Work life balance has always been a personal struggle for me. Before I started my own business, I worked out a deal with my previous company. I was a salaried employee, but often worked well over 50 hours a week. They agreed to pay me overtime pay for more than 50 hours a week. This…
Before we dive into the purpose of a Quality Management System, we should probably define what a QMS is. In defining what a QMS is, we will likely touch on the purpose of a Quality Management System. When quality management folks talk about a Quality Management System (and Lord bless you if you get them…
In this post “ISO 9001 Clauses Explained” we dive into Control of Nonconforming Outputs. CONTROL OF NONCONFORMING OUTPUTS (Consider reading HOW TO STANDARDIZE THE FUNDAMENTAL QMS TOOLS FOR OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE) Control of nonconforming outputs can be viewed and several different lights. For instance if we’re looking strictly at the quality of our products or services…
In this post “ISO 9001 Clauses Explained” we dive into Quality Policy & Objectives. POLICIES & OBJECTIVES The management system policy is affectively the mission statement of the company if it were written by a lawyer. By that, I mean the mission statement ought to convey the purpose of this management system clearly. It ought…
In this post “ISO 9001 Clauses Explained” we dive into Interested Parties. 4.2 Understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties Interested Parties is a relatively new term to our management systems, but again a very old concept that we’re all very familiar with. An interested party is oftentimes a useful catch all term when…
7.5 Documented Information | CONTROL OF DOCUMENTED INFORMATION In this post “ISO 9001 Clauses Explained” we dive into Documented information, arguably at the core of any effective management system. Documented information includes not only our documents, but also our records. There are many types of documents and many types of records, but with a simple…
The Value of well-defined NCR and CAR Author – Chad Henry | Account Manager Texas Quality Assurance Introduction to NCR’s “Nonconformance Reports” & CAR’s “Corrective Action Reports” When it comes to operational excellence, fundamentals of QMS “Quality Management System” are critical. I would argue that nonconformities and corrective actions are the foundations of an effective…
By Steve Louis You know the drill. A recession comes out of nowhere and in order to survive, businesses are forced to slash expenses, with layoffs being the first of many painful budget cuts. Now all of a sudden the firm is understaffed which forces the remaining employees to perform dual roles, causing them to…
One of the sermons at church recently caught my attention, as they often do. This was unusual because it was a Sunday when there was no kids’ service and Kyle was helping with the AV. This left me to contend with our three children during service which means I’m usually not able to listen well. …
It can be very frustrating as a Quality Manager, or even a member of a Quality Department in a company that has recently decided to, loosely put “take quality seriously”, it can often be very frustrating. This is especially the case if you personally have already been sold on the quality culture and its importance,…