it's way too long.

Note: that's the total elapsed time, not the hours of work/effort involved, which varies widely depending on various factors, as others point out.

Also - I strongly agree with Sidney's advice. Do NOT start by 'documenting everything'. Preferably don't finish there either. Heaven forbid. That was the old approach... and that way lies waste of time & madness. Focus on processes.