'SETTING UP A QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM THROUGH
ISO 9001: 2000 CERTIFICATION'

Excellence through 'Quality' is the game of the day. As industries look at combating the surging competition from national, international & global players, it is more than evident that the cutting edge today has to come from bottom- line excellence. Companies who have made a mark and those who are full throttle onto making their presence felt in the industry, know that there is no greater intervention to success than 'Quality' in all the processes. In fact, it is 'the' roadmap to success. This is more so as companies can stretch their 'top line 'improvements only to a certain limit.

In an economy where 'Customer' preference rules the day, organizations today must develop systems to monitor performance, continually improvise and build robust processes equipped to deliver repeatable excellence. The challenge is not in 'What' you do, rather 'How' you do it.

Organizations who are aiming at creating a 'Quality' culture through defining, standardizing and stabilizing their processes, and creating a platform for higher initiatives can look at setting up a Quality Management System through ISO 9001: 2000 Certification.

What is ISO 9000?

ISO 9001:2000 is an international standard for Quality Management, published by International standard organization from Geneva, adaptable for any manufacturing or service organizations. This standard is the only one of its kind popular worldwide ever since it is published in 1987. The standard underwent revision in 1994 and again in year 2000. After the 2000 revision, the standard is better suited for service industry than it was as the 1994 version.

The objective of adapting the QMS as per the ISO 9001:2000 is to achieve customer satisfaction on a consistent basis through employee involvement, standardization of validated processes, measuring & monitoring of customer satisfaction levels in addition to setting and achieving quality Objectives for excellence.

The standard is presented in a generic form giving the requirements of the "What" aspects of the QMS to be adapted and not the "How" aspects of the system which is left to the organization to decide. Setting up of the QMS with the help of the consultant is elaborated in the succeeding articles of this proposal.

The ISO Standard comprises of 8 Clauses out of which Clauses 4 to 8 deal with the following respectively:

	Management Responsibility
	Resource Management
	Product Realization
	Measurement, Analysis & Improvement

The ISO implementation project in any organization comprises of 2 phases: Training & Implementation (Documentation). Following are the events covered by us under the ISO Implementation Consultation:

	Training 1 Management Overview/ ISO 9000: 2000 Awareness 2 ISO 9000: 2000 Intensive Training 3 Workshop on Policy & Objectives 4 Internal Auditors Training
	Facilitation in Documentation - Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) & Apex Manual
	Hand Holding for Review of Standard Operating Procedures
	Hand Holding for Internal Audit
	Hand Holding visits during Pre Assessment audit

The critical business processes are documented or mapped. SSA recommends Process Mapping and Flow Charting using iGrafx software, (a product of Corel Corporation, USA) for such projects

Preparation of Quality Manual: (Documentation)

One of the important requirements of the QMS is the documentation of the business processes incorporating the operating level activities in greater details. The Quality manual is prepared in the following structure:

Tier - 1 Documentation:

This documentation will cover the quality policy of the company, resources, products and services offered, policies and outline of its QMS. The other chapters of the tier-1 document will provide detailed procedures addressing the various requirements of the ISO 9001-2000 standard.

Tier-2 Documentation:

The tier-2 documentation is often referred as standard operating procedures (SOP) manual. This part of the documentation will cover all nuts & bolts level of operating procedures at all departments.

Note:
The documentation as recommended by SSA will be in the electronic media with an easily navigating facility to browse through the various processes involved in the business. No special training is required for understanding the documentation. This facilitates access through intranet at all desktops.

SSA recommends IGrafx Software, a product by COREL Corporation, USA. We are the support partners for iGrafx in India. The up gradable version of this software has the capability for process simulation and six-sigma. IGrafx is a powerful tool for process re-engineering through activity based costing popularly known as ABC.


Critical success factors

The following are the critical success factors for the value addition:

	Management commitment & involvement
	Regular reviews by the Top Management
	Attendance to the training programme
	Resources to the team
	Mentoring by the Head of QA

Note: The consultants and client are the two interdependent parties and have to execute the projects in a coordinated manner during these times.

DELIVERABLES FROM THE INITIATIVE:

The Methodology will enable the following deliverables:

	Management commitment & involvement
	Standardized practices within the organization
	Launch pad for higher initiatives, like business process management system, six sigma, lean six sigma etc.

BENEFITS of ISO IMPLEMENTATION

	System in par with international standard
	Consistency in Product/ Service Quality
	Build clear view of improvements required and cascade implications to every unit within the organization
	Build clear focus on need of Customer, hence develop a Customer concerned culture in the Organization
	Waste Elimination, hence cost control
	Continuous improvement in Product & Service
	Market Leadership through 'Quality'
	Stream line the business processes before launching advanced Six Sigma.
	Perpetuity of the Organization

Apart from setting up a system for ISO 9001: 2000 Certification, SSA also conducts 1 Day session on Executive Overview/ Awareness on ISO 9001: 2000; and 2 Days session on Internal Auditor's Training.

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