To comply with the requirements of the new standard, an organization will have to carefully identify and define processes for management, resource administration, production and service provision, and measurement, analysis and improvement. An organization must strive to put the “customer first.” Carefully determining customer needs and expectations, monitoring customer satisfaction, and striving to continuously improve all processes will accomplish this. Finally, many processes will need to be monitored and measured to ensure continual improvement. The later will require the use of statistical tools
Yes, but for a quality system to be effective you must first understand that it is simply a tool. If you seek to understand what the tool can do for you, and then train your employees on how to effectively use the tool, ISO can be a wonderful quality tool. It is a certainty that any quality system that was implemented based on “canned” procedures, policies, processes, instructions, forms and checklists is doomed to fail. NO CONSULTANT OR REGISTRAR CAN TURN YOUR ORGANIZATION INTO A “MEAN, LEAN, ISO FIGHTING MACHINE.” ONLY YOUR COMPANY CAN DO THIS! To be truly effective and provide a good “return on investment,” you need to identify and define your processes, implement those that work and “re-engineer” those that don’t. When this is being done, your ISO system will most definitely provide a significant return on your investment.
When internal auditing is established as a system for controlling employees and is based on a monthly tally of “gotcha’s” internal auditing will forever be your enemy. To be truly successful, internal auditing should be an evaluation tool used to catch employees doing the job right and then commending them on audit reports and other internal communication tools. An employee who sees internal auditing as an audit of the company’s quality system and not of the employee, will be receptive to accepting auditing as a continual improvement tool.
ISO 14001 is an Environmental Management System standard that helps companies identify environmental aspects (both good and bad), establish objectives and targets to improve environmental processes, and contribute to the environmental well-being of the company, it’s employees, it’s neighbors, it’s state, the nation, and ultimately to the world as a whole. Companies that want to contribute positively to the environment, want an immediate return on environmental investment dollars, and want to compete in the global marketplace NEED TO BEING THE JOURNEY TOWARDS ISO 14001 REGISTRATION.
Yes.
However, your company’s CFO or other financial advisor needs to obtain
the IRS White Paper addressing the ISO 9000 system and comply with its
provisions.
How
much will it cost our company to implement an ISO 9001 Quality Management
System?
When
internal resources, external resources, and registration costs are all factored
in, the average cost of ISO registration is $150,000.00. ISO certification in some industries (bio-medical, aerospace, automotive,
and telecommunications) can easily exceed the average. ISO certification costs for most manufacturing and service operations
will generally be less than the average. Again,
ISO should not be evaluated with respect to its implementation cost, but rather
on it’s continuous long-term “return on your investment” dollars. Basically, what you receive back from ISO is directly related to the
investment you made in its implementation. Remember the old “garbage in /
garbage out” saying.
What can we do to demonstrate "continual improvement?"
The list is endless. Consider a sound cost-of-quality (CoQ) system, identify and implement the use of statistical techniques to monitor, measure, and improve your processes, products, and services, and establish meaningful corporate goals and objectives.
How much will it cost our company to implement an ISO 9001 Quality Management System?
When internal
resources, external resources, and registration costs are all factored in, the
average cost of ISO registration is $150,000.00.
ISO certification in some industries (bio-medical, aerospace, automotive,
and telecommunications) can easily exceed the average.
ISO certification costs for most manufacturing and service operations
will generally be less than the average. Again,
ISO should not be evaluated with respect to its implementation cost, but rather
on it’s continuous long-term “return on your investment” dollars.
Basically, what you receive back from ISO is directly related to the
investment you made in its implementation. Remember the old “garbage in /
garbage out” saying.
Definitely. Techlogic work closely with companies to put a quality system in place that is “good for the business, good for the employees, and good for the stakeholders.” With respect to the investment, remember that “Rome was not built in a day”, and neither will your company’s quality system. Carefully planning and conscience implementation efforts will allow your quality system to be built and improved as your company grows.
How
long will it take for our company to become ISO 9001:2000 registered?
Depending on your company size, complexity, and industry, anywhere from four to twelve months. Most small to mid-sized companies achieve ISO certification in a six to nine-month timeframe.