Using Exact Words from ISO 9001:2008 in Level 1 Document (Quality Assurance Manual)

[somashekar]

Re: Using Exact Words from ISO 9001:2008 in Level 1 Document (Quality Assurance Manua

OK John, thanks for the frank response. My audience = top management (to whom this is all foreign) and their needs = need to fully understand and comprehend what is required. Therefore, I didn't think having a "local road map" (a document to which management would actually refer) would be a complete waste of time. Additional thoughts please.

If your purpose of the quality assurance manual is for top management training,. then the ISO standard in itself will make up for that.
If they have not read and understood the intent and requirements in the standard, or have not been trained through the ISO 9001 standard and requirement of a good quality management system, and top management responsibility., there is little that this type of your quality assurance manual would achieve in that direction.
I am afraid you will also miss mapping your process and interactions, which is a very important aspect of the quality manual.

 

[Marc]

Re: Using Exact Words from ISO 9001:2008 in Level 1 Document (Quality Assurance Manua

Thanks. I am in the thinking phase of all of this. I don't want a system that awkwardly passes an audit, confuses everyone in the organization, and does nothing to actually advance or give the organization's customers assurance of quality.

That's one way to do it. The thing to remember is there will be edits and updates to your manual over time. ISO 9001 its self is being updated so your references will soon be invalid.

 

[refractoryman]

Re: Using Exact Words from ISO 9001:2008 in Level 1 Document (Quality Assurance Manua

If your purpose of the quality assurance manual is for top management training,. then the ISO standard in itself will make up for that.
If they have not read and understood the intent and requirements in the standard, or have not been trained through the ISO 9001 standard and requirement of a good quality management system, and top management responsibility., there is little that this type of your quality assurance manual would achieve in that direction.
I am afraid you will also miss mapping your process and interactions, which is a very important aspect of the quality manual.

Thank you so much. I definitely have a much clearer idea of the top tier document now. Any additional thoughts are most certainly welcome.

 

[refractoryman]

Re: Using Exact Words from ISO 9001:2008 in Level 1 Document (Quality Assurance Manua

That's one way to do it. The thing to remember is there will be edits and updates to your manual over time. ISO 9001 its self is being updated so your references will soon be invalid.

Thanks. If top management seeks certification, it won't be until after the issue of the new standard in September of 2015, so I may consider doing this just to get the juices flowing in the organization. However, after reading somashekar's comments, I am going to take that approach to the top-tier document at the appropriate time.

 

[John Broomfield]

Re: Using Exact Words from ISO 9001:2008 in Level 1 Document (Quality Assurance Manua

OK John, thanks for the frank response. My audience = top management (to whom this is all foreign) and their needs = need to fully understand and comprehend what is required. Therefore, I didn't think having a "local road map" (a document to which management would actually refer) would be a complete waste of time. Additional thoughts please.

refractoryman,

Great, you are seeking to inform top management of the requirements. A workshop is probably the best way of doing this so they can ask questions and receive answers specific to their company.

You could start by working with them to understand how the company works to determine customer needs, fulfill those needs and receive prompt payment. This is the core of their management system and the manual that describes this system. Of course, the manual will show the sequence and interaction of the processes in their system and it will refer to the document procedures.

Reassure them that in order to conform to the standard all they need to do is develop an appreciation for their management system by:

1. Establishing their policy and objectives
2. Resourcing the system development project
3. Authorizing the process owners
4. Living their policy themselves
5. Engaging employees in their use of the system
6. Engaging the employees in their improvement of processes
7. Resourcing approved improvements
8. Explaining their management system to the employees
9. Monitoring processes
10. Supporting audit and continual improvement
11. Reviewing and improving the performance of their system

I doubt these essential actions will come from them reading any manual.

But you could ask them if they'd like a manual or webpage to sell the value of their management system to customers and employees.

John

 

[refractoryman]

Re: Using Exact Words from ISO 9001:2008 in Level 1 Document (Quality Assurance Manua

Thank you very much. Your guidance is very much appreciated. I will follow this road map per se as I move forward!

 

[John Broomfield]

Re: Using Exact Words from ISO 9001:2008 in Level 1 Document (Quality Assurance Manua

refractoryman,

Good luck. Leaders serve their employees by ensuring they have a system that helps them to determine and fulfill requirements.

This system includes the facilities and equipment, shared beliefs (culture), processes, documented parts of the management system, undocumented parts of the management system (including undocumented procedures), respect for each other and care for the requirements from customers, employees, regulators and other stakeholders.

This may be the first time some top managers have been asked to think about leadership in this way.

Googling Serve to Lead yields some useful and interesting articles.

Best wishes,

John

 

[Marc]

Re: Using Exact Words from ISO 9001:2008 in Level 1 Document (Quality Assurance Manua

If your purpose of the quality assurance manual is for top management training,. then the ISO standard in itself will make up for that. <snip>

I agree but what I give people is this: http://www.goalqpc.com/products_detail.cfm?ProductID=24&ProductCategoryID=0

A bit pricy, but worth it.

 

[Mikishots]

Re: Using Exact Words from ISO 9001:2008 in Level 1 Document (Quality Assurance Manua

Thanks. If top management seeks certification, it won't be until after the issue of the new standard in September of 2015, so I may consider doing this just to get the juices flowing in the organization. However, after reading somashekar's comments, I am going to take that approach to the top-tier document at the appropriate time.

Well, in that case, you might want to see info regarding the requirements of quality manuals in 9001:2015.

 

[refractoryman]

Re: Using Exact Words from ISO 9001:2008 in Level 1 Document (Quality Assurance Manua

refractoryman,

Great, you are seeking to inform top management of the requirements. A workshop is probably the best way of doing this so they can ask questions and receive answers specific to their company.

You could start by working with them to understand how the company works to determine customer needs, fulfill those needs and receive prompt payment. This is the core of their management system and the manual that describes this system. Of course, the manual will show the sequence and interaction of the processes in their system and it will refer to the document procedures.

Reassure them that in order to conform to the standard all they need to do is develop an appreciation for their management system by:

1. Establishing their policy and objectives
2. Resourcing the system development project
3. Authorizing the process owners
4. Living their policy themselves
5. Engaging employees in their use of the system
6. Engaging the employees in their improvement of processes
7. Resourcing approved improvements
8. Explaining their management system to the employees
9. Monitoring processes
10. Supporting audit and continual improvement
11. Reviewing and improving the performance of their system

I doubt these essential actions will come from them reading any manual.

But you could ask them if they'd like a manual or webpage to sell the value of their management system to customers and employees.

John

Top management is definitely interested in (definitely wants) some sort of manual to be able to sell potential customers on what they have to offer. I could easily say this is a very high priority for them.