Category "Improvement"

When we think of getting value out of Internal Audits, sometimes we draw a blank. Or we think that asking if everyone’s following their procedures will do the trick. Here are 3 ways to get more value out of our ...

One way to simplify your management system is to reduce the number of super-detailed text-based procedures. Once they are in place, you might be temped to audit simply to see if everyone's following them. This causes two problems. The first ...

It's all about the risk, these days, and the better we manage it, the better off we are, period! The new Standard calls for it, yes, but it's just good business practice to assess where the potholes are in our ...

...if you choose 'Operator error' as the cause of your latest non-conformance. When Ishikawa introduced the world to his 'Fishbone' for doing root cause analysis, his research showed that employees in organizations make errors, of course, but only about 6% ...

Getting value out of Internal Audits is a constant challenge. Many of our clients found it helpful to change the focus of their audits from 'Are people following procedures?'  to 'Find ways to improve our system'. By getting the focus ...

Years ago I used to deliver training in the stores of a national chain here in Canada. Most of the material was focused on the customer: How to handle difficult customers, How to tell if a customer complaint is legitimate, How ...

"People are are most valuable asset" You've heard this a thousand times, maybe more. It's simply not true. People's involvement is our most valuable asset. If we don't tap this vast resource in our organizations, we are missing out on ...

Have you ever heard someone say, after a non-conformance has been raised, "Who screwed up?". The result? Everyone heads for the hills and tries to find someone to blame. People get defensive and the cause of the problem gets buried ...

Tip #2 – Make your audits pay: Audit by Objectives Are your Quality Objectives considered when you plan Internal Audits? One of the driving forces in a management system is the need to improve – do it faster, have fewer ...

  Building Block #10 You need to know for whose sake quality is being designed into your organization Here’s a quote from ISO 9000, clause 2.2.1 – the companion document to ISO 9001: Quality focused organizations embrace a culture that ...