News and Events

An American Society for Quality (ASQ) survey shows a majority of manufacturers are optimistic about a small economic uptick in 2010 at their organizations. However, respondents believe further cost-cutting measures will continue to be implemented... READ MORE

Customer feedback is a process. It needs to be audited as a process, not as a "clause of the standard". An evaluation also needs to be performed on the way in which the process is managed (see ISO 9001:2008 clause 8.2.1), and its ability to provide meaningful information with which to judge the overall effectiveness of the QMS. The way in which the organization obtains this feedback ("the method") is up to the organization to define. The standard states "Monitor information relating to customer perception." Sources can include surveys, customer data, compliments... READ MORE

For reasons of safety and reliability, the importance of being able to trace products throughout the supply chain has strongly increased in recent years. The new standard from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 17367:2009 will help manufacturers and distributors to track products and to manage their traceability thanks to standardized radio frequency tags. READ MORE

The process for any organization to be registered to a global standard such as ISO 9001:2008, requires a formal conformity assessment. A certification body, also known as a registrar, or third party, will conduct an initial certification audit, a surveillance audit (once or twice a year) or a recertification audit (every three years) based on the maturity of your system. READ MORE

Jim is the GM at a $65 million / 225 employees, electronics manufacturing firm in the Southwest (let us call it JR manufacturing). In a recent meeting Jim described everyday life at work.

"At JR Manufacturing, time flies for everyone. The moment I walk in every morning, people come to me with different issues, ask my opinion on how to solve them and you have no idea what kind of issues are waiting for you daily. This is what makes it interesting and exciting. I am a hands-on kind of manager and I do get involved with everyday issues and my people appreciate that."

Sounds familiar? READ MORE

Let us walk through a typical scenario of missed on-time delivery at JR manufacturing .The firm was struggling to get 95%+ on-time delivery (OTD). During Lean Daily Management, OTD performance of each department was discussed and each incident of delivery miss was discussed during the meeting. The discussion and investigation that followed one particular delivery miss is very revealing and shows the effectiveness of the system. READ MORE

The International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG) recently issued a letter on transition training for aerospace auditors. This training is a key element in the transition to the AS9100C, AS9110A, and AS9120A standards, as well as, use of the common AS9101D audit requirements standard.

All Aerospace Auditors (AA) and Aerospace Experienced Auditors (AEA) must complete Aerospace Auditor Transition Training (AATT) to be authenticated for auditing the new aerospace 2009 standards. READ MORE

Layered Process Audits (LPAs) have become quite popular and in many cases mandatory for suppliers in the automotive industry. The effects of properly conducted layered process audits can be substantially positive. Because layered process auditing reduces the number of operator errors they have spread to industries outside of automotive.

So, what is a Layered Process Audit? READ MORE

Archives of past monthly newsletters, a great resource of quality and management systems information.

2010 Newsletter Archive
2009 Newsletter Archive
2008 Newsletter Archive
2007 Newsletter Archive
2006 Newsletter Archive
2005 Newsletter Archive
2004 Newsletter Archive