Continual Improvement and ISO9001
Could it be that we are coming out of recession? The messages are rather mixed at the moment, with one publication saying that we are still mired in recession and other saying that these mystical green shoots of recovery are showing.
One indication that we may be coming to the end of recession is the increasing interest in ISO9001 by companies of all types. It is pleasing to note that manufacturing companies are seeing an increase in demand for their products and want to maximise this effect. Continual improvement is the slogan for 2010 along with increased efficiencies.
ISO9001 has been the single most successful standard throughout the world, with more certifications that any other standard. Companies without ISO9001 are now looking to achieve certification to remain competitive. Indeed ISO9001 is an entry qualification for a good number of tenders/PQQ's (pre qualification questionnaires).
Then process for achieving 9001 is reasonable straight forward and if set up correctly will enhance the company's activities, provide structured reporting and enable the company to compete on equal terms.
Here at Quality Matters we have been putting quality systems into place since 1991 and our proud boast is that every company using our services has achieved an ISO 9001 pass at assessment and at the first attempt.
We are pleased to discuss your requirements and explain how 9001 can help you and your organisation, together with costs and a timescale.
One indication that we may be coming to the end of recession is the increasing interest in ISO9001 by companies of all types. It is pleasing to note that manufacturing companies are seeing an increase in demand for their products and want to maximise this effect. Continual improvement is the slogan for 2010 along with increased efficiencies.
ISO9001 has been the single most successful standard throughout the world, with more certifications that any other standard. Companies without ISO9001 are now looking to achieve certification to remain competitive. Indeed ISO9001 is an entry qualification for a good number of tenders/PQQ's (pre qualification questionnaires).
Then process for achieving 9001 is reasonable straight forward and if set up correctly will enhance the company's activities, provide structured reporting and enable the company to compete on equal terms.
Here at Quality Matters we have been putting quality systems into place since 1991 and our proud boast is that every company using our services has achieved an ISO 9001 pass at assessment and at the first attempt.
We are pleased to discuss your requirements and explain how 9001 can help you and your organisation, together with costs and a timescale.
Labels: continual improvement, iso9001
Posted: Wednesday, 3 February 2010
ISO27001 and loss of data
Once again there have been cases where sensitive data has been left on trains or in restaurants and most of these are either laptops, or memory devices. The sheer volume of data loss is reaching epidemic proportions.
ISO27001 is a good system to have in place but it must be enforced vigorously, otherwise it is just too easy to allow data to be lost or removed.
The prime method for theft of data remains the USB stick and this seems to be the method of choice for those wishing to steal data from systems.
There are a couple of things you can do to protect your data:
Let us all make sure that 2010 is not going to be a year when we lose data.
ISO27001 is a good system to have in place but it must be enforced vigorously, otherwise it is just too easy to allow data to be lost or removed.
The prime method for theft of data remains the USB stick and this seems to be the method of choice for those wishing to steal data from systems.
There are a couple of things you can do to protect your data:
- Set up computers and laptops to exclude USB devices and CD/DVD writers. It may seem harsh for laptop users not to be able to use the USB port, apart from a mouse but if the data you hold is sensitive then this level of protection is justifiable.
- Using group policy to prevent the export of data by email or other attachment.
- Enforce the encryption policy to make sure that any data stored on a laptop is secure; password protection alone is not enough.
- You could also set up your laptop systems to be 'thin client', that is to have all data stored on a server and using the laptop to connect to the server. No data can be stored on the laptop, so the laptop cannot be compromised.
- And finally ensure that paper documents are protectively marked if they are sensitive and enforce security protocols for restricted, confidential and secret documents.
Let us all make sure that 2010 is not going to be a year when we lose data.
Posted: Tuesday, 19 January 2010
Customer Satisfaction
May we wish you all a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year.
We, at Quality Matters want to ensure that our customers are very satisfied with the services we supply, indeed if any of our customers report that they are only satisfied, we carry out an internal investigation to find out why.
The company was established in 1991 and during that time we have received only one dissatisfaction report. On investigation it turned out to be a misunderstanding, however we apologised and refunded the fee in full; our customer was rather taken aback at this and said that he merely wanted to register his comment. The misunderstanding resolved this customer has recommended our services to others and used our services a number of times himself.
We believe that to achieve this level of customer satisfaction we need to go way beyond satisfaction and this we strive to achieve. This customer care ethic has been a primary driver for nineteen years and as we enter on yet another decade we are quietly confident that our customers will continue to maintain their association with Quality Matters.
We, at Quality Matters want to ensure that our customers are very satisfied with the services we supply, indeed if any of our customers report that they are only satisfied, we carry out an internal investigation to find out why.
The company was established in 1991 and during that time we have received only one dissatisfaction report. On investigation it turned out to be a misunderstanding, however we apologised and refunded the fee in full; our customer was rather taken aback at this and said that he merely wanted to register his comment. The misunderstanding resolved this customer has recommended our services to others and used our services a number of times himself.
We believe that to achieve this level of customer satisfaction we need to go way beyond satisfaction and this we strive to achieve. This customer care ethic has been a primary driver for nineteen years and as we enter on yet another decade we are quietly confident that our customers will continue to maintain their association with Quality Matters.
Labels: Customer Satisfaction, iso9001
Posted: Monday, 4 January 2010
Watch this Space ...... ISO 9004:2009
The ISO 9000 Quality Management series of Standards, although revised together in 2000 now have different revision dates.
Currently :
Both ISO9001 and 9004 were originally designed as a consistent pair of standards, but this link has now been broken with 9004 using the principle that retaining ISO9001 certification might need additional elements to be introduced to maintain the continual improvements needed for growth and success.
However, it should be remembered that 9001 is the Standard for certification and 9004 will never be assessed and certificated.
The new 9004 (subject of course to and final changes) will have the following main sections:
Currently :
- ISO9000 Vocabulary and Fundamentals re-issued in 2005
- ISO9001 Quality Management Standard Requirements re-issued in 2008
- ISO9004 Guidelines for quality improvement is still at the original 2000 issue
Both ISO9001 and 9004 were originally designed as a consistent pair of standards, but this link has now been broken with 9004 using the principle that retaining ISO9001 certification might need additional elements to be introduced to maintain the continual improvements needed for growth and success.
However, it should be remembered that 9001 is the Standard for certification and 9004 will never be assessed and certificated.
The new 9004 (subject of course to and final changes) will have the following main sections:
- Managing for the sustained success of an organization
- Strategy for policy formulation, planning and development
- Resource management
- Process management
- Monitoring, measurement, analysis and review
- Improvement, innovation, and learning
Labels: ISO9004:2009, New Standard
Posted: Wednesday, 25 November 2009
Quality Matters Ltd
Quality Matters was formed in 1991 and has been providing consultancy services in ISO9001 (Quality Management), ISO14001 Environmental Management), and ISO27001 (Information Security Management as well as BS OHSAS 18001 (Health & Safety Management) as well as other less well known management standards The company is proud to say that ALL the Quality Matters Clients' going forward for Certification to these standards passed the formal assessment, and at the first attempt. This 100% result is jealously guarded.
In addition to consultancy, Quality Matters runs a twice yearly public Internal quality/environmental audit course. A bespoke audit course is also available to Clients wishing to have a course on their own premises.
Eighteen years in business and still going strong; If you ask some of our hundreds of Clients they will tell you that our service is excellent (according to our customer satisfaction feedback) and they would recommend our service to others. In fact many have done so.
In order to provide this level of service we undertake regular training to keep abreast of the changes that take place. We carry full Professional Indemnity Insurance as well as the Statutory Insurances to protect our Clients.
Chris Eden is a Fellow of the Institute of Business Consulting and was a former Treasurer of the Institute of Business Advisers in the East of England before it merged with the Institute of Management Consultants to become the Institute of Business Consulting.
As an aside Chris is an ab initio (Latin: from the beginning) glider pilot, as regular blog readers will know.
Quality Matters has been our byword since 1991 and we strive to achieve this in all that we do.
In addition to consultancy, Quality Matters runs a twice yearly public Internal quality/environmental audit course. A bespoke audit course is also available to Clients wishing to have a course on their own premises.
Eighteen years in business and still going strong; If you ask some of our hundreds of Clients they will tell you that our service is excellent (according to our customer satisfaction feedback) and they would recommend our service to others. In fact many have done so.
In order to provide this level of service we undertake regular training to keep abreast of the changes that take place. We carry full Professional Indemnity Insurance as well as the Statutory Insurances to protect our Clients.
Chris Eden is a Fellow of the Institute of Business Consulting and was a former Treasurer of the Institute of Business Advisers in the East of England before it merged with the Institute of Management Consultants to become the Institute of Business Consulting.
As an aside Chris is an ab initio (Latin: from the beginning) glider pilot, as regular blog readers will know.
Quality Matters has been our byword since 1991 and we strive to achieve this in all that we do.
Labels: business, Quality Matters
Posted: Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Quality Manual
I am often asked about quality manuals and what they should contain. The ISO9001 Standard states that the quality manual should have as a minimum:
This meets the requirements of ISO 9001 but would have little benefit to the company. It would get the badge on the wall but little else.
I was once asked to produce a quality manual on a single sheet, and I did so, although it was A3 on two sides. The company took my advice and produced a number of work processes to back this up.
The largest quality manual I ever saw was in seventeen lever arch files and was so comprehensive that it even included instruction on how to make tea. It was never used as a serious document and was almost impossible to keep up to date. It was also so specific that it set the user up to fail if he used his left hand rather than his right.
Fortunately we no longer produce documentation by weight.
A modern manual contains the mandatory scope, six procedures, a description of the interaction of the processes, a number of work processes and an index of current forms. This along with records would not only meet the requirements of 9001 but would also be a valuable tool for the company.
My view is that the manual should be as comprehensive as needed but not overly complicated. It should be suitable for the company and not imposed by a consultant. It should be designed to be used and not just stored for use during assessment. And finally it should work for the company and not make the company work for it.
- The scope of the quality management system, including details of and justification for any exclusions;
- The documented procedures established for the quality management system, or reference to them:
- Document control;
- Control of records;
- Internal Audit;
- Control of non-conforming product;
- Corrective Action;
- Preventive Action.
- A description of the interaction between processes of the quality management system.
This meets the requirements of ISO 9001 but would have little benefit to the company. It would get the badge on the wall but little else.
I was once asked to produce a quality manual on a single sheet, and I did so, although it was A3 on two sides. The company took my advice and produced a number of work processes to back this up.
The largest quality manual I ever saw was in seventeen lever arch files and was so comprehensive that it even included instruction on how to make tea. It was never used as a serious document and was almost impossible to keep up to date. It was also so specific that it set the user up to fail if he used his left hand rather than his right.
Fortunately we no longer produce documentation by weight.
A modern manual contains the mandatory scope, six procedures, a description of the interaction of the processes, a number of work processes and an index of current forms. This along with records would not only meet the requirements of 9001 but would also be a valuable tool for the company.
My view is that the manual should be as comprehensive as needed but not overly complicated. It should be suitable for the company and not imposed by a consultant. It should be designed to be used and not just stored for use during assessment. And finally it should work for the company and not make the company work for it.
Labels: ISO9001:2008 and Quality Manuals
Posted: Wednesday, 28 October 2009
Protect your Computer Systems
Apparently there is a new and disastrous Trojan waiting to damage our systems. This one is called ZEUS and it waits patiently on our systems for us to enter bank details and then exports these to a collection website for use by the crooks.
It is further worrying that some antivirus programmes have failed to detect this Trojan.
A survey suggests that some:
One way to defeat this type of Trojan is to rotate passwords regularly and also to run an additional antivirus check periodically. Monitor your bank accounts and watch for any unusual activity. Report any unusual occurrences straight away. The Banks will refund any transaction where you have taken all reasonable precautions but have still been defrauded.
Now that the recession has reached the bottom, crooks are trying a number of new ways to get their hands on our hard earned money. Don’t let them get away with it for lack of care on our part. Put aside some time each week to carry out a review of both security and how we all conduct our transactions and vary the time and method to ensure routine is not detected.
It is further worrying that some antivirus programmes have failed to detect this Trojan.
A survey suggests that some:
- 30% of those systems infected did not run any type of antivirus system at all;
- 14% had antivirus but it was out of date;
- And the remaining 56% did have up to date antivirus but it failed to detect the virus.
One way to defeat this type of Trojan is to rotate passwords regularly and also to run an additional antivirus check periodically. Monitor your bank accounts and watch for any unusual activity. Report any unusual occurrences straight away. The Banks will refund any transaction where you have taken all reasonable precautions but have still been defrauded.
Now that the recession has reached the bottom, crooks are trying a number of new ways to get their hands on our hard earned money. Don’t let them get away with it for lack of care on our part. Put aside some time each week to carry out a review of both security and how we all conduct our transactions and vary the time and method to ensure routine is not detected.
Labels: Zeus Trojan and security
Posted: Thursday, 15 October 2009
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