|
Quality Management / ISO Standards
eCleave Tech Quality provides professional quality and environmental management solutions for ISO9000, ISO14000, Total Quality Management (TQM) and Continual Process Improvement.
eCleave Tech Quality has enjoyed growing interest and success. Experienced over a broad range of industries and technologies, eCleave Tech Quality will bring innovative solutions combined with best practice, ensuring that your business benefits from the best available methods in Quality Assurance. eCleave Tech Quality's strength is flexibility.
System Management
Professional management tailored to your business needs. eCleave Tech Quality provides effective, economical Quality and Environmental Management for small to medium sized businesses. With just a few days per month, eCleave Tech Quality offers professional management of your Quality Assurance function at a fraction of the cost of a full time Quality Manager.
The service includes:
- Maintenance, development and improvement of your Quality Manual and top level procedures.
- Management of third party approval body quality audit visits and associated corrective actions and improvement targets.
- Advice and guidance on system requirements for compliance with ISO9000 and ISO14000.
- Preparation of project specific Quality Plans.
- Planning, management and (if required) carrying out internal audits and supplier audits. Professional audit support on a permanent or temporary basis.
- Specific process control improvement projects.
- Free telephone support to respond to any questions or concerns arising between planned visits.
Strategic Business Objectives
We help to refresh your improvement processes and re-focus your resources!
Does your improvement process look like this?
You have data about performance of your business system and processes.
You have set objectives and targets for improvement. But how well do you know the effectiveness of your objectives and resource deployment to achieve your targets? Maintaining visibility and control can be very complex.
Focussing on your specific business needs as well as the requirements of ISO9000 and ISO14000, ECleave Tech Quality can carry out a professional audit of your improvement processes.
We will provide you with a quantified analysis of your resource deployment to achieve your improvement objectives throughout your organisation.
Our analysis will show:
- How well your business objectives are supported at each level of your organisation.
- The profile of your actual resource deployment compared with your strategic priorities.
- Progress towards achievement of your objectives and targets.
- Areas where resource deployment should be adjusted to improve performance.
System Development
Effective, uncomplicated Quality and Environmental Management Systems.
- Overloaded with complicated procedures / paperwork?
- Need to develop and document your systems for ISO9000 or ISO14000 approval?
ECleave Tech Quality will show you how system streamlining and simplification making maximum use of process maps can improve performance with reduced effort.
Professional system analysis followed by clear proposals for simplification, and implementation support.
Your management system should be a powerful tool for efficiency and service improvement. Our approach to ISO9000 is based on customer service and business efficiency. Our approach to ISO14000 is based on minimizing environmental impact and reducing waste.
Don't be burdened by an ineffective system. eCleave Tech Quality will focus on making your Quality or Environmental Management System work for you.
ISO 9000-2000
On December 15th, 2000 the new ISO9000:2000 series of quality standards was published. The new standard bring a change of emphasis requiring suppliers not only to focus on processes but also to take account of customer views on the quality of goods and services provided rather than the present focus on processes alone.
There is a three year transistion period during which certificates issued against both the old and the new standard will be valid. On 15th December 2003 any certificates under ISO9000:1994 ceased to be valid.
The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has issued an executive summary of the changes.
Key specific differences and changes compared with ISO9000:1994 :-
- Unspecified customer needs & expectations are to be identified as well as contract requirements; i.e. aim to exceed specified contract requirements.
- A procedure is required for the identification of legal requirements applicable to quality aspects of business.
- A process is to be established to measure & monitor customer satisfaction.
- A procedure for Continual Improvement is to be established including the use of quality policy, internal audit results, corrective & preventive action & management review.
- Procedures are required for internal communication at all levels about the quality management system & its effectiveness.
- Training requirements include determination of competence, employee awareness of quality policy & system, employee contribution & impact on quality, & the consequences of departure from specified procedures.
- Consideration must be given to the Work Environment including health & safety, work methods, work ethics & ambient working conditions needed to achieve conformity of product &/or service.
- Customer property can include intellectual property.
This is not intended to be an exhaustive list. The aim is to give a flavour of the nature of the changes.
Contact eCleave Quality to find out how to gain maximum benefit with minimum bureaucracy.
ISO9000: 2000
ISO Executive Summary
Extract from the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) executive summary of ISO9000:2000:
Major changes in the revised ISO 9000 standards are the increased focus on top management commitment and customer satisfaction, the emphasis on processes within the organization, and the introduction of continual improvement concepts.
The revisions of ISO 9001 and 9004 are based on eight quality management principles that reflect best management practices:
- Customer focused organization
- Leadership
- Involvement of people
- Process approach
- System approach to management
- Continual improvement
- Factual approach to decision making
- Mutually beneficial supplier relationship
With the revised ISO 9001, the Quality Management System will cover those activities of an organization that provide assurance to customers that their needs are being addressed.
The enhancement in the revised ISO 9001 of the "continual improvement" concept is intended to help an organization respond to the changing needs of its customers, while stimulating the efficiency of the organization and improving its competitive position.
Changes introduced
- Structure
The revision of the ISO quality management standards includes a significant change to the structure of ISO 9001 and ISO 9004, which, while retaining the essence of the original requirements, reposition the 20 elements of ISO 9001:1994 and the guidelines of ISO 9004-1:1994 into four main sections:
- Management responsibility
- Resource management
- Product realization
- Measurement, analysis and improvement
- Sequence
There is a more logical sequence of requirements and guidelines due to the process orientation of the new standards
- Top Management
More emphasis has been placed on the role of top management, which includes its commitment to the development and improvement of the quality management system, with a customer focus, consideration of legal and regulatory requirements, and establishment of measurable objectives at relevant functions and levels.
- Continual Improvement
An enhanced requirement for "continual improvement" has been introduced, as anticipated, into ISO 9001, defining a complete cycle to improve the effectiveness of the quality management system.
- Permissible Exclusions
The concept of "permissible exclusions" to the requirements of ISO 9001:2000 has been introduced as a way to cope with the wide spectrum of organizations and activities that will be using the new standard.
- Customer Satisfaction
Another new item that has been introduced into ISO 9001:2000 is the requirement for the organization to monitor information on customer satisfaction and/or dissatisfaction as a measure of system performance.
- Resources
Attention has been placed on top management to provide and make available the necessary resources. Requirements now include evaluation of the effectiveness of training, provision of relevant information, internal and external communication, facility needs, and human and physical factors of the work environment.
- Terminology
It should be noted that changes have also occurred in terminology. The most important changes concern the use of the term "organization" instead of "supplier", still used in the current standards, and the use of the term "supplier" instead of "subcontractor". These changes respond to the need of being more consistent and friendly with the normal use and meaning of the words.
- Documentation
The number of requirements for documented procedures has been reduced in ISO 9001:2000, and the emphasis placed on the organization demonstrating effective operation.
ISO9000
Show You Mean Business With ISO9000
- Prove to your customers that
- Your business is professionally managed
- You provide consistent, reliable service
- You care about customer service
- Drive improvement
- Measure your customers' perception
- Monitor the performance of your business processes
- Set priorities for improvement
- Drive improvements through to the bottom line
- A pre-requisite for business
- Essential for MOD work
- Increasingly demanded by automotive customers
- Preferred for health service, government and council suppliers
- Provides a clear advantage over non-approved competitors
Contact eCleave Quality for a free consultation and fixed price quotation for ISO9000 with the certification body of your choice.
Integrated Management Systems
Combined Quality and Environmental Management Systems
Integrated means combined; putting all the internal management practices into one coherent system. The ISO9000 quality management and ISO14000 environmental management standards have much in common:
- Document development and control
- Training
- Internal audit
- Management review
- Corrective action
- Preventive action
- Continual improvement
There are sevaral good reasons for integration:
- Reduce duplication and therefore costs
- Harmonise and optimise practices
- Create consistency
- Improve communication
- Turn the focus onto business goals
- Eliminate conflicting responsibilities and relationships
- Facilitate training and development
ECleave Quality will provide an integrated management system for your business.
A complete system can be developed or additional components can be integrated into an existing system. For example, environmental management requirements for ISO14000 can be integrated into your existing ISO9000 system.
Total Quality Management
Practical TQM implementation including continual Process Improvement
Total Quality Management (TQM) has many different meanings and interpretations. A simple definition, valid in many situations is:
- Total Quality Management is a continual strive for improvement involving all personnel understanding their customers' requirements, understanding their work processes, and being equiped and supported to measure and improve performance.
TQM implementation raises many questions:-
- How do we begin?
- What are the first steps?
- How should we organise for TQM?
- Who should be involved?
- What training is required?
- How much will it cost?
- How long will it take before we see results?
- How will we know if it is working?
- If we start a programme, will it last?
- Why is our programme not delivering results?
A logical, structured, easily understood approach is essential to provide meaningful answers and to establish firm foundations on which to build a successful programme. ECleave Quality can provide the answers for your business, including help with organisation, training and ongoing programme support.
Training and advice on process improvement, an essential element of TQM, is also available from ECleave Quality.
Contact ECleave Quality for an effective Total Quality Management programme.
Training & Support
ECleave Quality structured training will provide a system, tools and techniques to enable you to measure and improve the performance of your processes; targetting and supporting your improvement resource for maximum effect.
Process improvement techniques are applicable to administrative processes such as Quotation & Sales Order Entry, Production Control, Purchasing etc, as well as manufacturing processes.
Simple steps to understanding and improving your processes:-
- Define the Process.
- Understand your customers' requirements.
- What is demanded, what is expected, what will excite?
- Understand the capability of your process.
- Identify critical parameters to measure, collect & analyse data.
- Measure, monitor & control process performance.
- Run chart, control chart, SPC.
- Investigate sources & causes of poor performance & variation.
- Pareto, cause & effect, scatter diagram.
- Plan & manage process improvements.
Contact ECleave Quality to find out how your company can benefit from practical, effective continual process improvement.
|
