Now that most of us (?) have made the transition...

[Rob Nix]

We recently went from QS to TS2. The documentation increased alittle as we added Process Parameter Matrix documents and we also created a new procedure or two. Not for TS but to better clarify certain things in our system. I have always looked at our system as a living system and we do things for a good business reason, not for QS or TS.

But I really do not understand the process of "upgrading" to ISO or TS and having the documentation reduce. This makes me think that you didn't need the documentation before. That it had no value to the organization and was only for show????

Good point Tom! This reduction or addition of documents may indicate the motives behind their creation.

 

[RoxaneB]

Thank the stars, it shrunk. Our well-over 100 pages and never-read Quality Manual is now 28 pages and I've seen guys on the floor actually reading it!

We've cut out over 30 work instructions for processes that can be covered under on-the-job training or in other documentation.

And we're looking to streamline the paperwork even more!

First and foremost, though, we're attempting to streamline processes. Continual improvement. Onwards and upwards.

 

[Bill Ryan - 2007]

But I really do not understand the process of "upgrading" to ISO or TS and having the documentation reduce. This makes me think that you didn't need the documentation before. That it had no value to the organization and was only for show????

We need an icon for "hitting the nail on the head" (or....maybe not). As Roxane noted, our Quality Manual was only read by our auditors (internal and external) and it read as if listening to a politician - lots of words saying, basically, nothing. Much of our documentation was just regurgitating the Standard elements and, YES, was only in place to satisfy an auditor. I really believe that the upgrade to 2nd edition has finally opened up some eyes around here and begun the "does this really make sense for us?" questioning mode we need to be in to truly have a QMS that helps "guide" us every day.

Bill

 

[gpainter]

QM shrank to about half the size. SPs lost about 8 pages.

 

[CastaDave]

Mine shrunk by about half, mainly due to the deletion of unneccesary procedures.

 

[RoxaneB]

Mine shrunk by about half, mainly due to the deletion of unneccesary procedures.

How did your organization determine that they were unnecessary?

 

[David Hartman]

How did your organization determine that they were unnecessary?

Good question Roxane.

When I started at a previous employer's we had over 3300 documents that were continuously being gigged by the ISO auditors for obsolete and superceded documents being found in work centers. Most of these documents were for the production floor operations, and all were created in the military format (reams and reams of text). The average length of a production process was about 15 pages.

After setting down with the user's (or non-user's as we soon discovered) we found that the documents were too cumbersome for them to use, if time were spent reading through this text, then production rate was seriously impacted (and with a commitment to our customer's to provide them with a completed product within 48 hours this was unacceptable).

We also found that new hires were in-fact being provided with OJT (assigned a mentor who worked with them for a couple of weeks to ensure that the new hire had a good feel for the process, before they were turned loose on the own). This was an informal process that had been put in place by the production floor supervisors as a method of bringing new hires up to speed, while keeping production going.

We chose to capitalize on this informal process, by making it a formal part of our QMS. With a team of production supervisors and the more experienced line workers, we developed a formalized training process for each work center. This process consisted of a specific checklist of items that the new hire had to be trained on, and demonstrate proficiency in, prior to them being "certified" for that work center. These training records, including the sign-off of the applicable mentor and production supervisor (indicating the new hire's demonstrated proficiency/competency) were then maintained by Human Resources (although there was some discussion regarding the fact that the records could have been maintained by the supervisor instead, we chose to have all company training records maintained by HR).

This process allowed us the ability to remove from use all of those unused (and unusable) documents, reducing our total amount of documentation to less than 1800.

We also found that in cases where a document was necessary it was best to use a combination of flowchart and text to minimize the length, and make the document more user friendly.

Just before I left a similar effort had begun in the office areas as well.

 

[Claes Gefvenberg]

We chose to capitalize on this informal process, by making it a formal part of our QMS.

Yes! That's the way to do it. Great tale, David

/Claes

 

[RosieA]

It grew, but....

While I was able to shrink the QAM by 75%, I did have to add several new procedures to address 9K2K stuff.

Now that it's over, I plan to spend a bunch of time revamping the procedures, though, as the look, content and readability of the tier 2s and 3s vary widely by department.

Ultimately, it will shrink. Give me a year.

 

[RoxaneB]

We chose to capitalize on this informal process, by making it a formal part of our QMS. With a team of production supervisors and the more experienced line workers, we developed a formalized training process for each work center. This process consisted of a specific checklist of items that the new hire had to be trained on, and demonstrate proficiency in, prior to them being "certified" for that work center. These training records, including the sign-off of the applicable mentor and production supervisor (indicating the new hire's demonstrated proficiency/competency) were then maintained by Human Resources (although there was some discussion regarding the fact that the records could have been maintained by the supervisor instead, we chose to have all company training records maintained by HR).

Isn't it amazing how a structured and centralized training programme can benefit an organization? We use a vast array of training methods within our system and due dates are provided. An employee is too be trained by the due date. If not, action is taken to facilitate the training.

Tools that we use, however, include:

• Face-to-face orientations
• Power Point presentations
• On-the-job training
• Apprenticeship/Trainee programmes
• One-Point Lessons
• Training modules

We also found that in cases where a document was necessary it was best to use a combination of flowchart and text to minimize the length, and make the document more user friendly.

A picture is worth a thousand words, isn't it? Via training and experience, quite often than naught, employees don't need a "War and Peace" size document when they have a Vulcan Mind Dump that has them forgetting the next step in a job they routinely do.

Flow charts and pictures with arrows and text are amazingly beneficial in a multitude of scenarios. Not only are they understood much faster than sifting through text, but they are more easily understood by people who may not have the same first language as the country in which you operate.

Just before I left a similar effort had begun in the office areas as well.

As, the frequently forgotten Administration! Just when they thought everyone had let them slip through the cracks! Great job, Dave! I'd give you another karma, but I'm supposed to spread some around apparently.