Quality Objectives - How in depth should we go with our quality objectives?

[fuzzy]

Quality Policy
Quality Machine and Tool produces products and provides services that consistently conform to customer expectations. Our quality system is compliant with ISO 9001-2000 and ISO/TS-16949, and regulatory requirements, and our company continually improves the system. Clear objectives have been established in support of this policy, and management reviews the system and objectives on a continuous basis.

Quality Objectives
Purchasing:
To measure suppliers as to their continued ability to meet organizational requirements

Production Control:
To continually improve delivery, inventory control, and scheduling methods

Operations:
Monitor and improve process capability, operator training, safety and labor performance

Quality Assurance:
To ensure product realisation that meets the customer's requirements, and monitor compliance with the quality management system.

Thanks Kevin

My comments will be similar but different...Your QP is a bit wordy and stiff for me ; I would drop the last sentence as it just seems like an advertisement. The policy would meet ISO requirements as written without it.

As for objectives, I would agree with Roxanne and some others that your choices should be measurable, realistic, attainable, etc. but they also would hopefully be metrics that can be flowed down throughout your organization; i.e. have meaning in the smallest natural units of your company. What can my (Team, Dept. Workcell, CNC #8) contribute to delivery improvement as measured by ??? How can I know at my micro-level as well as the macro-level, that my company is either correcting (when not meeting target), sustaining, or continually improving our performance? Don't I make it sound easy?

 

[qcman]

I would think maintaining a certain level could be a quality objective.Say you have 98% on time delivery,quality objective could be ( XYZ shall strive to maintain an on time delivery rate of 98% or better.

 

[RoxaneB]

I would think maintaining a certain level could be a quality objective.Say you have 98% on time delivery,quality objective could be ( XYZ shall strive to maintain an on time delivery rate of 98% or better.

Ummmm...prepare for some flack on the words "shall strive", qcman. They imply that the organization will try to do that...at some point...but not today...

shall strive = cheque's in the mail

That being said, good point about an objective to maintain performance!

 

[Jim Wynne]

Ummmm...prepare for some flack on the words "shall strive", qcman. They imply that the organization will try to do that...at some point...but not today...

shall strive = cheque's in the mail

Yes--the active voice is almost always better than the passive: "XYZ maintains an on-time delivery rate of..."

 

[QCAce]

We have been struggling on our Quality Objectives. Some in our Management want them to be written out like a book and some want them to be short and sweet. I have listed below what one of our managers came up with, please advise, we are open to criticism.

Quality Policy
Quality Machine and Tool produces products and provides services that consistently conform to customer expectations. Our quality system is compliant with ISO 9001-2000 and ISO/TS-16949, and regulatory requirements, and our company continually improves the system. Clear objectives have been established in support of this policy, and management reviews the system and objectives on a continuous basis.

Quality Objectives
Purchasing:
To measure suppliers as to their continued ability to meet organizational requirements

Production Control:
To continually improve delivery, inventory control, and scheduling methods

Operations:
Monitor and improve process capability, operator training, safety and labor performance

Quality Assurance:
To ensure product realisation that meets the customer's requirements, and monitor compliance with the quality management system.

Thanks Kevin

I like the objectives you have listed except for the first and last ones, (Purchasing and Quality Assurance). I would recommend the following changes:
- for Purchasing, try to find something a little more specific as others have suggested that would imply something you could measure, like supplier on-time delivery and minimizing supplier returns.
- for Quality Assurance, I would either remove this objective or state it something to the effect that their objective is to help the other departments achieve the other three objectives.

Good Luck!

 

[ralphsulser]

Ummmm...prepare for some flack on the words "shall strive", qcman. They imply that the organization will try to do that...at some point...but not today...

shall strive = cheque's in the mail

That being said, good point about an objective to maintain performance!

Sometimes "strive" reminds me of swimming upstream. Can't you just see the arms flailing away, but not getting anywhere? ;-)

 

[qcman]

Guess I have never thought of *strive* as a bad word but you do make a point to considor.

Webster online
strive
1 : to devote serious effort or energy : ENDEAVOR <strive to finish a project>
2 : to struggle in opposition : CONTEND

The way I was thinking is strive leaves an opening for the times you don't maintain but to say xyz maintains leads to the idea you always maintain. Ya know sometimes I just think to much

 

[Ajit Basrur]

Re: How in depth should we go on our Quality Objectives?

The idea of "Train all Manufacturing personnel on Level 2 procedures by December 2006" is more a project/programme with a goal. But what is it trying to achieve? Why is the organization doing this?

When I mentioned this objective, I wrote this with the intent of citing an example. Pl dont go in the technicality of this particular example. I just happened to pick this, as there was some mention of training in the initial post.

 

[aerospaced]

Why doesnt AS9100 /ISO9001 require review of quality objectives during management review? Is this an oversight? It would seem that since the standard requires objectives to be measurable and to be established at all levels of the organization there should be an explicit requirement to review performance against objectives during management review. Any thoughts?

 

[fuzzy]

Why doesnt AS9100 /ISO9001 require review of quality objectives during management review? Is this an oversight? It would seem that since the standard requires objectives to be measurable and to be established at all levels of the organization there should be an explicit requirement to review performance against objectives during management review. Any thoughts?

My thoughts are that 5.6.1 expressly requires the review of the QP and objectives regarding a "need for changes". We just conducted our MR today and we went completely over the QP for suitability and reviewed every objective for results (outputs matter!) and suitability.

You are right that this is not expressly stated as "shall review QP and QPO's" under the input section. I would say that this activity is strongly implied via the 5.6.1 quote above.