(ISO) Quality Manual Chat

Hooray! You’ve just passed your first ISO9001:2000 registration audit. Now what do you do?

Ok, you’ve got your ISO9001:2000 quality management system in place. You know you’ve got to write up corrective actions, right? But you would really rather not, right? OK, so to satisfy the auditor at the next audit, how many corrective actions should you do?

Working as an ISO9001:2000 consultant, I’ve seen all manner of auditors. Tough ones can make life very difficult. Easy ones are much more pleasant to work with. But is there a point where an auditor can be “too easy”?

What devices do you use to make measurements in your processes? Do you keep gauges around that aren’t calibrated? If so, why? What value is there in keeping “reference only” measuring devices on hand?

What is nonconforming product? Do you really have to deal with it? How would YOU deal with it?

How can you meet the requirements of ISO9001:2000 Section 7.2 when your customer gives you poor product requirements?

Numerous websites are out there claiming you can fork over your hard earned cash….or credit card number….and receive a ready-to-roll, plug-and-play ISO9001:2000 quality management system. Nothing could be further from the truth. Do such websites offer anything of value? Probably they do. But don’t think you’re getting off without having to do any work on your own.

One question that I’ve struggled with over the years…and still struggle with…is how to properly address the problem of an employee who makes the same mistake over and over. Sure, in the magical fairy tale land of ISO9001:2000, it’s easy to blame it on “insufficient training” and be done with it. But there [...]

Do you really need to have ISO9001:2000? If you don’t have a customer requirement for such a quality management system, what benefits are there to going thru the time and expense of creating and maintaining an ISO quality system?

Let’s say you own a small shop that manufactures spare parts. It is a sole proprietorship with you as the sole full time employee. You want to streamline your manual and procedures as much as possible, to include only the bare essentials to conform to ISO9001:2000. You’re the only person there, you [...]

The time needed for preparing your quality manual and quality management system can vary greatly. It largely depends upon the pressures you have to deal with.

The ISO9001:2000 quality standard requires that you ensure control over outsourced processes that affect your product’s quality. How are you going to do that?

This is part 2 of a series on the General Requirements of an ISO9001:2000 quality management system, which is section 4.1 in the standard.

This is part one of a primer on the general requirements of the ISO9001:2000 quality management system. You can find the general requirements in section 4.1 of the standard.

Politics and schmoozing — a last resort for a poor quality manual.

It’s a really good idea to have a written purchase order, but if you’ve had a long lasting relationship with your customers, and have done business for years verbally or by e-mail, there are ways to continue such business while still satisfying the requirements if ISO9001:2000

When some auditors get close to retirement, tracking orders might seem more like tracking game; docks aren’t for receiving packages, but for watching the sun go down; and scales aren’t for weighing packages, they’re what fish wear.

What’s your motivation to get ISO certified? I’ve seen the gamut of reasons.