Re: ISO9001

[Peter Elgar <pelgar -at- TECQUIP -dot- CO -dot- UK>]

ISO9001 IS difficult to achieve. It is also difficult to keep. It needs
commitment from top management which must continue all the way through
the company to ALL personnel, often involving a change in company
culture. If you cannot change the attitude of people who defend their
'turf', you will not achieve ISO9001 standards. Which is one of the
benefits of achieving it.

To find and document all the procedures in the company depends entirely
on the size and nature of your company. But it is likely to be months,
probably years rather than weeks. The manufacturing company I work for
now, with about 150 employees, took around 2 years to achieve ISO9001.

But it can and does work. It allows clear traceability and
accountability throughout a company, which in turn gives improvements in
quality and efficiency.

A fad? Well, only time will tell that one. But it's been in use since
the 80s, and an awful lot of time, effort and money has been invested in
it, which is difficult to dismiss as a fad.

Peter

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
However, implementing ISO is very difficult.  Most people within an
> organization define their worth based upon how much "inside" knowledge
> they feel they have about how things are done.  So knowledge of
> procedure is turf.  And people will fiercely defend "their" turf -
> they
> will attack anyone who trys to learn procedure that they feel they
> alone
> know.


        I wouldn't worry about it too much. ISO 9000 is nothing more
than another QC fad, just like TQM was in the 80s, and SPC was in the
70s. It won't last. Some bored consulting company will come up with
something new and improved.