AS9100 / ISO 9001 REGISTRATION
Starting your journey to AS9100 or ISO 9001 registration? Documentation describing your Quality Management Systems (QMS) is a fundamental starting point. Use my proven and tested templates, documents, forms, and database to shorten your path to registration by six months or more. With over 20 years experience, I have helped small and large companies develop an effective QMS which fits their culture, complies with the requirements, and minimizes bureaucracy.
INTRODUCTION TO THE STANDARD
ISO 9001 is a widely adopted International Standard and AS9100 is its aerospace counterpart. These standards are aligned paragraph by paragraph and can be applied to all sectors of commerce and
industry. These standards have been influenced by government and military procurement standards to ensure the quality of products and services with a focus on the seven Quality Management principles below.
CUSTOMER FOCUS - This applies to both internal and external customers. Customer focus is the primary goal of a QMS and seeks to meet customer needs and strive to exceed their expectations. Customer focus aims to create value for the customer.
LEADERSHIP - Effective leadership creates a unity of purpose and direction. Strong direction ensures all activities within the organization are aligned to strategies, polices and processes to collectively achieve the planned objectives defined in the "Context of the Organization".
ENGAGEMENT OF PEOPLE - Involving people means ensuring they are competent, empowered and engaged. Together with "Management Commitment", the organization is provided with the tools to achieve its objectives. Employee qualifications, and authorizations are generally defined within a Skills & Training Matrix.
PROCESS APPROACH - This has been a staple of quality management standards for many years. Knowing your inputs, actions and intended outputs makes day-to-day operations predictable and repeatable. Effectively managing processes ensures resources are used efficiently and highlights areas for improvement.
IMPROVEMENT - Improvement is not about an admission of weakness or fault, but simply a desire to do better and keep doing better for the benefit of all involved. The relentless elimination of waste applies to development and production processes, as well as products and services.
EVIDENCE BASED DECISION MAKING - By applying evidence-based decision making, decisions can be based on known requirements and the planned outcomes, direction and purpose of the organization, having involved the customers and people and with improvement in mind.
RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT - Using strategic tools such as SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats), the enterprise firms-up its identity, core competencies, and market differentiators. Strategic relationships are defined, and often it pays to know your competitors as closely as you know your customers. Building networks, engaging the general public, and reaching your target audience, are essential relationships in achieving the goals of a profitable enterprise.
GETTING STARTED
Align the Quality Management System with your Business Value Proposition.
Using analytic techniques to define the "Context of the Organization" assures your QMS is relevant and aligned with the strategic direction of the business its value proposition. What makes your business unique and stand out among your competitors?
1. Product Innovation / Service Innovation?
2, Customer Intimacy?
3. Operational Excellence?
Review Existing Quality Management System Models
Benchmarking "best in class" Quality Management System models to see if one of the underlying philosophies is right for your business, your culture, and your product or service. Some examples of existing models can be seen below. There is a lot of similarity between these Quality Management Systems, but their differences are important.
- W. Edwards Deming PDCA and 14 Points
- Zero Defects
- The Toyota Way
Get Everyone Involved
Quality is not inspection, and it is not the job of the Quality department. AS9100/ISO9001 is a specification requiring engagement of everyone in the company in an end-to-end process. Business processes must be identified with process owners so there is a sense of ownership, and constancy of purpose. The QMS applies to Strategists, Marketing, Finance, Human Resources, Engineering, Order Entry, Planning, Manufacturing, Service Providers, and anyone who interfaces with the customer. Everyone doesn't have to be a decision-maker but they need to have ownership in the end-to-end business processes, and be committed to continuous and never ending improvement. Engagement is key to success.
Focus on "Risk Based Thinking"
Most organizations informally practice "risk based thinking" but have not maximized the effectivity of their actions. Even the formal risk assessments like Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threat assessment (SWOT) or Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FEMA) should not be taken as isolated and independent activities. A shift in thinking, from the product, to the end-to-end process will provide a cohesive approach to risk based thinking and will be more effective.