posted 05 February 1999 10:48 PM            

More importantly is to note that a contingency plan does not mean that a shipment (or more) will not be missed in some scenarios. This is why I say consider realism in your plans.

To me, much of the compliance issue it to show (be able and ready to discuss the issue) you fully understand the concept (just like in MSA). You can plan for a tornado (Florida folks, think hurricane), but can you plan for the entire plant being leveled? If you have 50 acres of buildings and land and the utilities are blown away but you plant is untouched, have you a 'deposit' on one helluva lot of generators (Hell no! Remember Risk & Probability and such), or, on the other hand, what if the place that has the generators is blown away in the storm (even if you DID pay a deposit)?

As always, my sage advice:

Keep it realistic and keep it simple. You really DO know what is appropriate for your plant/facility.

Live by the river in flood prone land? Insurance may pay to rebuild but it may take a while!

Phew! Next?

posted 01 March 1999 12:46 AM            

In response to Sheila's questions regarding how one might address the new QS-9000 requirement for contingency plans ...

During our last QS-9000 surveillance visit (audit) we asked the assessor to do something like a pre-assessment for the new 3rd edition. Our management came up with a long list of plans which aim to protect the customer's supply of product, such as,
inventory management
capacity at other sites
equipment backup systems
Y2K planning
MIS Backup systems

While one might not immediately recognize some of the above as contingency plans, my point is, you will probably be surprised at what systems you already have in place to protect your customer's supply of product in the event something out of the ordinary happens.

The assessor was pleased with our efforts here, but suggested we formalize some of our more nuts&bolts-y activities in a QSP. For example, if the boiler goes down for whatever reason, WHO is responsible for doing WHAT to ensure that the plant is still able to run?

I think if you simply ask yourself the last question, who is responsible for doing what to ensure that the plant can still run, and document the activities that take place, then you are there.

"How far" you need to go in the event of something happening can only be answered by your management, certainly not your assessor.