BUSINESS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR YOU

Free Webinar | ISO 9001:2008 Formal Interpretations

2011-09-27T17:24:00.000-07:00

Attend FREE Webinar:

"ISO 9001:2008 Formal Interpretations"

Date: November 8, 2011
Time: 1:00 P.M. ET
Cost: FREE

Webinar topics include:

Does sub-clause 4.2.3 a) require that documents required for the QMS be reviewed as well as approved prior to issue?

Does Clause 4.2.2 c), require that the manual include a description of the processes, in addition to a "description of the interaction between the processes of the QMS"?

Is it a requirement of Clause 5.4.2 to have a document that describes the objectives, timeframe, action, and responsibilities?

In our organization, we have a management representative appointed by top management, who works for the company in a managerial capacity. He is not a permanent member of staff, but works full-time on a contract basis. Is it allowable under the standard for such a person to act as the organization's management representative?

Does Clause 6.3 require records of the maintenance of infrastructures?

Does the word "specify" or "specified" quoted in various clauses require documentation?

Does Clause 7.4.3 require records of the verification of purchased product?

Is it correct that Clause 7.6 requires only the measuring and monitoring devices utilized by persons responsible for release of the product to be calibrated or verified?

Does Clause 7.5.2, Validation of processes for production and service provision, require that any applicable statutory and regulatory requirements must be taken into account?

And much more

ISO 13485:2003 | Medical Devices Certification

2011-09-12T19:20:00.000-07:00

ISO 13485:2003 specifies requirements for a quality management system where an organization needs to demonstrate its ability to provide medical devices and related services that consistently meet customer requirements and regulatory requirements applicable to medical devices and related services.

The main purpose is to facilitate alignment of regulatory requirements regarding production of medical equipment. As a result, it includes some particular requirements for medical devices and excludes some of the requirements of ISO 9001 that are not appropriate as regulatory requirements. Because of these exclusions, organizations whose quality management systems conform to this International Standard cannot claim conformity to ISO 9001 unless their quality management systems conform to all the requirements of ISO 9001.

This standard contains specific requirements for manufacturers, installation and maintenance by asking:

Application of Quality Management System with several factors increase

Risk management-based approach to product development and realization processes of validation

Compliance with the requirements of legislation and regulations

Effectiveness ability to scan products and product recall system fails

What are the benefits gained from ISO 13485:2003 certification?

Customer satisfaction - through delivery of products that consistently meet customer requirements as well as quality, safety and legal compliance

Reduced operating costs - through continual improvement of processes which resulted in operational efficiencies

Improving relations with the parties concerned - including employees, customers and partners

Legal compliance requirements - with an understanding on how the requirements of regulations and legislation that affect an organization and your customers

Increase in the risk management control - with the consistency, the product traceability and use of risk management techniques

The achievement of public trust in business is run - as evidenced by the existence of an independent third party verification on recognized standards

The ability to get more business - particularly procurement specifications require certification requirements to become a partner for the sector that has been set

Who can use ISO 13485?

ISO 13485 contains requirements essential for every organization in medical equipment operation and supply chain related to pharmaceuticals. It is especially associated with the medical equipments manufacturers who hope to comply with the regulatory requirements that may be used, and any organization that has support services for manufacturers of medical equipment.

How to get certified?

There are many Certification Body in the world can certified the organization. There are NQA Services or DEKRA Certification, Inc

ISO/TS 29001 | Petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas industries— Requirements for product and service supply organizations

2011-08-03T18:45:00.000-07:00

ISO/TS 29001 defines the quality management system for product and service supply organizations for the petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas industries.

ISO/TS 29001 is available for use by manufacturers of oil and gas industry equipment and materials (upstream and downstream), service providers to the oil and gas industry, purchasers of equipment, materials, and services. The document can also be used for organizations to perform 2nd party auditing of their suppliers, as well as for 3rd party certification purposes.

Due to the inherent risks associated with the oil and gas industry, rigorous conformity to engineering, user and regulatory requirements are required. The industry handles fluids (liquids and gases), often at extreme high pressures, through a variety of products and processes. Considerations for the safety of personnel are of major importance. Additionally, protection of the environment and of business continuity (maintenance of revenue streams, both for companies and for national economies) require a high level of operational integrity. Conformance to ISO TS 29001 should assist in mitigation of operational risks as a result of products being in full conformance with specifications and regulations.

Organizations may benefit from this standard if they are:

Involved in exploration, production, pipelines, transportation, and refining of petroleum and natural gas products

Involved in the design, manufacture, installation, service, and repair of equipment used in the exploration, production, transportation, and refining of petroleum and natural gas products

Providing technical, operational, and support services to the various industry sectors identified above

Click here to get in touch with us or learn more about how to get started.

ISO 50001: Energy Management

2011-07-26T21:30:00.000-07:00

Improve energy performance and efficiency while reducing environmental impacts

Energy management and conservation is a fundamental area of focus across all sectors of industry, and with today’s rising energy prices and tough economic climate, businesses are looking for more ways to reduce energy costs while improving environmental performance.

Implementing an energy management system certified to ISO 50001 will help organizations to improve their energy performance, increase energy efficiency and reduce climate change impacts.

What is ISO 50001?

Published June 15, 2011, ISO 50001 will establish a framework for industrial plants, commercial facilities or entire organizations to manage energy.

The standard is targeted for broad applicability across any industry, and it is estimated that ISO 50001 could influence up to 60% of the world’s energy use.

ISO 50001 is based on common elements found in other ISO standards such as 9001 and 14001, assuring a high level of compatibility.

Benefits of ISO 50001 certification

ISO 50001 certification creates an internationally recognized framework for integrating energy efficiency into management and manufacturing practices throughout your organization and supply chain.

In addition, ISO 50001 certification enables:

Better use of existing energy-consuming assets

Benchmarking, measuring, documenting, and reporting energy intensity improvements and their projected impact on reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions

Transparency and communication of energy resource management

Energy management best practices and good energy management behaviors

Evaluating and prioritizing the implementation of new energy-efficient technologies

A framework for promoting energy efficiency throughout the supply chain

Energy management improvements in the context of GHG emission reduction projects

For more assisstance click here

Chiquitos: Best place to have the delicious food

2011-07-09T18:17:00.000-07:00

Have you ever tried the Mexican food at chiquitos vouchers ? If your answer is no, then you need to try it. Chiquitos is one of the best places to get the true Mexican food. It has more than 65 restaurants in various parts of the world. But you can see most of its restaurants located in Leicester Square of Leeds. It offers some of the best Mexican dishes for its customers. All the restaurants are well maintained and you find traditional work and pottery lining the walls. The Chiquitos restaurant offers various colorful and spicy foods to its customers. You can choose anything from Acapulco Chicken to Roasted Vegetables. Chiquitos is the best place to enjoy the traditional Mexican specialties with your family and friends. Some of the American Classics are also seen the Chiquitos menu. The nacho is the prefect dish to be shared among the group of friends. Chiquitos is not only the best place for adults but also for kids. The restaurants serve some of the excellent menu for kids like pasta bolognaise or fish finger. Not only food, but also they offer some games to kids for free. Along with the menu, you are served with a colorful cocktail throughout the day. Chiquitos is the great place for food, atmosphere and fun. Also Chiquitos offers some chiquitos vouchers where you can get the food at much discounted prices. You can use these vouchers and get the best prices.

ISO 50001, The New Standard for Energy Management

2011-06-27T22:42:00.000-07:00

ISO 50001:2011 applies the proven Plan-Do-Check-Act management approach to drive continuous energy savings in an organization's operations. The document specifies requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and improving an energy management system, whose purpose is to enable an organization to follow a systematic approach in achieving continual improvement of energy performance, including energy efficiency, energy use and consumption.

ISO 50001 is being released mid June and it is expected that many organizations around the World will implement and attain certification to improve their bottom lines and demonstrate a clear competitive advantage to their customers. ISO 50001 also serves as a means of improving an organization's environmental performance, raising operational efficiencies and greening their brand.

Need more information about ISO 50001:2011??? ...
Don't wasting your time. Visit and register now here ...

Cost of Quality

2011-03-30T20:00:00.001-07:00

The term Cost of Quality is widely used in various industries. Sometimes called slightly shorter, Quality Cost. Whatever form is used, the term is often wrong interpreted. Cost of Quality is not only the cost incurred for not producing a product or service quality. Cost of Quality is cost needed to make a quality product. Cost we paid for not producing a product or service quality was called Cost of Poor Quality. Cost of Poor Quality must be paid when we spending our cost to follow-up the quality problem like:

rework of finished goods

re-checking or inspection of products

remanufactured or tooling modifications

repetitive tasks in the service sector, for example, repeat the process of loan application, replacement of food in a restaurant, etc. In short, all expenses incurred due to the poor resulting quality for the first time you produce is part of the Cost of Poor Quality. So, what is Cost of Quality? In general, the Cost of Quality is divided into several sections, namely: Prevention Cost All costs incurred to prevent the problems of quality produced. For example the cost of reviews, cost during the APQP process, a survey of supplier capabilities, evaluate the process capability, projects to improve the quality, training and technical education. Appraisal Cost All costs associated with measuring, evaluating or auditing products or services to ensure conformance to quality standards or other requirements. For example, incoming inspection of raw materials, in-process product inspection, final product inspection, product audits, calibration of measuring instruments and machine calibration. Failure Cost (usually called Cost of Poor Quality) Costs incurred due to product or service does not fit with customer requirements or other provisions. Failure Cost is usually divided into 2, namely:

Internal failure cost, Ie costs incurred before the product shipped to the customer. For example, scrap, rework, reinspection, downgrade the product.

External failure cost, Namely the costs incurred after the delivery of products to the customer. For example, fees for handling complaints from customers, returns by customers, warranty claims, product recall that has been circulating (product recall).

Cost of Quality is the sum of all the costs above. So the cost of quality is different with the actual cost of products, which usually is considered only a component material, production costs, shipping costs and profit margins. Cost of Quality log all actions taken both to prevent problems (preventive cost), to ensure there are no problems (appraisal cost) and to follow up the existing problems (failure costs), either before it is sent to the customer or when ship to the customer. Thus, the actual cost of Quality is not equal to zero. There is always a process or an attempt to ensure product quality before being sent to the customer. So at least Appraisal Cost of Quality = Cost. Unless the company is so confident with his performance so that the checking of products was not done at all ... This understanding is often wrong interpreted or ignored by management. Usually companies only count the cost of failure cost (cost of poor quality), so if there is no defect, the Cost of Quality = zero. This does not mean wrong at all for other costs, especially preventive cost accounted for in other books heading. However, if we want to begin to list the Cost of Quality in the true sense, we must take into account all the factors above.

ISO 9001 Certifications Top 1M Mark

2010-10-28T16:55:00.000-07:00

(ISO: Geneva) -- The principal highlights of “The ISO Survey of Certifications 2009” are that ISO 9001, the global benchmark for quality management, has topped one million certifications, and that certifications to ISO 22000 for food safety management systems, and to ISO/IEC 27001 for information security management systems have rocketed.

SO states in the introduction to the survey that the 8-percent increase in ISO 9001 certificates, compared with the 3-percent increase in 2008, “confirms the importance of ISO 9001 in the global supply chains and as the pioneering model on which subsequent management system standards have been built and flourish.”

Safe food supply chains are a global priority. ISO 22000 certifications reached at least 13,881 certificates in 127 countries and economies—a rise of 69 percent.

The increasing importance organizations give to information security was demonstrated by the 40-percent increase in ISO/IEC 27001 certifications, which reached 12,934 in 117 countries.

“Each year, the release of the latest ISO Survey is an eagerly awaited event as the primary source of information on the importance of ISO’s management system standards to the global economy,” says ISO secretary-general Rob Steele. “For the first time, the new edition is being published on a CD-ROM containing Excel files of the surveys from the first, in 1993, up to the end of 2009. Making this data available in one place will facilitate comparison and extrapolation and make the survey an even more useful business tool.”
ISO 9001

ISO 9001 (certifications to 2000 and 2008 editions cumulated), which gives the requirements for quality management systems, is now firmly established as the globally implemented standard for providing assurance about the ability to satisfy quality requirements and to enhance customer satisfaction in supplier-customer relationships.

Up to the end of December 2009, at least 1,064,785 ISO 9001 (2000 and 2008) certificates had been issued in 178 countries and economies. The 2009 total represents an increase of 81,953 (more than 8%) over 2008, when the total was 982,832 in 176 countries and economies.
ISO 14001

ISO 14001, which gives the requirements for environmental management systems, retains its global relevance for organizations wishing to operate in an environmentally sustainable manner.

Up to the end of December 2009, at least 223,149 ISO 14001 certificates had been issued in 159 countries and economies. Annual growth is stabilized at almost the same level as in 2008—34,334 in 2009, compared to 34,242 in 2008, when the total was 188,815 in 155 countries and economies.
ISO/TS 16949

ISO/TS 16949 (certifications to 2002 and 2009 editions cumulated) gives the requirements for the application of ISO 9001:2000 by suppliers in the automotive sector. Up to the end of December 2009, at least 41,240 ISO/TS 16949 certificates had been issued in 83 countries and economies.
ISO 13485

ISO 13485 gives quality management requirements for the medical device sector for regulatory purposes. Up to the end of December 2009, at least 16,424 ISO 13485 certificates had been issued in 90 countries and economies. The 2009 total represents an increase of 3,190 (about 24%) over 2008 when the total was 13,234 in 88 countries and economies.
ISO/IEC 27001

ISO/IEC 27001 gives the requirements for information security management systems. At the end of 2009, at least 12,934 ISO/IEC 27001 certificates had been issued in 117 countries and economies. The 2009 total represents an increase of 3,688 (more than 40%) over 2008 when the total was 9,246 in 82 countries and economies.
ISO 22000

ISO 22000 gives the requirements for food safety management systems. Up to the end of December 2009, at least 13,881 ISO 22000 certificates had been issued in 127 countries and economies. The 2009 total represents an increase of 5,675 (more than 69%) over 2008 when the total was 8,206 in 112 countries and economies.
Survey on CD-ROM

For the first time, ISO is making the survey available on a CD-ROM in Excel files covering 1993 to 2009, which allows comparisons since the survey was launched.

ISO makes available the principal findings of the survey free of charge on the ISO website. More information, including industry sector breakdowns, can be found in “The ISO Survey of Certifications 2009,” on a CD-ROM. It is available from ISO national member institutes (see the complete list with contact details).
source : www.iso.org

Why is ISO 9000 / ISO 9001:2000 Certification So Important?

2010-09-30T00:17:00.001-07:00

First of all it provides a system for managers and organizations to achieve excellence and opens the door for American manufacturers and/or service organizations seeking a larger role in both international trade and with other American organizations. Many organizations require their suppliers to be certified or at a minimum to be working toward certification on ISO 9000 / ISO 9001:2000 to do business.

Consider the facts (source MORI/SGS-ICS) that with ISO certification:

83% realized improved management control
82% realized improved customer satisfaction
62% said it improved the ability to win work
61% stated a more motivated workforce
60% realized improved productivity
60% saw reduced waste
52% stated it improved marketing
50% had reduced costs
49% realized increased market share

RECORDS REQUIRED BY ISO9000

2010-09-29T00:27:00.000-07:00

Section	Description
4.2.1 General	Reference to records required by the standard
4.2.3 Control of documents	For records are controlled according to 4.2.4
4.2.4 Control of records	Records are established and maintained to provide evidence of conformity
5.6.1 Management Review – GeneralReview	Management Review records
6.2.2 Competence, Awareness, and Training	Education, training, skills, and experience
7.1 Planning a product realization	Evidence is recorded that the realization processes and resulting product meet requirements
7.2.2 Review of requirements related to the product	Results of the review and actions are rising from the review
7.3.2 Design and development inputs	Inputs relating to product requirements
7.3.4 Design and development review	Results of the reviews and any necessary actions
7.3.5 Design and development verification	Results of the verification and any necessary actions
7.3.6 Design and development of validation	Records of the results of validation and any necessary actions
7.3.7 Control of design and development changes	Results of the review of changes in any necessary actions
7.4.1 Purchasing process	Results of supplier evaluations and any necessary actions are rising from the valuation
7.5.2 Validation of processes for production and service provision	Requirements for records as applicable
7.5.3 Identification and traceability	Where traceability is a requirement, the unique identification of the product
7.5.4 Customer property	Records of customer property that has lost, damaged, or unsuitable for use
7.6 Control of monitoring and measuring devices	Where no standards exist, bases used for calibration is recorded Records of the results of calibration and verification are maintained
8.2.2 Internal audit	Records of audit results Implied records for reporting verification follow up activities and results
8.2.4 Monitoring and measurement of product	Records indicates the person(s) authorizing the release of the product
8.3 Control of non-conforming product	The nature of nonconformities and any subsequent actions taken, including concessions obtained
8.5.2 Corrective action	Records for corrective action results taken
8.5.3 Preventive action	Records for preventive action results taken

Vehicle Service Contract

2010-08-23T18:20:00.000-07:00

Do you need a car? Do you want buy it? There are a lot of Brand, Type, Model and Price of car. We shall be selective and shall be choose the right car, as we need. Buying luxurious cars are most peoples dream. But we must remember how much we will spend on car services. You should have a right plan on buying it. Vehicle service is expensive. Made a good plan for having luxurious cars. For helping us in making good plan there are a lot of car services, auto insurance quote or others insurance will help us. They will give us the right vehicle service contract. Their services not only vehicle services contract but also extended car warranty for our cars. So, we do not worried about having a luxurious car.

2010-08-11T18:04:00.000-07:00

Some thing new from Lloyd's Register Groups, their magazine is written with business professionals in mind.

Introduced in July 2010, their new business-level magazine for clients and key industry stakeholders was called Insight.

Contributors include many of the world’s thought leaders on climate change, sustainability, innovation, risk management, food safety and other key business issues. In addition to experts across the Lloyd's Register Group, each issue will include interviews with key players from the world’s leading industry sectors.

Don’t miss the first issue, with Insight and thought leadership on:

· ISO 14001 Environmental Management
· Food safety (featuring LRQA’s Cor Groenveld, Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for Food Safety Certification)
· Climate change (featuring Anne-Marie Warris, Lloyd's Register Environmental Advisor)
· Sustainability and innovation (featuring Colin Walton, Chairman of Bombardier UK)
· Energy, Marine & Nuclear technology
· ‘Human Engineering’

Download the first issue in here …

Security system for your Home Security

2010-08-08T00:45:00.000-07:00

You need a security camera system? Or you want to learn more about the security camera system or video surveillance system? Here we share articles which specifically deal with security camera systems, home security and home alarm systems. After reading this article, you must be able to understand and also choose which camera to your liking.

There are two types of system security: an alarm system wired and wireless camera systems. Traditional wire system efficient enough for many homeowners, but today many prefer to use wireless.

Wireless home system has been created for many people today. Robbery, theft and looting has evolved into modern-day story in news reports over the last few years. This raises the concern of most citizens and provide a trigger to motivate them to buy a home alarm system. A home security system can provide protection for the whole family homeowner and your property. It also provides a great barrier for criminals who make them think twice about doing this crime.

If you want to install a security camera system around your house, it will be very beneficial to you if you buy a cordless type when compared to traditional cable types. The use of cable infrastructure is often annoying and disrupt your house because of the complicated installation. They are not fun to examine and often require extra holes in your walls to hide those unsightly rolls. Cable installation and camera security system will require much patience and time because you are dealing with so many wires. It would be easy to get wires crossed.

There are many companies in the market today that offer wireless security system. These cameras often have a wireless security camera and software needed to run the system. Most companies offer installations although some offer a home security system as a whole. Make sure you research different companies and as to free quotes and referrals. Any reputable company should be able to provide well for the prospect.

A method of security cameras is very important for peace of mind and security of your home. There are many benefits to having a wireless camera security system installed in your home. Set the only thing that might come back the initial cost of installation and equipment, but it is really easy to make back the insurance discount and also the security that you will feel.

Measurement System Analysis

2010-06-21T19:21:00.000-07:00

What is MSA?

A Measurement system is a process by which we assign a number to a characteristic of a product or service. The first step in assessing a system is to understand this process, and determine whether it will satisfy our requirements.

Measurement System Analysis, often referred to as MSA, is used to assess the statistical properties of process measurement systems.

MSA primarily deals with analyzing the effect of the measurement system on the measured value in quantifiable terms
Emphasis is on the effect due to equipment and personnel
We test the system to determine the numerical values of its statistical properties and compare them to accepted standards. It is a process used to standardize the methods of analysis to ensure and demonstrate that your measuring systems have adequate resolution, do not excessively bias results, and possess a small variability in comparison with specified tolerances. It helps you assess, monitor, and reduce measurement system variation. The objective of a measurement system analysis study is to make sure that your measurement system - gages, methods, and procedures are stable and capable of measuring data, before continuing with your process improvement efforts. It ensures that your measuring procedures and systems provide:
Adequate resolution
Results that are not unduly biased, and
Little variability in comparison with specified tolerances

Fundamental Issues

To evaluate a measurement system determine:

If it has adequate discrimination
If it is statistically stable over time
If statistical properties are consistent over the expected range and acceptable for process analysis or control
If the sum of all variables is an acceptable level of measurement uncertainty

Overall Objective of MSA

Uncertainty of Measurement

It is the range within which the true value of a characteristic is estimated to lie. Such data can be expressed as the statistical distribution of a series of measurements, standard deviations, probability, percentages, and error as the difference between actual value minus the true value, as points on a control chart or diagram.
Best-in-Class Approach

Determining these fundamental issues are most meaningful if made relative to process variation
Reporting measurement error as only percent of tolerance is inadequate for the worldwide market where emphasis is on continual process improvement
Use of Data in Measurement System Studies
The data collected using a measurement system is used:
To control process
In estimating the existence of relationship between variables that can affect the outcome of a process
To conduct analytical studies to increase the knowledge about the system of causes and its effect on processes
To focus on measurement systems where readings can be repeated on each part, and reproduced by different operators.

A measurement is not always exact. Measurement system variation affects individual measurements and decisions based on data. Measurement system errors are classified into five categories: bias, repeatability, reproducibility, stability, and linearity. You need to know the extent of variation before deciding on the following applications.
MSA Applications

Establish criteria for suitability and acceptability of new measuring equipment
Compare one measuring device against another
Evaluate suspect equipment
Compare the performance of an equipment before and after its repair
Calculate measurement system variation
Establish acceptability of manufacturing process
Manage & improve the measurement process

Where to start?

Evaluate the components of the measuring system, and control the variation in them as much as possible to ensure that an item of measuring equipment complies with the requirements for its intended use
Expand your consideration of Measurement Process Variation to Measurement System Statistical Properties & Measurement Uncertainty.
Follow the basics of SPC.

Process Accuracy Measurements
Stability

Stability (or drift) is total variation in measurements obtained with a measurement system on same master or parts when measuring a single characteristic over an extended time period (a time period is days, not hours). Stability is the key to predictability. Stable processes are those that are free from special cause variation. In terms of measuring equipment, stability is determined by using a control chart. As measurements are taken, points within the limits indicate that the process has not changed and the prediction is made that it is not likely to change in the future. Statistical process control (SPC), scatter plots, or other forms of statistical analysis are used to measure process stability.

Linearity

Linearity is the difference in the accuracy values through the expected operating range of the equipment. Selecting the parts throughout the operating range of the instrument can determine the linearity. The accuracy of these parts is determined by the difference between the master measurement and the observed average measurement.

Bias

Difference between observed average of measurements and reference value. The reference value, also known as accepted reference value or master value, is a value that serves as an agreed upon reference for measured values. A reference value can be determined by averaging several measurements with a higher level of measuring equipment.

Process Precision Measurements

Gage R&R

Gage R&R statistically isolates different types of variation in the measurement process. These types of variation include:

Repeatability = equipment variation = within variation
Reproducibility = appraiser variation = between variation
Residual or pure error
Variation due to interaction effects. For example, out of several inspectors, one might have a tendency to read one gage differently than others.

Gage R&R- Gage Repeatability and Reproducibility can be applied to any kind of measurement (attribute or variables, indeterminate or determinate). The two most common methods used and supported by statistical software are the ANOVA method (Analysis Of Variance) and the average and range method.

Repeatability refers to the variation in measurements obtained with one measurement instrument when used several times by one assessor while measuring the identical characteristics on the same part.

Reproducibility refers to the variation in the average of measurements made by different assessors using the same measuring instrument while measuring the identical characteristics on the same part.
R&R is the combination of repeatability and reproducibility variation, and is considered as the total measurement variation excluding within part variation and variation in central location.
Reference Material

A material or substance with one or more properties, which are sufficiently well established to be used for the calibration of an apparatus, assessment of a measurement method, or for assigning values to materials.

Measurement Uncertainty

Measurement Uncertainty is the sum of all the probabilities (percents) assigned to the variables that make up the measurement system.
The total of these probabilities should be weighed, and carry importance in proportion to the seriousness, and criticality of the measurements being made.
Decisions resulting from measurement system analysis include:

Using the system as is, taking into account its uncertainty.
Improving the system to control the variation in the contributing factors.
Considering other measurement systems of higher levels of discrimination and capability.

Product and process conformance are determined by the measurements taken by a measurement system. If the measuring process is changing over time, the ability to use the data gathered in making decisions is reduced. In essence, establishing the adequacy of your measurement system using a measurement system analysis process is fundamental to measuring your own business process capability, and meeting the needs of your customer.
source : www.omnex.com

Simple way on Updating driver

2010-05-04T19:18:00.000-07:00

Did you have any problem with your device drivers? Did you have any difficulty in updating your device drivers? There is any ways in updating Windows Drivers and another device drivers. Usually we update Windows drivers or another device drivers through Windows Update feature. Updating drivers through Windows Update feature maybe can resolve your problems but we remind you that the drivers available at Windows Update only some specific drivers. The driver available only the driver that is has passes WHQL (Windows Hardware Quality Lab) certification. More hardware producer with any reason not used this certification stage. With this certification, Windows will remind the user when they tried to install using the drivers that not have WHQL.

When you update your drivers, use the feature at Windows XP, System Restore. With this feature, Windows will restore to the last system when the new driver was not stable or caused some conflict with another drivers. With this feature, we have not worried in trying new drivers for Windows XP both with WHQL certification or not. For activating this feature manually, go to the restore points first. Follow this step. Go to System Restore Utility at [Start] > [All program] > [Accessories] > [System Tools].

OK that is the little things I has known about updating windows drivers and another drivers. For more information in download driver, you can ask to Uncle Google. There is any good site that has any device drivers for downloading. I hope it can help you all.

Making money through our hobbies

2010-04-19T17:07:00.000-07:00

Are you a dog owner? Are you hobby in take care of dogs? Yes, as a dog owner, it is happily to take care of dogs. Some dog owners like dogs very much, so they usually spending money for take care of dogs or getting some dogs. They usually spend their money for feeding, bathing, proper grooming, daily exercise, and training and do something when their dogs go sick. While dogs give unconditional love, loyalty and friendship to their owners, the owners are, in turn, responsible for their proper care, food and water, shelter, safety, regular veterinary care and exercise

For example is dog training. Some dogs owner’s wants their dogs trained and become domesticated. They want their dogs stop no particular barking. They want to play with their dogs safely from dogs biting. For their needs, they can spend more money for trained it.

Why I share this issue? Yes, it is an opportunity in making money through our own business. We can start open a dog training center as our own business. Don’t worry about the equipment, tools and dog trainer. There are some dog training franchises that can help us to build this nice business. With dog training franchise we would help. If you are real dogs hobbies, don’t wasting this dog training franchise opportunity. Start now or your hobbies just a hobby. Start making money with your hobbies.

Writing Research Papers

2010-02-04T17:37:00.000-08:00

riting is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead - Gene Fowler. But, how about writing research paper? Did you know what is Research Paper? How to write research paper?

Yesterday I tried to search through Wikipedia – The Free Encyclopedia to found what is the definition of research paper. According Wikipedia written, a Research Paper is a type of academic writing that needs more theoretical, significant and methodical level of question. Although a research paper is a kind of term paper, some term papers don’t require academic research. Accordingly, not all research papers can be considered as term papers.

Don’t worry about writing research paper. There are a lot of services that help you to learn write a research paper and there are a lot of services that gives you some sample research paper. Some services also gives you research paper writing help. Don’t worry about the cost. There are a lot of writing services and writing course that gives you cheap research papers and cheap writing course. But, where we can find these services? OK I’ll give you a sample site that has a writing service. You can visit www.customessaypapers.com. They will help you more with cheap services.

Is ISO Standards always good for Your Company?

2010-02-01T23:14:00.000-08:00

I have worked with many companies to achieve a variety of registrations. As a sales manager, auditor, consultant and trainer, I have noticed that a number of companies haven’t realized the benefits that they expected from standards registration. Some of them have actually become worse off than before they started.

“What am I missing?” I’m often asked. “My compliance to this standard isn’t improving my systems, and it isn’t increasing my customers’ satisfaction.” The answer to this question varies by company and types of implementation, but the solution is straightforward.

Companies that aren’t getting the desired results of standards registration are generally one or more of the following:

Companies that over documented the management system
Lean companies with ambitious schedules and deadlines
Businesses with strong management styles that have become disillusioned with customer-required standards and programs. Personnel charged with implementing documented systems don’t have any more respect for them than top management demonstrates.
Inadequate training and unnecessary restrictions through over documentation can set any quality system up for failure. Additionally, employees must understand the benefits and restrictions of the system. International standards are written to allow the flexibility needed for companies to be compliant without giving up efficiency and effectiveness.

Once this ineffective, formal ISO 9001 or ISO/TS16949 documented system is in place, what’s on paper hinders getting products shipped or services completed. It becomes almost impossible to deliver products or perform services efficiently, and to complete all of the paperwork and other system requirements. In the end, management begins telling staff, “Just get the job done, get the paperwork later.” This may be appropriate in the short term. If all the extra paperwork and requirements are completed, the company may not be around to solve the over documentation issue.

Over documentation can be a result of many different factors, including:

Incomplete understanding of the requirements and intent of the standards
The wrong approach to corrective actions
Not fully addressing what’s important to the business or management when creating the documentation
Consultants focusing on delivering more paperwork for your implementation dollar

If the quality system is set up based on any combination of these situations, personnel begin to ignore it and companies begin taking short cuts.

Eventually, employees become uncertain of what’s required, what’s a guideline and what can generally be ignored. This can be done while maintaining good quality products and services, but, again, only for the short term. Employees, over time, don’t know what paperwork or system to attend to and which to overlook. Nothing written can be considered important. The overriding culture requires pleasing management, shipping product and ignoring paperwork and other system requirements. Such companies end up worse off because they’ve lost the informal systems and culture that made them successful in the first place. The implicit culture familiar to employees holds that no paperwork is valuable and the “boss” doesn’t do what he says through the formal, documented system.

One telltale sign of this condition is a scramble to prepare for registrar audits by completing requirements and paperwork. The company may do well on an audit, but it’s like winning money you can’t spend. Fabricated paperwork after the fact adds no value for the company or the customer.

The natural progression from this scenario is that these documented systems begin to fail. The usual issues, like employee turnover and new product launches, add to the bottleneck. Negative trends show up in your metrics, quality concerns increase and profits diminish. Safety and environmental issues may begin to surface. Your documented system has become an exceptional-looking “show car” that has nothing inside. It looks good, but it won’t take you anywhere. You spend all of your time fixing problems instead of improving your processes. Your company culture doesn’t support the system or the changes. This adds to the idea that ISO 9001 or ISO/TS 16949 isn’t working when, in fact, it was never properly implemented.

In truth, if a good system is put in place and if employees are trained and motivated to use it properly, compliance to the standards should benefit the entire company. A correctly documented and implemented system will take no additional time and will be able to drive improvement and keep a company competitive.

Following are some solutions to keep your documented system working properly:

Get rid of all unnecessary paperwork. It’s better to start with less and fine-tune as you go.
Train everyone—management and employees—on a simpler system.
Motivate employees to follow the system and to recommend changes.
Set goals and keep everyone in the company accountable.
Continuously improve systems.

I would rather see a company reduce more paperwork than it should. At least this way its employees would always have time to complete their tasks, with no contradictions from management. We can always add as we find the need. This isn’t an extraordinary amount of work, but it requires a true commitment by the management team.

This can be done effectively in several ways, including:

Implementing lean or kaizen events
Reducing documentation girth during an upgrade to a new revision of the standard (e.g. ISO 9000 to ISO/TS 16949)
Constantly asking why. A very effective trainer, lean guru and planner once told me that most adults should take a lesson from a 6-year-old child and start asking

“Why?” again. Why do we need to fill out four forms to accept a $1,000 order from a loyal customer? The answer is, “You don’t.” When companies are properly documented, the culture will be one of reinforcement. Employees will be completing procedures and forms because they support the company’s management and business goals. It doesn’t mean that they’ll understand the purpose of every document they touch, but it does mean that the overwhelming majority of the documentation makes good sense to the staff who use them.

So next time you pick up a procedure or complete a form, take a second glance at it and ask why it’s there. If you don’t know the answer, find someone who should. If you can’t find anyone who knows and the document isn’t legal in nature, try removing it from your system and determine the effects.

When formal documented systems are implemented to meet ISO 9001 or ISO/TS 16949 in the proper way, they add value to a business and make great sense to all concerned.

Author : Brandon Kerkstra, the president of Management Solutions Group Inc., write for qualitydiggest.com

Understanding about CD Rate Types

2010-02-01T00:56:00.000-08:00

If you have made the choice to invest into CDs, you will select among the various CD types for your personal investment portfolio. A CD by definition is an investment certificate that grants the bearer of the certificate a specific rate of interest at the certificate’s maturity date. CD rates will have maturity dates that vary from one month to 5 years in length and are most typically issued by a FDIC insured bank.

CD rates will often range based upon the maturity dates. For example, a $10,000 1 year CD may pay a rate of 2.5% at its maturity. And, a 5 year CD rates may be paying 4.25% at its maturity date. The longer maturity CD rates will offer higher rates as they have a higher risk to the investor than a shorter term CD.

So what type of the major CD types?

Callable CDs

Similar to fixed equity products, CDs can have a callable feature. A callable feature is often included on fixed investments to give the Issuer the option of calling the investment in the event that interest rates change enough to place the Issuer in an unfavorable position. The benefit to the investor is that Callable CDs often bear a higher interest rate to compensate for the added risk that the investor is taking with relating to the chance that the CD will be called prior to its maturity date. If interest rates decline, investors should be prepared for the possibility that their CDs will be called, causing them to reconsider their overall investment strategy with the money released from their CDs.

Jumbo CDs

Jumbo CDs are sold in denominations above $100,000 and while individual investors can invest into them, they are most commonly purchased by institutional investors. Institutional investors can include corporate investors or mutual fund managers. The CD rates for Jumbo CDs will range based on their issuers and maturity dates.

Inflation Linked CDs

Inflation is a common concern of investors using cash instruments within their portfolio, as it can erode purchasing power over time. An inflation linked CD is a federally insured type of debt instrument that provides investors a form of inflation protection through the use of variable interest rates. The interest rates will vary based upon a set standard, tied to the national Consumer Price Index (CPI). These offer CD rates that are below traditional CDs as they pose significantly less risk to the investor as they offer this added inflation protection.

Zero Coupon CDs

Investors may have heard of zero coupon bonds, but may not be familiar with zero coupon CDs. A zero coupon CD is one that is purchased well below the coupon rate. With regards to CD rates, the coupon rate refers to the interest rate expected and the term ‘zero coupon’ refers to a CD that will not in fact make interest payment. The interest stated will be paid to the investor when the CD matures, but the investor will be charged what is called phantom income for the interest payments not received on an annual basis. The advantage is that the CD rates is often higher, but the investor needs to be aware of the annual taxes in order to set aside those needed funds.

LRQA Sponsors Supply Chain Asia Logistics Awards 2009

2010-01-27T23:07:00.000-08:00

LRQA recognized the quality performances of two of the industry’s top logistics service providers in the Risk and Security fields.

As double premium sponsors at the Supply Chain Asia Logistics Awards in Singapore in November, LRQA recognized the quality performances of two of the industry’s top logistics service providers in the Risk and Security fields.

Mike James, Director, Management Systems, presented the “Supply Chain Security Award” and the “Supply Chain Risk Management Award” to TNT Worldwide and Kuehne & Nagel, the world’s biggest forwarder of sea freight, at a gala event attended by more than 200 guests from the logistics industry across Asia.

TNT – The Supply Chain Security Award (Mike James presents the Security award to Mr Onno Boots, Managing Director TNT - Southeast Asia & Middle East)

Kuehne & Nagel – The Supply Chain Risk Management Award (Mike James presents the Risk award to Mr Tadhg Meaney, Managing Director - Kuehne & Nagel Pte Ltd)

“The ability to manage your company’s security and risk requirements is growing in importance as the logistics industry tries to assure the delivery of goods through ever more diverse and complex supply chains,” James said. “And as assurance providers to the entire energy supply chain, LRQA were proud to sponsor these awards and recognize these leaders in their fields.”

A panel of 10 judges including LRQA’s Peter Boyce, Senior Business Manager, Security Management Systems Asia, selects award-winners. The criteria used by the judges included:

The Supply Chain Security Award

Nominated organizations should have implemented a customized security policy relevant to their organization
The policy should be fully supported by top management
The policy should include regular education and training for staff on security-related issues
The policy should be uniformly applied across the organization, covering people, property and information
Nominees should participate in and adhere to a best practice security management system, such as C-TPAT, ISO28000, WCO Authorized Economic Operator, etc.
Regular organization-wide security audits and regular adjustments and improvement should be carried out

The Supply Chain Risk Management Award (The category is open to shippers and supply chain service providers)

Nominated companies should have a deliberate and structured approach to risk management
Nominees should conduct risk analysis on a systematic and ongoing basis and include adequate follow-up and review procedures
Detailed contingency plans to deal with risks should be in place and subject to regular updates
Risk analysis and contingency plans should cover areas including production risks, quality risks, environmental/natural disaster risks, political risk and economic risk
Risk evaluation of key suppliers should be undertaken on a regular basis
Risk mitigation should include education and training for staff and risk contingency plan drills.

It is the third year LRQA has sponsored these awards, which recognize the best in our increasingly competitive industry.

Easy ways get the better Car Auto Insurance

2010-01-24T19:47:00.000-08:00

There is an easy way that you can get better car auto insurance. Believe it or not, many people do not like the car auto insurance that they currently have in place. But instead of doing anything about it, they keep things the same month after month. Why pay for something that you do not like? This is a waste of money. With a few simple changes you can easily find yourself with a better cheap insurance quote policy and less stress in your life.

So what is the magic formula for finding better car auto insurance? It is no secret: you need to obtain multiple quotes. In other words, if you think that there is something better out there, and there probably is, you need to go find it. And the best way to do this is by obtaining quotes from other companies. Remember, your provider is not the only one around. The car auto insurance industry is a crowded one.

What should you do with all these quotes? Once you have a list of quotes you can then see what other companies are offering. Do you see a policy with a better price? How about one at the same price with more coverage? You do not have to know a lot about instant auto insurance quote to be able to compare your coverage to the quotes that you receive. The information is self-explanatory, and all it takes is some time to go over each quote with a fine toothcomb.

The easiest way to find a better car auto insurance policy is to compare quotes to your current coverage. This is simple on the surface, and you will find that it does not get much more difficult. Soon enough you will know how good your car auto insurance policy is, and whether or not making a change will be for the better. One thing that you must remembered, the better car auto insurance is not cheap insurance, but the expensive insurance is not the best insurance.

For Seattle peoples, you can found cheap auto insurance at Car Insurance Seattle. This insurance agency will help you more to resolve your car problem related to accident, stolen or disaster. So, don't wasting your time. Just visit their site and they will explain more about Seattle Auto Insurance.

What is a cause and effect essay? You found a difficulty?

2010-01-13T17:16:00.000-08:00

Cause and effect essays are concerned with why things happen (causes) and what happens as a result (effects). Cause and effect is a common method of organizing and discussing ideas. The cause and effect essay explains the reasons of the event or interprets the consequences of the event.

You may open your essay with a well-known outcome or situation and study what caused such a result. Another way of starting such an essay is to describe some event and then analyze its consequences.

Many students find difficulty in differentiating cause and effect. If you want to define the cause of something, ask yourself “why”. Ask yourself “what” and you will determine the effect. But if you still have a difficulty in making cause and effect essays, don’t worry. There are more institution and academy that can help you in making cause and effect essays. More of this institution and academy service was cause and effect essays writing help. You will not difficult to find this institution just open Google Search Engine and start find with keyword “cause and effect essays” and you will find a lot of institution and academy that can help you in writing cause and effects essays.

The importance of Auto Car Insurance

2010-01-10T17:21:00.000-08:00

According to some survey done until 2009, it has been revealed that in the highly cutthroat competitive world of auto insurance industry. There are over 2000 prospects are visiting daily on the web for an car auto insurance. Auto car insurance is fast becoming a booming business trade while getting affordable auto car insurance has become a recent phenomenon with the common man.

There are more cases are registered everyday alone in the world for car accidents. People are getting more curious about how to safe guard their cars and other vehicles against this kind of damage. The answer is Auto Car Insurance. Auto insurance is referred to the procedure of getting your automobile insured. This action is taken in view if any kind of accident or damage is brought to the automobile. The most important purpose of this cover is to gives out security in opposition to the losses sustained due to the mishaps. Auto insurance is used to cover many automobiles such as cars; trucks and all other vehicles that may need insurance cover and are more prone to damages and accidents.

Before getting car insurance, it is necessary for you to get a detailed view of different car insurance rate or car insurance quote from more than one auto insurance company. The cheap insurance quotes may be different for different companies, so it is your responsibility to carefully look into the insurance quotes and then decide which one is suitable for you and your vehicle.

Car insurance is considered necessary for the reason that there is a lot of reckless and irresponsible driving going on the roads that lead to accidents everyday. The auto insurance quote or other vehicle insurance quotes are usually quoted by the companies before considering number of factors like, age of the vehicle holder, how old is the vehicle, has the vehicle been damaged before also, location of the vehicle, is it second hand and other factors. The particulars as regards the car, like where it is being parked, whether the owner keeps it in a garage which minimizes the risk of being stolen and also the average the vehicle is giving at the moment it is being insured are some more deciding factors which are considered by the insurance quote company before giving the insurance. If the car travels not as much of as a precise limit of miles then such cars are likely to be given some kind of mileage price cuts and discounts.

Therefore, Automobile insurance is an incredible thing that we all require and should command careful consideration while getting one's vehicle insured from accidents.

Paid reviews can grow up your business sales

2009-12-21T17:56:00.000-08:00

Paid to review is an online business program where blogger is paid to review product or site. Blogger only need to post a review about something on blog and get payment from it. The Blogger get the payment from broker that paid by advertiser whose buy blog reviews.

There are a lot of paid reviews program around the Internet. They have several ways in attracted the reviewer and advertiser to join with them. They almost have same program, bonus, reward, earning and payment method but not all of them was really pays the blogger. Paid reviews that not pay the blogger calls SCAM program.

To avoid us from SCAM program, I would like to introduce one of the paid to review program that was really pay us. It was LinkFromBlog.com. This paid reviews program was really pay us with big earnings. And for advertiser, don’t worry about the reviewer. Almost of the reviewer has a great blogs or site and have a good writings. Advertisers can grow up their business sales. So, don’t wasting your time. Let’s join us.

Quality management system - What is it for?

2009-12-04T15:33:00.000-08:00

The concept quality management system (QMS) - that is absolutely central concept in quality management realizations in all organizations - has largely been misused. Still many organizations are using the obsolete concept “quality system” although it does not exist any more in the ISO 9000 standards.

ISO 9000 quality management system is not defined by ISO 9001 only. One must necessarily take into account also ISO 9004 topics. In fact, ISO 9001 is a part of ISO 9004.

According to ISO 9000, a quality management system refers specifically to the management system, i.e. the system used for business management and leadership, comprised of organizational structures, approaches, processes, and resources, and which meets primarily business needs of the organization. “Quality” is an attribute of the management system implying, that appropriate professional management and leadership principles and means are applied within the organization’s management and leadership system in order to ensure and increase its effectiveness and efficiency. Thus, quality management system equals to quality of management system.

Applying the ISO 9000 definition of concept quality to management system we may get the formal definition for the quality of management system. That is: "Degree to which a set of inherent characteristics of a management system fulfils the needs and expectations of organization’s stakeholders". The management system includes both strategic and operational management activities.

The standards present a standardized approach for these principles and means. In real business environments the genuine quality management system can never be a distinct system and only for a quality expertise. A real quality management system is always seamlessly integrated or embedded into the leadership system of a business. The quality management system is realized especially through combining business processes with professional quality methodology. Distinct management systems, including quality systems, upheld by different organizational (support) functions and different specialized experts, will sooner or later generally entail negative effects to the business.

Factually each organization can have only one holistic business management system, and when that system creates sustainable business success it can be called “quality management system”.

(source : qiblog.blogspot.com)

Louis Vuitton

2009-12-04T04:26:00.000-08:00

Last week I was so confused in giving surprise for my wife birthday. My confusing have gone since I found www.eluxuryin.com. There are lots of handbags; they are fashionable, quality and luxury. There are some types of Louis Vuitton handbags that so luxury. But only one type makes me stunned. It was Monogram Mini Lin canvas (PRODUCT ID: M95229).

Initially created by Louis Vuitton in 1932, the No now comes in Monogram Mini Lin canvas. It features a practical adjustable strap for carrying it on the shoulder. With only $ 248.99 I’ve got this Luois Vuitton Bags.

The size: 10.2" x 13.4" x 10.2".

Monogram Mini Lin canvas, tone on tone textile lining, grained tone on tone calfskin trimmings
Golden brass pieces
Leather strap closure
Carried on the shoulder
Adjustable strap with a buckle

My wife so happy received those surprises from me. She told that the Louis Vuitton Bags was so luxury, fashionable and quality. Thanks Louis Vuitton!

Pressure Sensitive Envelope Making Machine/Postmate

2009-11-25T19:03:00.000-08:00

Have you seen this machine? Do you know what machine is this? Let me explain. This machine is pressure sensitive envelope making machine/postmate. This machine was very useful. Now you can buy it from wholesalers. Here is the little explanation and specification of this machine

A.Main functions:
1. Paper feeding, separating,folding ,sealing in one process.
2. 2 parts of form , high converting speed.
3. Improved "L" shape consctruction design for form conveyer stacker higher speed,more stable operation.
4. auto inspection during running, auto fault self-diagnostic.
5. pre-set production amount for mass production.

B. Main specifications:
1. Voltage:220+/-10%,50HZ
2. Power: 1.5KW
3.Continuous running time :24hours/ Maximum time between faults>1000hours
4. max.speed:16000-18000forms/hour( for 12''continuous paper )
5. Machine life:40,000,000 cycles
6. folding styles: C/Z/V
7. Envelope size: 1-5#(2 rows),1-8#(1row)
8. Sealing method: thermosensitive/Pressure sensitive adhesive
9. Referenced paper: 80-120gsm
10. Gross weight:110kg
11. Dimension:2300*1090*1115mm

It's is ude to separate, fold and seal the pre-guled continuous form into different size of PSA envelope in various styles.
For more information pls contact the wholesalers! or visit their site!

How Social Network Marketing can grow your business marketing profits?

2009-11-17T02:16:00.000-08:00

Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twiter, MySpace, Orkut & Socints have become the party lines of this young century. They are inviting and intrigues and a powerful communication tool. Learning how to use them wisely for marketing can increase your business profile. But how much effective for increasing your business profile?

Some Internet Marketer explains, Social Networking Media create opportunities to:

Adds a human element (you) to your business or product
Engage with customers directly but informally while hanging out online
It is fun and simple to do once you know how
Get traffic to your website
Create buzz around your website, product or service or brand
Create inbound links to your website for the search engine ranking benefit
Creates loyalty and trust

Some Internet Marketer also explain that Social Networking tools are useful only as long as you can manage the noise and keep these services from intruding on your work and privacy. Follow these guidelines to make sure the networking remains productive:

Set your profile to "private."
Put an end to friends who post embarrassing pictures and blog about weekend activities.
Tell your friends not to put "tags" on their photos or blogs.
Monitor openly accessible social networks you're involved in.
Contact the Web site itself if something is beyond your control.

Social Networking How To's

In most communities it is recommended to not start out by promoting your brand or website. If you start out by “spamming” you are likely to get kicked out of that social community. The site administrators will most likely ban you from returning. Being too direct in your sales pitch could also scare people away. So, think passive, think indirect...help people with "how to's" "why's". Listen, share and be humble. Bragging about the money are making is not going to win you friends.

What is the next step? Be yourself, be human, open up a little and show people who you are. Tell them your story and focus on things that may help you stand out. Visit communities that interest you personally and get involved.

While initiating contact on social networking media sites is great, it is just as important to continue to keep in contact. Don’t just start something and not finish. For example, starting posts on a blog is great, but you need to show people you are not just visiting, but are there to listen to them. When people add comments in response they might need a response from you. If available, follow or subscribe to the hot feeds that you have contributed to.

The Most Popular Social Networking Sites

Here is list to the popular social networking sites categorized by media type.

Social Networking

FaceBook (most popular)
Myspace
DirectMatches
Ryze

2. Social Bookmarking

Technorati (most popular)
Propeller
Digg
Reddit
StumbleUpon

3. Content Sharing

Hubpages (most popular)
Squidoo
EzineArticles
ather

4. Media Sharing

GoogleVideo
YouTube (most popular)
SlideShare

5. Blog Platforms

Wordpress
MovableType
Blogger (most popular)

Spend some time visiting each site and get familiar with their aim, layout, media and marketing potential for your business. Within your area of interest, look at what is popular and take some notes on why that is. Is there anything unique or undiscovered so to speak that you could tap into?

Sepakbola masa kini telah menjadi sebuah INDUSTRI!

2009-11-06T02:38:00.000-08:00

Kalau berbicara mengenai dunia bola memang tidak akan pernah ada habisnya. Sepakbola masa kini telah berubah. Sepakbola tidak hanya sebuah permainan bola tangkas dan bukan lagi sebuah cabang olahraga yang sekedar untuk menyehatkan badan. Sepakbola saat ini telah berubah menjadi industri bahkan bisnis yang cukup prospektif. Sepakbola sekarang dijadikan ladang uang bukan hanya oleh penggemarnya tetapi bahkan telah merambah kepada para pengusaha, elit politik bahkan pemerintahan.

Lalu seberapa besar pengaruh sepakbola masa kini terhadap perkembangan sepakbola di Indonesia?

Saat ini Indonesia sedang membuat sebuah liga professional seperti halnya sepakbola eropa maupun amerika. Banyak pengusaha, elit politik bahakan pemerintahan terlibat langsung dalam usaha ini. Tidak salah memang! Karena dunia sepakbola ini nantinya akan menjadi suatu komoditas yang prospektif bagi dunia pariwisata dan hiburan. Bagi pengusaha dunia sepakbola adalah lading uang. Bagi elit politik, sepakbola adalah sarana sosialisasi dunia politik yang lumayan ampuh. Bagi pemerintah, sepakbola akan memberikan sumbangan besar bagi pendapatan pemerintah (pajak).

Mengapa bisa seperti itu?

Sejak pertama kali sepakbola diperkenalkan, para penggemar sepakbola bahkan tidak memperdulikan apapun untuk dapat menikmatinya. Mereka bahkan berani membayar mahal untuk sepakbola yang menurut mereka hiburan yang menarik. Seperti kita tahu ketika Club sepakbola terbesar di Inggris-Machester United yang beberapa waktu lalu hampir saja datang ke Indonesia. Beribu-ribu penggemarnya rela antri berhari-hari bahkan mengeluarkan biaya yang tidak terhitung murah. Bahkan ada pula yang rela membeli tiket pada calo yang tentunya harganya akan berlipat-lipat.

Dunia usaha kecil yang bergerak dibidang peralatan sepakbola (kaos, celana, sepatu, bola dll) juga mendapat bagian dari suksenya dunia sepakbola masakini. Bukan hanya itu dunia usaha souvenir sepakbola juga akan mendapat imbas dari suksesnya dunia sepakbola Indonesia.

Selain itu bukan hanya penggemar sepakbola yang menikmati. Para penjudi bola juga turut menikmati dengan mempertaruhkan sebagian besar uangnya di arena perjudian seperti di agenbola misalnya. (Agenbola adalah salah satu arena judi bola besar di Indonesia karena mereka melayani pembukaan account bola di SBOBET dan IBCBET yang mana sbobet dan ibcbet adalah website betting bola terbesar di ASIA saat ini).

Lalu akan berperan seperti apa kita sebaiknya?

Akankah kita menjadi pesepakbola yang sukses dan bergaji besar? Akankah kita menjadi pemilik club bola yang sukses? Akankah kita menjadi penggemar yang gila bola yang akan menghabiskan sebagian besar uangnya untuk menikmati sepakbola? Akankah kita menjadi penjudi bola yang selalu menghabiskan uangnya di arena judi bola? Atau akankah kita menjauh dari sepakbola?
Semua jawaban terserah pada diri anda sendiri.

What are debt settlement, debt negotiation and debt relief?

2009-11-03T17:24:00.000-08:00

Personal debt has become an increasingly large problem in recent years. With such large debt loads, many individuals have difficulty making repayments on debts and are in need of help. May be you have heard about debt settlement, debt consolidation, debt relief and debt negotiation in banking knowledge or may be you have done the debt settlement. But not much people know about the debt settlement means and what is the benefit. Here is the simple explanation that I known about debt settlement, debt negotiation and debt relief.

Debt settlement, also known as debt arbitration or debt negotiation, is an approach to debt reduction in which the debtor and creditor agree on a reduced balance that will be regarded as payment in full. Essentially, the debt settlement company negotiates on the borrowers’ behalf with creditors to reduce the overall debts in exchange for an agreement upon regular payments to be made. Only credit card debts can be handled, not student loans, auto financing or mortgages. For the debtor, this makes obvious sense – they avoid the stigma and intrusive court-mandated controls of bankruptcy while still lowering, sometimes by more than 50%, their debt balances.

What do you think about debt relief? Debt relief is the partial or total forgiveness of debt, or the slowing or stopping of debt growth, owed by individuals, corporations, or nations. So with this debt relief we can get forgiveness but usually can’t give total forgiveness.

Who can give us the debt settlement or debt relief?

There are many companies who offer debt consolidation services. But we must be selective to choose the debt consolidation agency. Get the agency that gives us the better bid. Better ways is try search on the Internet and find some debt settlement companies. Read carefully about their program in debt settlement, debt consolidation or debt relief.

Internal Audit Nonconformance/NC is not closed, is it a nonconformity at CB assessment?

2009-10-25T19:33:00.000-07:00

Several times ago, I’m find a question that makes me surprised. It’s a question from Peters from Poland at Elsmar.com forum at June 2007.

The question is like this. “Internal Audit Nonconformance/NC is not closed, is it a nonconformity at CB assessment? “ He also explained like this. “These were some minor nonconformity from latest internal audits. Some (only some!) corrective actions began but are not finished and closed. Lead Auditor from CB had doubts that he can accept this. He was not sure it conforms to the requirements. We couldn't find in rules any information about such problem. Do internal audit nonconformities have to be closed before certification audit? Organization began corrective actions but these actions are not closed. Is there any requirement in Rules that this situation is nonconformity in certification audit?”

Several in the cove have answered this question.

Stijloor from North Caroline as the forum moderator’s was response like this. “No not necessarily. The corrective action may have to be monitored for a while to demonstrate its effectiveness before a CAR can be (finally) closed. Your CAR log should show the status of the CAR. Inactions (delays, etc.,) are bad”. He also told, “Now, if the Certification Body's auditor issues nonconformity, then it must be closed within a pre-determined time limit. In other words, a certificate of registration can not be issued unless all NC's have been closed to the satisfaction of the CB”.

Trainerbob from Michigan, USA response like this, “There should be no problem with a third party auditor and a corrective action for an internal audit problem as long there seems to be a reasonable plan in place to eliminate the problem and verify the effectiveness of it. If there is no reasonable plan in place to solve the problem, then the third party auditor would probably have a probably have a problem. As Stiljoor said there is a difference between a corrective action from an Internal Audit and a third party audit. Your third party auditor or his/her organization will have guidelines that they use for the closing of non-conformances found during their audits.

Spartan Kim as Shy poster at Elsmar.com response like this, “I agree with Stijloor and would say the requirement is implied. If an internal audit nonconformance is about a requirement of a standard that is not being done, then that certainly would create a new nonconformance at registration audit time from the registrar. But a departure from an internal, documented process that shows progress in meeting the target completion date (as opposed to no progress for days or weeks) should not create a new nonconformance from a registration audit”.

Sidney Vianna from Long Beach, California response like this, “I don't have my copy of the IATF rules handy, at this moment. So, I can not answer for sure if under the IATF rules that would be a nonconformity or not. But, if this was an ISO 9001 audit, conducted under the requirements of ISO 17021, I would have to ask you further questions. For example, are ALL corrective actions emanating from your internal audit process unresolved/open? If that were the case, how can an external auditor assess the effectiveness of your corrective action process? Further, since results of internal audits and status of corrective actions should be part of your management review, can an external audit assess if your management review activities are done? If we were to assume that a percentage of your corrective actions, originated from your internal audit were "closed" and the external auditor can verify the process is working, I would emphatically agree that there is no requirement mandating all corrective action requests to be closed, prior to the certification audit. However, if NONE of the actions have been closed, verified for implementation and effectiveness, myself as an auditor could not attest that a key process of the QMS, namely the corrective action process, is effectively implemented”.

Howste from Utah response like this, “The Rules are not specifically mentioned what you are talking about. Originally Posted by TS Rules 3rd Edition, the audit team shall record all findings of nonconformity when detected and identify the nonconformities to the client. The identified nonconformities shall not be closed during the audit. If there are still nonconformities present in the system, and the audit team finds them, they must record them. So if a corrective action has been initiated, and correction has taken place, there would be no nonconformity - even if the full corrective action is not complete. If the corrective action has been initiated, and the nonconformity still exists, it must be a nonconformity”.

Arios from Juarez-Chihuahua-Mexico response like this, “Corrective Actions derived from internal audits may still be open provided that the issue does not compromise registration. If for instance you have an internal audit finding and a Corrective Action open because the Management Review meetings have not been performed, then to me is a big issue and I would not take the Corrective Action as a waiver for not meeting a requirement in the management standard.

Raffy from Manila-Philippine response like this, “Hi peters, two years ago we also have the same problem as they are some NC from the internal audits were not closed. This was noted by our CB during our pre-assessment audit and likewise suggests that these items should be immediately addressed by our organization. As regards to the problem, during the certification audit, there also some NC that were not closed and status were not indicated, that's why it was called out against the requirement of the clause 8.2.2 & 8.5.2.1 of ISO/TS16949. Lesson learned, there should be a status of each NC and these should be tracked and monitored. If these are not yet finished and remain Open. Escalation Process must be immediately implemented”.

And I was resuming that stated opinion like this, “I think that is no problem if you have a complete planning about the corrective action. That is including the monitoring of your corrective action progress. And I think that was an excessive finding if that is as a nonconformity. It should be an observation finding not a minor or major finding”.

St. Augustine School of Medical Assistants

2009-09-30T19:09:00.000-07:00

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the American health care industry should gain 3 million new jobs between 2006 and 2016 for (doctor, medical assistant, etc.). Keeping pace with the increase in healthcare jobs, online education is also on the rise. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), during the 2006-2007 academic year, 66 percent of all 2- and 4-year degree-granting institutions already offered distance-learning education on some level (compared to 56 percent during the 2000-2001 academic year).

If you’ve ever considered pursuing a career in health care, the rapid expansion of the health care industry provides you a wealth of career options. Although many associate a lucrative health care career with becoming a doctor, you don’t need seven years of school in order to find a satisfying and supportive health care career. According to the BLS, most health care workers have less than 4 years of college education.

How to get the medical assistant certificate faster?

Here we are introduce St. Augustine School of Medical Assistants. It is an accredited Online Distance Education Program. In particular all the medical assistants should have been undergone a formal medical assistant program training.

Now this online website provides you formal training, you can complete the course and can get the certification within 6 to 8 weeks. But there is no restriction that you should finish it within 8 weeks, you can extend as long as needed. You no need to travel for searching the reputed center and waste your time, just log on to this website study through online from your own place and make you feel comfortable.

While learning, if you have any doubts or queries, make use of the available online support to clarify it. This education provides you flexibility; you can study anywhere and at any time that too in affordable price.

Accuracy and Resolution in a Measurement System: What are the differences?

2009-07-05T20:01:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we still confuse about the differences between Accuracy and Resolution in Measurement System. Here we find some people opinion about this :

Stijloor from North Carolina (Cross Forum Moderator @ Elsmar.com response :

Are you referring to this?
Accuracy: The closeness of a measurement to the actual value being measured.
Resolution: The smallest detectable increment that an instrument will measure/display to.

West Bucey (Quality Manager) from Illionis response :

Is there a possibility you mean the word "accuracy" versus "accuration?" - if so, click the report button to explain and whichever moderator is on duty during that time period will help you change the thread title.

If it is "accuracy,"perhaps this might help:
From the NIST Handbook
NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, http://www.itl.nist.gov/div898/handbook/, date
Specific page for glossary:
http://www.itl.nist.gov/div898/handbook/glossary.htm

accuracy In metrology, the total measurement variation, including not only precision (reproducibility), but also the systematic offset between the average of measured values and the true value.

resolution
1. In experimental design, especially for two-level designs, the length of the word of the shortest confounding relationship. Geometrically, design resolution corresponds to the 1 plus the strength.
2. In metrology, the number of significant digits of a measurement system that can be meaningfully interpreted.
Bobdoering from LaGrange response :

My definitions (everybody has one...), with a few bonus definitions:

Precision: degree of “fineness” or resolution
Can be checked by Repeatability – the ability to duplicate the result

Accuracy: conformity to a standard
Checked against a standard

Resolution (or Discrimination):
-The amount of change from a reference value that an instrument can detect and faithfully indicate. This is also referred to as readability or resolution
-The measure of this ability is typically the value of the smallest graduation on the scale of the instrument. If the instrument has ‘coarse’ graduations, then a half-graduation can be used
-A general rule of thumb is the measuring instrument discrimination ought to be at least one-tenth of the range to be measured (10 to 1 rule), or one tenth of the process variation.

ndc (number of discriminate categories): an evaluation of the statistically significant discrimination

Metrology is the science of measurement; of mass, time and length (the primary quantities)
Measurement is the “language” of science
Mensuration is the branch of applied geometry that is concerned with finding the length of lines, areas of surfaces, and volumes of solids from simple data of lines and angles

Types of Measurement Error
Tool Error – inherent instrument error
Observational Error – error from the eye
Manipulative Error – error from the hand
Bias – unconscious influence causing error

For more measurement lingo:
Measurement System Analysis from MoreSteam

Dmadance (Shy Poster @ Elsmar.com) response :

Resolution is the smallest change that an instrument can detect, accuracy is a subjective term referring to how close an instrument can be assumed to measure the true value of a quantity.

It is often the case that a given instrument may have less accuracy than resolution. This is not an unusual concept, lets say one measures the ratio between two voltages, one measurement gives 1.0 +/- 0.1 V, and another gives 3.0 +/- 0.2 V. Well an instrument could divide 1.0 by 3.0 and get the result 0.33333 V. In this case one is displaying more resolution than the measurement is accurate. In other words instruments can give more significant digits in a result than are justified by its accuracy. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes an instrument can measure changes in a quantity more accurately than the quantity itself for instance.

My website, LearningMeasure.com has courses available that can explain issues like this in more detail.

Four Essentials of Effective Work Instructions

2009-04-20T21:59:00.000-07:00

Returning the focus to the worker

A work instruction is a tool provided to help someone do a job correctly. This simple statement implies that the purpose of the work instruction is quality and that the target user is the worker. Unfortunately, in many workplaces, today’s work instructions have little connection with this fundamental focus. Factories have encumbered work instructions with content that has been added to satisfy auditors, lawyers, engineers, accountants, and yes, even quality managers. We’ve piled on so much extraneous material that we’ve lost sight of the intended purpose of work instructions.

Instead of providing a simple tool to do a job right, we’ve buried the work instruction under a cascade of specifications, contract requirements, revision history, references, controls, licensing provisions, and engineering theory. The person who uses the work instruction has become an afterthought in favor of satisfying a licensing or certifying auditor.

If work instructions are to be practical quality tools, the worker must at least share focus with the auditor. This shift in emphasis doesn’t require removal of the licensing and certification information that has been added to instructions. However, the procedure portion of the work instructions can be improved, often significantly, by appropriate consideration of the worker. Workers learn quickly to spot the usable portions of the work instructions and apply the appropriate material on the job.

This article suggests a four-part criteria against which work instructions can be evaluated and improved as needed. As a first step in judging the overall effectiveness of work instructions, managers can examine their work instructions against four essential characteristics: credibility, usability, accessibility, and consistency.
Credibility: Workers trust them

Credible work instructions are at the heart of standardized best practices. In a workplace that’s committed to one and only one way to perform all procedures and processes, work instructions must define that standard.

When work instructions are credible, workers accept and trust them. But it’s easy for work instructions to lose their credibility. A common way to lose credibility is when standard procedure updates and changes get passed along verbally, and there are consistent and regular delays in updating the written work instructions. With verbal changes, an important step can be missed or an individual can otherwise fail to get the correct message. In a busy workplace with frequent undocumented changes and updates, work instructions become marginalized with workers no longer trusting them as being accurate.

Work instructions also lose credibility when a supervisor initiates a change and deviates from standardized best practice. Even though the change may be an improvement, the worker is forced to make a choice, and the boss’s words are always going to win over the written work instructions. For work instructions to be credible, workers must believe that they define the one, single, proper way to perform a task.
Clarity: Workers understand them

A clear work instruction can be quickly understood by the worker with a minimum of effort. To accommodate the typical worker, an ideal work instruction explains mostly with graphics using only minimal clarifying text. Illustrations or other graphic support should be immediately visible and the worker shouldn’t be required to go to any other location for supporting information.

Work instructions start to become unusable when they contain extraneous matter not directly related to the procedure. Also, multipage or multiscreen work instructions that cannot be quickly and easily grasped don’t meet the clarity test. Because most workers have neither the time nor the patience to struggle with unclear work instructions, they lose their practical value.
Accessibility: Workers can get to them

Work instructions are accessible when they can be located quickly and easily. "Quickly" means within seconds and "easily" requires a retrieval system that the worker knows, understands, and trusts. An ideally accessible work instruction is displayed as a job aid in immediate full view in the workspace.

If someone with a question about the proper procedure must struggle to even locate the applicable work instruction, the typical worker will find an alternative such as trial and error, guesswork, and questioning an associate or supervisor. While these alternatives might produce the right answer, they lead to a decline in the significance and importance of the work instructions.

Consistency: They match worker training

Consistent work instructions conform to a style guide developed specifically for procedures and work instructions. There must be rigid consistency of terminology so that the same word means the same thing every time. There can be no undefined acronyms and confusing technical terms. All instructions should follow the same format so that the user always knows where to find information such as required tools or control settings.

Consistent work instructions also demand that the material used for worker training is consistent with provided job aids.
Conclusion

In the absence of effective user-focused work instructions, we force the worker to employ a host of unsatisfactory alternatives including guesswork, trial and error, rumor, and tribal knowledge information transfer. The inevitable result is variation, deviation, reduced productivity, and lost potential.

To achieve the desired quality benefits of standard best practice, effective work instructions need to be a fundamental first step.

For more information, visit www.explainers.com.

About The Author

Patrick Sweeney, the founder of Michigan-based Explainers (www.explainers.com), is a noted consultant, writer, and speaker on the topic of procedures and work instructions. He has presented at national and local meetings and conferences of professional organizations, forum keynote talks, college-sponsored workshops, and similar events across a broad range of industries and applications.

What is ISO 9000 and Should I Care?

2009-03-24T03:09:00.000-07:00

The ISO 9000 series of standards

ISO 9000 consists of a series of Quality Management System standards that are designed to facilitate the establishment of business processes aiming to ensure that customer requirements are met or exceeded. They can be applied in any manufacturing industry or service sector.

Why should an organization implement ISO 9001?
Without satisfied customers, an organization's future is at risk! To keep customers satisfied, the organization needs to meet and/or exceed their requirements. The ISO 9001 standard provides a universally recognized, tried and tested framework for taking a systematic approach to managing the organization's processes, so that they consistently turn out product that satisfies customers' expectations.

The 5 main clauses of ISO 9001:2008

* Quality Management System
* Management Responsibility
* Resource Management
* Product Realization
* Measurement, Analysis and Improvement

Industry specific variations of ISO 9000

A number of different industry sectors have adopted ISO 9001, added supplemental requirements which are specific to their own industry, and modified the title of the standard. The most notable of these are:

* ISO/TS 16949 - Automotive
* AS9100, 9110 and 9120 - Aerospace
* ISO 13485 - Medical Devices
* TL 9000 - Telecommunications

Application of the standards

The standards are not designed to tell you how to run your business, but rather to allow you to be compliant with the standard in a manner that best suits the way you decide to run your business. There are some “shalls” which are non-negotiable requirements if you wish to be certified by an independent certification body, also known as registrars.

source : www.qualitydigest.com

Should Quality Have Time Limits?

2009-03-01T17:14:00.000-08:00

Where’s my coffee and a hot shower!

Anyone who has ever purchased merchandise from L.L. Bean is no doubt aware of this rock solid guarantee:
“Our products are guaranteed to give 100% satisfaction in every way. Return anything purchased from us at any time if it proves otherwise. We do not want you to have anything from L.L. Bean that is not completely satisfactory.... Of course, we want you to be the fair judge of quality. If you’re not satisfied with your purchase, we’ll replace it or give you your money back. It’s that simple”.

In my mind, this is the gold standard for how customers should be treated. I’m an L.L. Bean fan and have jackets, coats, fanny packs, and other outerwear that has never worn out. It should come as no surprise that L.L. Bean was just honored as being No. 1 in customer service by the National Retail Federation’s American Express Customers’ Choice survey. What is remarkable about L.L. Bean is that only rarely does one have to activate this guarantee, because merchandise from the company is first-class. If only other companies would adhere to this strong quality ethic. Let me give you an example of how some companies administer their own guarantees.

Several years ago, we received a Cuisinart Grind and Brew Coffeemaker from our children as a Christmas gift. It retails for around $200. It grinds coffee beans automatically whenever you want it to and brews a hot cup of java. The aroma permeates our home as an early morning welcome.

After about a year of use, the coffeemaker developed a defect. A call to Cuisinart and a verification of the three-year warranty provided us with a new brewer. Several years later, another defect surfaced and we made another call to the manufacturer. Inexplicably, at least to me, the customer service representative informed me that the warranty had expired. I was told that the warranty in effect was for the original purchase and the warranty for subsequent coffeemakers reverts back to the date of first purchase. Perplexed by this explanation, I waited a day, called back again, and talked to a different representative who agreed to forward us another coffeemaker. Obviously, he either misinterpreted the warranty or perhaps my calm but firm exhortations convinced him to relent. Whatever the case, we ended our call on a convivial note.

Due to a series of mishaps (i.e., receiving the wrong product, receiving a coffee maker destined for a different customer), we received three new brewers. We returned two of the unopened brewers that were mailed in error, but were told that we were responsible for postage on the defective product. I objected to that and said I was awaiting a postage-paid envelope. The new brewer works perfectly, but is not under warranty.

Shouldn’t each new product have its own warranty? If the merchandise had been sent to another customer it would have the normal three-year warranty—so why not the one I have? It’s ridiculous.

The other example is a water heater that came with our new home—a 40-gallon AO Smith heater. We have lived in our home for 20 years and just last week we had to replace the water heater for the fifth time. The warranty is for six years and, you guessed it, the warranty only covers the first water heater. As long as each water heater gives up the ghost within the first six years, the company provides a replacement.

Each time the water heater failed, it sprung a leak with water cascading all over the basement floor. Our last purchase of a water heater was in 2005, but we were told that the warranty wasn’t valid because the warranty covered a product that was purchased outside of the six-year time period. I have written to AO Smith to compensate me for the cost of a new heater, but I haven’t received a response to date. In the meantime, we purchased a different brand and did so from a different company.

Both of these companies evidently have no confidence in their products. If they did, their warranty would cover each new purchase. If L.L. Bean can guarantee their merchandise forever, why can’t others?

Thanks for listening. After a good venting and a five-mile run I feel much better. So let me move on to some other topics.

Each time I call a company for information or to discuss a problem, I always ask the representative about their location. For instance, when calling a Michigan company I’m always interested to determine if the representatives are headquartered in our state or if the phone bank has been outsourced. I often end up talking to a person in another country. Many of the representatives enjoy discussing their location, because we sometimes talk about the weather or perhaps an upcoming sporting event where their team may be pitted against one of our Detroit teams.

Keep in mind that, as we all know, “calls are being monitored for quality.” Well, just the other day I made a call to Verizon and asked the rep for his location. His response was: “For security reasons I am not able to reveal my location.” I laughed out loud and asked again but was given the same answer. Suggesting that even the President of the United States reveals his location when traveling, the rep saw no humor in that, perhaps taking solace in the fact that former vice president Dick Cheney used to relocate to “an undisclosed location” from time to time. Or just maybe my rep was in a witness protection program and thought I was Tony Soprano. So why does this bother me? I want to think that customer service representatives are there to serve me. I would like to think that along with quality service, their location, and some repartee is part of the contract. But hey, that’s just me!

Now here’s my own special quality message to all of you who use aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Have you noticed that when you attempt to pull out a strip of tin foil, invariably the whole roll comes out of the container? Well, guess what? For quality purposes some companies have located tabs at the two ends of the container with the words “Press in tab to secure roll in box.” Now that’s quality, and something that has escaped me for years until a friend pointed it out. So take a break from reading the remainder of my column and examine the aluminum foil and plastic wrap in your home. Pretty neat, eh?

And what would one of my columns be without my usual reference to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel? The Dearborn property, like all Ritz-Carlton’s, has a bevy of exceptional employees, or ladies and gentlemen as they are called. One in particular is doorman Marty Premtaj who, several years ago, was voted the best doorman in the United States by readers of Condé Nast magazine. Just recently, the Dearborn property celebrated its 20th anniversary and part of the ceremony included an auction for dinner for 10 prepared by the hotel’s executive chef with Premtaj greeting guests at the door. Once Premtaj paraded back and forth on the stage while wearing his top hat, the bidding reached $20,000. The hotel then quickly added another offering and that also went for $20,000 with the money going to charity. It’s obvious to me that quality and great customer service are still a driving force when it comes to purchases, and the attendees at this event certainly solidified that. Way to go Marty!

Career Builder recently published a list of the most ridiculous excuses for missing work. Among the ones that caught my eye were:

Employee’s dog was stressed out after a family reunion
Employee contracted mono after kissing a mailroom employee at the company holiday party
Employee’s psychic told her to stay home

In fact, my psychic just sent me a message through mental telepathy that it was time to end this column, so I will do so. Besides, I have to prepare my coffee brewer for tomorrow’s java and check on my hot water tank to make sure it’s operating properly. By the way, this column has no warranty so if you find it defective or objectionable, contact my psychic. He’ll be expecting you.

About The Author
William J. Kalmar has extensive business experience, including service with a Fortune 500 bank and the Michigan Quality Council, of which he served as director. He has been a member of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Board of Overseers and a Baldrige examiner. He’s also been named quality professional of the year by the ASQ’s Detroit chapter. Now semiretired, he’s a freelance writer for the Detroit News and several other national publications including the St. Louis Post Dispatch. He writes a monthly column for the Mature Advisor and Senior Advocate newspapers, is a member of the USA Today Vacation Panel, is a mystery shopper for several companies, and a frequent presenter and lecturer. Kalmar also does radio voice-overs and competes in duathlons source : www.qualitydigest.com

FMEA – More than a Form

2009-02-23T22:27:00.000-08:00

By Michael Down

Failure cannot be eliminated, but if potential failures are identified and analyzed early on, you can take action to minimize the potential impact. The Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) process provides the framework.

Does this sound familiar? A problem arises and a solution is needed. Resources are marshaled and hypotheses fly. Alternative actions are identified and tested until the solution is found and applied.

The problem is apparently solved—until some time later, when “the solution” triggers a bigger problem.

These events are not intentional. Most of the time, people are doing their best, trying to help the situation. Sometimes they underestimate the level of impact of the change and assume everything will be fine. Other times, they don’t take into account a change in usage or the environment. They often don’t realize the problem they’ve created.

The good news is that these unintentional events can often be avoided. Whether it’s a new idea, design, process, or a potential solution, the risk of failure always exists. Failure cannot be eliminated, but if potential failures are identified and analyzed early on, mitigating actions can be taken to minimize the impact if the failure occurs. The Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) process provides the framework within which this can occur.

Purpose of FMEA
FMEA is an analytical methodology used throughout the product and process development cycle to ensure that potential problems have been identified, considered and addressed. Its most visible results are the documentation of the collective knowledge of cross-functional teams and the action items which mitigate the potential risk.

Through the Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) process, OEMs and suppliers identify areas of concern or risk in the design that would require a FMEA analysis. During this discussion, the Potential Failure Modes and Effects Analysis Reference Manual, 4th Ed. is used as a reference to identify key areas and methods needed to evaluate the product or process design.
Key Elements of a Quality FMEA

A FMEA can be prepared to examine the design of a single part, an assembly, the entire system or the processes used to produce them. The following required elements are common for all:

Appropriate scope. The first step is to establish the depth and level of the analysis. This is accomplished by first identifying and scoping the area of the product or process design, by some form of boundary, block, or flowchart. The complexity of the scope will determine if a single FMEA or multiple (system level and component) FMEAs are required.
Early start. No value exists in doing an FMEA after the design is completed or the manufacturing process has been developed. The greatest benefit is received by doing it as early as possible. Partial FMEAs can be done at the conception of design to identify key requirements and risks early in the design development cycle, and updated as the design progresses.
Knowledgeable team. The FMEA is the collaborative effort of a team. Individual team members can affect the scope, direction, or quality of the analysis. The best FMEAs are obtained when teams include subject-matter experts associated with the design or process under review.
Structured analysis. Simple techniques such as brainstorming can be used to evaluate risk associated with a single event, but evaluating multiple events and their possible interactions requires the structured approach offered by a FMEA. Use of FMEA assures that:

All potential failures are identified.
Effects (impact to the customer) are identified.
Risk assessment (severity, causes, design prevention and controls, occurrence) is made for each failure mode.

Good discussion and dissection. The FMEA form should not drive the FMEA discussion. A “good” discussion gets down to the “mechanism” of failure or the physics of how a design or system works. If your FMEA meeting is just filling out the form, it’s a waste of time.
Risk mitigation. Identifying and assessing risks is not enough. Actions such as redesign, elimination or reduction of the causes, or provision for early detection must be taken to mitigate their impact upon the customer. The key is to assign someone on the team to either resolve the issue or follow-up with the team members needed to resolve the issue(s).
Proper documentation. Finally, the collaborative efforts of the team – the structured analysis, the “good” discussion and the risk mitigation – need to be captured so that the same issues are not duplicated in the future and improvements can be made. Enough detail must be documented so that the FMEA can be picked up in a year and fully understood. The FMEA should not be archived until all action items have been completed and all risks identified by the team have been resolved.

Conclusions

Today, no company can assume everything will be fine. Even simple issues can create problems that eventually lead to a loss of customers and sales. The FMEA process can be a powerful tool to reduce quality issues, cam[BS1]paigns, and warranty. FMEA should become a regular tool used by all engineers in both the manufacturing and the service industry.

Michael Down is with GMNA Advanced Vehicle Engineering – Validation-FMEA & DFM Group and chairman of the SPC, MSA, FMEA Manual Subcommittees. Source : http://aiag.informz.net

2009-02-23T17:09:00.000-08:00

(IAQG: Warrendale, Pennsylvania) -- In an effort to improve product quality and prompt delivery of products, the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG) released a revision to AS9100, the quality management system (QMS) standard for the aviation, space, and defense industries.
The AS9100 quality standard is based on ISO 9001, adding requirements specific to the aviation, space, and defense industry. To make significant improvements in quality and reduce cost throughout the value stream, teams worked together to implement initiatives while striving to meet the needs of stakeholders. With this goal in mind, nearly 700 comments and change recommendations were reviewed by the IAQG AS9100 team.

Some of the changes to 9100 include:
• Expansion of scope to include land and sea based systems for defense
applications
• Risk management
• Project management
• Configuration management
• Critical items and special requirements
The release later this year of the revised quality management system standard is a vital step toward achieving the IAQG goal of transforming the on-time, on-quality, delivery (OTOQD) performance of the aviation, space, and defense industry, according to Bill Black, IAQG president.
“Our mission in IAQG is to raise dramatically the OTOQD performance of our industry for the benefit of our customers and our shareholders,” says Black. “This collaborative effort of the major industrial players takes a great leap forward with the next issue of the AS9100 standard that defines the foundation of our business operations.”
The standard can be can be obtained from national and regional standards publication bodies. The IAQG will provide and post on their web site AS9100 deployment support material to accompany the release of AS9100.
For more information on IAQG, visit www.iaqg.org.

Delcam’s New PowerINSPECT Software Supports Five-Axis Inspection

2009-02-20T17:04:00.000-08:00

(Delcam International Inc.: Windsor, Ontario, Canada) -- Version 5 of Delcam’s PowerINSPECT software includes support for five-axis scanning with Renishaw’s REVO probe. This new release of the world’s most successful hardware-independent inspection software also features the ability to use multiple alignments within parts or assemblies, additional GD&T features, more flexible best-fit algorithms, improved CMM connectivity. and more versatile report generation.

PowerINSPECT 5 is one of the first inspection software packages to support Renishaw’s REVO for the verification of both geometric and free-form shapes on CMMs. The combined solution offers faster and more accurate measurement of feature-rich parts, such as powertrain components, and complex doubly-curved surfaces, including those found in aerofoils and turbine blades.

As the five-axis REVO head is much lighter and more dynamic than the CMM, with a significantly better frequency response, it’s able to follow changes in the part geometry much more quickly. In addition, five-axis scanning minimizes dynamic errors caused by the inertial forces that affect the moving mass of the CMM structure.

The new PowerINSPECT release incorporates proven five-axis simulation and collision detection technology from Delcam’s PowerMILL CAM system. As a result, users can be confident that the inspection routines will operate safely and efficiently.

Five-axis operation for on-machine verification has also been enhanced, in particular by making the programming much easier. Canned strategies have been added for all standard geometric features, making it faster and simpler to generate inspection routines for prismatic parts.
PowerINSPECT’s new ability to use multiple alignments within a single part will allow independent verification of distinct areas within the component. This will make it simpler to identify the source of any error in a faulty example and so make it quicker and easier to rectify the problem.

Multiple alignments can also be important when checking assemblies of parts. They can be used to discover whether the error is in an individual component, and, if so, in which one, or whether the problem has resulted from an inaccuracy in the way in which the parts have been put together.

Inspection of more complex parts will also benefit from the enhanced best-fit options within the software. These now allow the user to prioritize the most important features in the part when identifying the most accurate alignment. For example, mating faces, which may need to be produced to a finer tolerance, can be given a higher priority.

The GD&T capability has been expanded to include symmetry, surface profile, and run-out, as well as the previously available true position, perpendicularity, angularity, parallelism, and concentricity. The new options are all available within the GD&T Wizard, to easily guide the operator through the process.

Another new option is the ability to compensate for changes in the part temperature. This will be most helpful to companies using portable devices on the shop floor, where it is impossible to maintain the temperature as consistently as can be done in a dedicated measuring area. The software includes specific expansion factors for different materials, allowing accurate compensation allowances to be calculated.

The introduction into PowerINSPECT of I++ technology will make it easier to add the software to new hardware, especially for companies that use a variety of different devices. I++ is the standard communication format for CMMs and is supported by all major equipment manufacturers.

PowerINSPECT’s easy-to-understand reporting has always been one of the software’s most popular features. With the new release, users have been given more control over the way in which the results are displayed. The previous highly automated reporting methods are still available but users are now able to customize reports more easily. For example, the positions and contents of results labels can be adjusted to highlight the most important measurements.

Source : www.qualitydigest.com

Accuracy, Precision, & Calibration

2009-02-19T17:35:00.000-08:00

Accuracy: The difference between the expected value of a sensor's output and the actual value of the quantity being measured. The mean of a set of data is related to the accuracy of the data.

Precision: The variations in a measured signal due to noise or other phenomena. The standard deviation of a set of data is a measure of the precision.

Calibration: Calibration improves the accuracy and precision of a sensor by defining a mathematical relationship between what you measured and what the reading should be. For example, the third plot above could be improved by subtracting a constant from the measured temperature. This would be one type of calibration.

Download more definition about Accuracy, Precision & Calibration here ...

ISO 9001:2008 Brings More Clarity to QMS Standard

2009-02-16T22:15:00.000-08:00

Although the recently released ISO 9001:2008 contains no new requirements compared to the 2000 edition, it does clarify existing requirements of ISO 9001:2000.

Released last November, ISO 9001:2008 is the latest edition of the International Standard used by many automotive companies and other organizations as the framework for their quality management systems (QMS). The ISO 9000 family of standards represents an international consensus on good quality management practices. It consists of standards and guidelines relating to quality management systems and related supporting standards.

ISO 9001:2008, Quality management system –Requirements, is the fourth edition of the standard first published in 1987, and it has become a global benchmark for providing assurance about the ability to satisfy quality requirements and to enhance customer satisfaction in supplier-customer relationships.

ISO 9001:2008 provides a set of standardized requirements for a quality management system, regardless of what the user organization does, its size, or whether it is in the private or public sector. It is the only standard in the ISO 9000 family to which organizations can be certified, although certification is not a compulsory requirement of the standard.

Why a New Standard Now?
All ISO standards are periodically reviewed. To ensure that ISO standards are maintained at the state of the art, the organization has a rule requiring them to be periodically reviewed and a decision made to confirm, withdraw, or revise the documents.

As it turns out, ISO 9001:2008 contains no new requirements compared to the 2000 edition (which it replaces); however, it does provide clarifications to the existing requirements of ISO 9001:2000 based on eight years’ experience of implementing the standard worldwide. The updated standard also introduces changes to improve consistency with the environmental management system standard, ISO 14001:2004.

The review of ISO 9001 has benefited from a number of inputs, including the following:
* A justification study against the criteria of ISO Guide 72:2001, Guidelines for the justification
and development of management system standards;
* Feedback from the ISO/TC 176 interpretations process;
* A two-year systematic review of ISO 9001:2000 within ISO/TC 176/SC2;
* A worldwide user survey carried out by ISO/TC 176/SC 2; and
* Further data from national surveys.

“The revised ISO 9001 results from a structured process giving weight to the needs of users and to the likely impacts and benefits of the revisions,” says ISO Secretary-General Alan Bryden. “ISO 9001:2008 is therefore the outcome of a rigorous examination confirming its fitness for use as the international benchmark for quality management.”

An introduction and support package of documents explaining the differences between ISO 9001:2008 and the year 2000 version is available on the ISO website.

Why Implement 9001:2008?

Although certification of conformity to ISO 9001 is not a requirement of the standard, it is frequently used in the automotive sector to increase confidence in an organization’s products and services, in the selection of suppliers, and in the right to tender for procurement contracts.

The ISO 9001:2008 standard provides a tried and tested framework for taking a systematic approach to managing the organization's processes so that they consistently turn out products that satisfy customers' expectations. Simply put, the standard lays down what requirements a quality system must meet, but does not dictate how they should be met in any particular organization. This leaves great scope and flexibility for implementation in different business sectors and business cultures, as well as in different national cultures.

The standard requires the organization to:
* Audit its ISO 9001:2008-based quality system to verify that it is managing processes effectively—or to put it another way, to check that it is fully in control of its activities.
* Invite its clients to audit the quality system to give them confidence that the organization is capable of delivering products or services that will meet their requirements.
* Engage the services of an independent quality system certification body to obtain an ISO 9001:2008 certificate of conformity. This last option has proved extremely popular in the marketplace because of the perceived credibility of an independent assessment.

An obvious benefit to implementing ISO 9001:2008 is that the supplier may avoid multiple audits by its customers and reduce the frequency or duration of customer audits. The certificate can also serve as a business reference between the organization and potential clients, especially when supplier and client are new to each other, or far removed geographically, as in an export scenario.

AIAG offers world-class training to assist your organization in ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System certification. For more information, contact AIAG customer service at (248) 358-3003 or visit the AIAG Web site at www.aiag.org.

ISO/ TS 16949 Sistem Manajemen Mutu untuk Industri Otomotif

2009-02-10T18:51:00.000-08:00

Sejarah dan Perkembangan

ISO 9000 Series sekarang merupakan salah satu sistem manajemen mutu yang formal serta diterapkan di hampir semua jenis organisasi, termasuk industri otomotif.

Sejak peluncuran pertamanya pada tahun 1987, ISO 9000 Series mendominasi di semua bidang yang terkait dengan sistem manajemen mutu bahkan mengecualikan beberapa issue di bidang kualitas lainnya. Seperti contoh : birokrasi prosedur, paper work , tidak ada nilai tambah. Hal ini terjadi karena standar ISO 9000 Series menjelaskan mengenai "What", sehingga sangat bergantung kepada penerimaan suatu organisasi mengenai pemahaman persyaratan tersebut. Persyaratan ISO 9000 di dalam konteks bisnis merepresentasikan persyaratan minimum yang dapat diterapkan organisasi untuk mencapai kualitas produk atau service.

Salah satu persyaratan utama dari ISO 9000 Series adalah proses yang terkait dengan supplier, dimana persyaratannya adalah bahwa organisasi harus menyediakan produk /jasa yang sesuai dengan spesifikasi yang telah dipersyaratkan/ditetapkan. Artinya apabila organisasi tidak menyediakan produk/service yang sesuai dengan persyaratan/spesifikasi maka sistemnya sebenarnya fail, tetapi tidak berarti standardnya salah, hal ini bisa saja disebabkan karena interprestasi yang tidak sesuai dari organisasi. Atau jika spesifikasi/persyaratanya sudah ditetapkan tetapi kualitasnya lebih rendah maka dampaknya bisa saja produk tersebut menjadi tidak cukup untuk memenuhi kepuasan pelanggan.

Dari penjelasan di atas, ada dua masalah penting yang terkait khususnya di industri otomotif :

Kebutuhan untuk memberikan dasar yang sama kepada supplier mengenai sistem mutu dan menghilangkan interprestasi yang terlalu banyak.
Kebutuhan untuk mengembangkan model sertifikasi yang dapat digunakan untuk memastikan integritas dari proses sertifikasi yang bersifat " world wide".

Bersamaan dengan publikasi ISO 9000, beberapa negara mengembangkan sistem manajemen mutunya sendiri yang digunakan hanya untuk pembelian peralatan kemiliteran, seperti NATO Quality Control System Standards pada tahun 1973, juga Quality Panel dari UK Society of Motor Manufactures mengembangkan standar yang sama untuk penggunaan non militer, yaitu BS 4891, yang dipublikasikan pada tahun 1972.

Pada tahun 1992, Chrysler, Ford dan General Motor (GM) menyusun manual "supplier quality system" dan "assessment tools" yang kemudian disebut QS-9000. Standard ini dikembangkan dari persyaratan ISO 9000 series dan ditambah "generic requirements" , sector "specific requirements ", dan "customer spesific requirements". QS-9000 pertama kali di publish pada bulan Agustus 1994 dan standard ini merupakan penggabungan dari Chryler s Supplier Quality Assurance Manual, Ford's Q101, dan General s Motor's for excellence. Dalam perkembangannya QS-9000 tidak hanya diterapkan pada proses perancangan dan perakitan dari Chrysler, Ford dan GM saja. Pada bulan maret 1998 QS- 9000 direvisi untuk yang ketiga kalinya.

Disamping Amerika dan Inggris , beberapa negara lain juga mengembangkan model standard sistem manajemen yang terkait dengan Automotive industry, diantaranya VDA (Verband der Automobilindustrie) di Jerman yang mengeluarkan VDA 6.1, kemudian di Italia, Asosiasi Industri Mobil Italia (ANFIA) mengeluarkan standard AVSQ 94 , Asosiasi Industri Mobil Perancis (PSA) menerbitkan standard EAQF.
Semakin meningkatnya persaingan di industri otomotif membuat beberapa industri melakukan penggabungan dan kerjasama tidak hanya lingkup negaranya tetapi juga antar negara, sehingga hal ini juga mendasari terjadinya penggabungan standarisasi yang telah disusun. QS-9000 tidak hanya diterapkan di Amerika, tetapi di semua negara yang men-supply ke GM, Chrysler dan Ford, sehingga harus dilakukan penyesuaian terhadap standard-standard lainnya seperti VDA 6.1, EAQF 94, AVSQ 94 juga.

Pada tahun 1996 IATF (International Automotive task Force) yaitu lembaga internasional otomotif yang anggotanya terdiri dari 2 group besar yaitu industry otomotif dan asosiasi perdagangan bekerjasama dengan ISO/TC 176 mengembangkan standar yang bersifat sektoral yaitu di industri otomotif yang kemudian diberi nama ISO/TS 16949, yang dikembangkan dari QS-9000, ISO 9000 Series, VDA 6., AVSQ 94, EAQF 94 yang edisi pertamanya di keluarkan pada tahun 1999.

Dengan di kembangkannya ISO/TS 16949 oleh IATF, maka cakupannya pun semakin luas tidak hanya untuk industri mobil Eropa dan Amerika tetapi juga industri mobil di Jepang dan negara lainnya, karena asosiasi perdagangan yang menjadi anggota IATF tidak hanya Amerika (AIAG), Italia (ANFIA), Perancis (FIEV), Inggris (SMMT), Jerman (VDA-QMC), tetapi juga Jepang (JAMA), di mana JAMA merupakan asosiasi dengan jumlah anggota terbanyak diantaranya: Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Suzuki, Daihatsu, Hino, Yamaha, Nissan, Kawasaki, dsb.

Keuntungan bagi Organisasi

Dengan direvisinya ISO 9001:2000, maka IS0/TS 16949 pun di revisi untuk disesuaikan dengan persyaratan ISO 9001 :2000. Beberapa persyaratan tambahan yang berarti jika dibandingkan dengan QS-9000 adalah :

Penetapan sasaran dan target
Penetapan kepuasan pelanggan
Continual Improvement
Analisis Data
Memastikan kesesuaian dengan persyaratan dan peraturan perundangan
Tinjauan manajemen dilakukan untuk memonitor sasaran mutu yang stategis dan kinerja sistem.
Verifikasi proses
Penetapan dan pemeliharaan Plant, Peralatan, dan Fasilitas
Review efektivitas dari pelatihan

Dengan mengadopsi ISO/TS 16949 ini, maka pemasok untuk industri otomotif akan semakin sesuai penerapannya dengan ISO 9001:2000 karena sistemnya menjadi semakin "generic".

Beberapa keuntungan yang dapat diharapkan antara lain :

Meningkatkan kualitas produk dan proses ; hal ini dapat tercapai karena di dalam persyaratan baru mengcover diantaranya, mengenai : penetapan target, pengukuran dan reviewnya, pengukuran kepuasan pelanggan, keselamatan produk, ke- sesuaian dengan persyaratan dan perundangan, manajemen desain proses, penerapan teknik dan alat-alat kualitas
Meningkatkan keyakinan di Global Procurement ; dengan skema standard yang jelas, maka meng- eliminasi perbedaan pemahaman standar, proses sertifikasi benar-benar diseleksi berdasarkan kriteria ISO/TS 16949 dengan ruang lingkup
Pendekatan sistem mutu yang seragam/sama untuk pengembangan subkontraktor; dengan standar ini akan mengurangi variasi proses oleh subkontraktor sehingga hasil proses dapat lebih baik.
Mengurangi variasi dan meningkatkan efisiensi; dengan penerapan beberapa persyaratan yang re- levant akan mengurangi hal tersebut, antara lain : Mistake Proofing, Continous Improvement, Failure Mode effect Analisys, Statistical Process Control
Mengurangi audit pihak kedua ; dengan diterimanya standard ini oleh banyak negara, hal ini berdampak berkurangnya audit pihak kedua.

Dengan pemberlakuan ISO/TS 16949 ini maka industri otomotif dan turunannya memiliki kesempatan yang lebih luas untuk mengembangkan sistem manajemen mutunya sehingga meningkatkan kepercayaan pelangan lebih baik lagi.

Struktur ISO/TS 16949

Pada pembahasan kali ini kita akan membahas mengenai struktur dari ISO/TS 16949 dan beberapa persyaratannya. Karena dikembangkan dari ISO 9001:2000, kemudian juga dikembangkan dari QS 9000 serta memperhatikan masukan dari asosiasi industri otomotif, maka struktur ISO/TS 16949 adalah sebagai berikut :

1. Struktur ISO 9001:2000 terdiri dari :

Scope
Aplikasi >
Normative reference
Terms and Definitions
Sistem Manajemen Mutu
Tanggung Jawab Manajemen
Manajemen Sumber Daya
Realisasi Proses
Pengukuran, analisa dan peningkatan

2. Automotive Standart Requirement, Adalah persyaratan tambahan lain yang spesifik dijelaskan di masing-masing persyaratan dari ISO 9001:2000. Misalnya :

Persyaratan dokumentasi : ada penambahan Engineering Specification (elemen 4.2.3.1)
Management Responsibility: ada penambahan Management commitment Proses Efisiensi (5.1.1)
Responsisbilit dan Authority : ada penambahan responsibility for quality (5.5.1.1)
Management representative : ada penambahan customer representative (5.5.2.1)
Resource Management : ada penambahan: Product desain skill (6.2.2.1)
Training on the Job.(6.2.2.3)
Plan, Facility and equipment planning (6.3.1)

Product Realization : ada penambahan:

7.1.2.Accepatance criteria product realisastion
7.1.4.Change control
7..4.1.2. Supplier quality management system development

Measurement analysis & improvement : ada penambahan:

8.1.1Identification of statistical tools
8.1.2.Knowledge of basic statistical concept
8.2.2.2.Manufacturing process audit
8.5.2.1.Problem solving
8.5. 2.2 .Error proffing

3. Customer Spesific Requirements, adalah persyaratan spesific dari masing-masing industri otomotif yang dikeluarkan dan menjadi acuan bagi semua suppliernya di dalam mengembangkan dan menerapkan persyaratan ISO /TS 16949 ini.

Contohnya :

BMW mengeluarkan Customer Specific Requirements
yaitu : Supplied Parts Quality Management
VW mengeluarkan Customer Specific Requirements Qual.Cap.Suppliers.,4th edition .

Dokumentasi ISO /TS 16949

Selain pemahaman terhadap struktur ISO/TS 16949 di atas, dibutuhkan juga beberapa dokumen yang diperlukan bagi organisi untuk dapat menerapkan ISO/ TS dengan efektif . Beberapa dokumen yang diperlukan oleh ISO/TS 16949 diantaranya adalah sebagai berikut :

A. Dokumen yang terkait dengan persyaratan ISO/TS 16949 yaitu :

Quality Management System ISO /TS 16949, 2nd edition, yang mencakup standard ISO 900:2000 + specific automotive requirements
Quality System Assessment Checklist to ISO/TS 16949, yang mencakup checklist utk audit ISO TS
IATF Guidance to ISO/TS 16949:2002, yang mencakup guidance untuk implementasi ISO TS yang dikeluarkan oleh IATF (International Automotive Task Force Rules for achieving IATF Guidance, yang mencakup tahapan sertfifikasi ISO TS yang dikeluarkan oleh IATF (international Automotive Task Force)

B. Tools, Tools ini merupakan penunjang untuk menjamin kesesuaian produk dari desain sampai dengan pengiriman. Tools ini sama dengan yang digunakan di QS 9000, yang terdiri dari dari :

APQP, Advance Porduct Quality Planning, adalah suatu tools untuk perencanaan produk
PPAP, Production Parts Approval Process, adalah suatu tools untuk mengevaluasi part-part yang dibutuhkan dalam suatu produk
FMEA, Failure Mode and Effects analysis, adalah suatu tools untuk mengidentifikasi dan menghilangkan kemunginan kegagalan produk/ proses.
MSA, Measurement System Analysis, adalah suatu tools untuk menganalisis apakah suatu sistem pengukuran (operator, alat ukur, cara mengukur paramenter proses produksi)berfungsi sesuai ketentuan.
Statistical Process Control, adalah merupakan suatu tools untuk mengontrolproses (paraemeter proses) dengan menggunakan data dan analisis statistik

C. Customer Specific Requirements, Adalah persyaratan specific yang ditetapkan oleh masing-masing industri otomotif, seperti yang telah dijelaskan di depan.

D. Informasi lain yang relevan dan terkait dengan ISO/TS 16949. Misalnya: persyaratan spesifik yang diterapkan untuk masing-masing vendor, termasuk sangsi sangsi terhadap penerapan

Jadi bagi organisasi yang ingin menerapkan ISO/TS 16949 , perlu mempersiapkan diri dengan melengkapi terlebih dahulu persyaratan dokumentasinya, sehingga memudahkan di dalam mengembangkan sistem manajamen mutu ISO/TS 16949 serta mengintegrasikannya dengan persyaratan ISO 9001:2000 yang telah dimiliki sehingga implementasinya dapat semakin efektif.

Negara paling banyak melakukan search tentang ISO 9000 di GOOGLE

2009-02-05T17:42:00.000-08:00

Setelah beberapa bulan mengamati perkembangan informasi tentang ISO 9000 di Google selama tahun 2008 kami menemukan Informasi yang sedikit aneh. Menurut Google negara yang paling banyak melakukan search dengan keyword yang berkaitan dengan ISO 9000 adalah Columbia diikuti berturut Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, Ecuador, Bolivia, Panama, Venezuela dan Dominican Republic. Coba buka datanya di http://www.google.com/insights/search/#q=iso%209000&date=today%2012-m&cmpt=date Ada apa di Columbia? Seberapa besar perkembangan dunia industri di Columbia? Mengapa Negara-negara di kawasan Amerika Selatan ini berlomba mencari system manajemen mutu yang berbasis ISO 9000? Tuntuan Customer atau memang industri di negara-negara tersebut mempunyai tujuan untuk mengembangkan dunia industri?

Adakah rekan-rekan pembaca mengetahuinya? Ada yang tertarik untuk menjadi Konsultan ISO 9000 di negara-negara tersebut?

How to Reap Real Benefit from a Layered Process Audit

2009-01-30T19:53:00.000-08:00

Not sure if you are getting the maximum benefit from your LPAs? It’s time to leave the minimal compliance mindset behind, and instead, understand and apply what LPAs can do for your company’s overall performance.

Since General Motors Corp. (GM) initially introduced layered process audits (LPAs) to suppliers in 2002, hundreds of companies rushed to implement the system. Chrysler made LPAs a supplier requirement in 2004, and GM suppliers implementing GM’s Quality Systems Basic Training are also required to implement LPAs. Furthermore, to reduce the variation in interpretations, the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) published CQI-8—Layered Process Audits Guideline in December 2005.

However, while about one-third of North American automotive suppliers have some form of LPA in place (perhaps a bit higher among the Tier One group), some experts say that many suppliers rushed to implement the LPA strategy simply to satisfy a new customer requirement—not to examine and fully utilize the benefits of the strategy itself.

A layered process audit is an ongoing chain of simple verification checks that ensure a defined process is followed correctly. It is a powerful management tool that can improve safety, quality and cost savings by amplifying problem solving systems and making continuous improvement almost routine. Through observation, evaluation and conversations on the manufacturing floor, these checks ensure key work steps are performed properly. LPA interactions are also an excellent way for managers to show respect for frontline workers.

“To meet the new requirements, suppliers quickly created audit checksheets and questions, but never thought about what process elements and what audit questions would actually reduce risk, prevent problems, and reduce costs,” notes Murray Sittsamer, president of The Luminous Group LLC. “I would guess only about half of the companies currently doing LPAs are doing them in a way that is truly helpful to their own business performance.”

Sittsamer says OEMs see LPAs as one of the most powerful strategies to take a good supplier and make them better; or take a great supplier and keep their quality metrics from declining. “By assuring that standardized procedures are in place, an organization can move from minimally complying to an organization where quality and conformance to product and process requirements is the number-one priority,” he says.

Benefits of LPAs
Here are some of the many benefits suppliers have realized from implementing LPAs:

Protecting operators from injury.
Eliminating the shipping of nonconforming products.
Saving money because it’s less costly to have fewer injuries and manufacture products correctly the first time.
Focusing on process inputs that help achieve first-time quality.
Ensuring that processes run correctly because you are able to personally verify them.
Helping top management become more familiar with shop-floor activities and building a relationship between management and shop floor personnel.

“LPAs are not the typical audit of the product,” Sittsamer explains. “Instead, they are an audit of the process. In a process audit, you check to see that the operator is following the defined process. LPAs ensure that the critical process parameters, such as machine settings, temperatures, flow rates and gages, were set correctly. If the defined parameters were set correctly, the process will make good parts.”

The industry can learn more about LPAs through AIAG’s one-day Layered Process Audit Implementation Workshop. This “Train-the-Trainer” course is for individuals who will be leading their site’s implementation of Layer Process Audits to fulfill recent OEM requirements. AIAG also offers a Layered Process Audit Executive Overview for company owners, presidents, plant managers and their leadership teams. It’s designed to layout the LPA strategy, including the benefits, approach, overview of what’s required, leadership’s role, and how to monitor LPA effectiveness.

To register for these and other AIAG training, visit www.aiag.org or contact AIAG Customer Service at (248) 358-3003.

Auto Industry Needs Error Proofing Guideline—Can You Help?

2009-01-23T19:45:00.000-08:00

AIAG is seeking industry volunteers to create a much-needed Guide to Effective Error Proofing.

Ineffective error proofing in the automotive industry results in poor quality, loss of revenue due to repeat issues, low customer retention, and additional non-value added activities that reduce quality.

A current AIAG committee is working on the deliverable, Guide to Effective Error Proofing. Chaired by Dana Corporation’s David Kneisler, suggested topics for the document include:

Proactive error proofing through product and process design and continuous improvement activities.
Reactive error proofing for problem elimination.
Effective detection for errors that cannot be eliminated.
Communication of best practices and prior experience to eliminate repeat issues.
Full integration of error proofing approaches with existing quality tools and procedures (APQP, FMEAs, Control Plans, etc.).
Proactive error elimination and a zero PPM culture throughout the industry.
A measurement system for error proofing.
Appropriate monitoring and controls for installed error proofing.
Guidance for industry error-proofing audits.

AIAG recognizes the opportunity to reduce warranty claims and field problems, lessen the number of recurrences to eliminate negative trends, cut back on the number of problems at the OEMs, lower the cost of quality, and shorten the time needed for each error-proofing step. A Guide to Effective Error Proofing could help AIAG’s members and the industry at large achieve this worthy goal.

For information on the activities of this committee and how you can get involved, please contact AIAG’s Karen Whitmore.

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2009-01-23T19:18:00.000-08:00

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Implementasi Lean Manufacturing (2/2)

2009-01-20T19:20:00.000-08:00

Sebagai overview saja, berikut ini gambaran global system manufacturing disain.

Sistem manufacturing ini didisain secara integrated, terdiri dari 6 modul utama dan 1 modul juklak secara umum. Modul tersebut meliputi disain manufakturing, maintenance systems, organisasi area kerja, lingkungan dan keterlibatan karyawan, elemen quality, pergerakan material, dan petunjuk umum. Sistem audit yang dilakukan untuk mengontrol implementasi dilakukan dengan interval waktu tertentu. Proses audit hampir mirip dengan audit proses, dan cukup berbeda dengan audit quality system.

Kontrol terhadap performance dilihat dari pencapaian target yang bisa ditrace pada catatan metrik. Catatan, audit adalah kontrol terhadap implementasi sistem. Diluar itu, perlu didevelop strategic planning untuk membuat seluruh aktivitas tersebut terimplementasi secara keseluruhan. Strategic planning dilakukan secara top down force dan melakukan breakdown sekecil mungkin. Untuk melakukan budaya perbaikan, maka perlu dibentuk pula policy dari organisasi (company) agar membuat sistem bottom up dengan mekanisme yang terkontrol sehingga tidak melenceng dari strategic planning dan goal tersebut.

Definitely, keberhasilan dalam mencapai Lean Manufacturing tersebut sangat tergantung dari leadership, knowledge dan konsistensi control terhadap performance. Secara umum, apa yang disampaikan di atas adalah main body dari Lean Mfg. Sistem ini didisain terintegrasi sehingga setiap item yang tidak terkait langsung dengan mfg tetap dimasukkan karena sebagai factor pendukung untuk membentuk lean enterprise. Sistem ini terdiri dari 7 bagian yakni:

Flow Manufacturing System Design
Employe Environtment and Involvement
Workplace Organization
Operational Avalaibility
Material Movement
Quality
Implementation Guide

Ketujuh item di atas tidak bisa dipisah satu sama lain, interdependent element. Pembagian tersebut adalah untuk memudahkan pelaksanaan. Sebagai contoh pada disain proses manufacturing harus sudah memperhitungkan semua aspek non teknis engineering seperti efisiensi budget, ergonomis, training, visual kontrol, dan lain sebagainya. Berikut ini overview dari masing-masing item.

Flow Manufacturing System Design

Sesuai namanya, sistem ini didisain untuk membentuk disain manufacturing dengan flow base. Konsepnya ada di process flow. Perhitungan dimulai dari permintaan jumlah barang dari customer. Disain cycle time diperoleh dengan menentukan kecepatan produksi yang lebih cepat dari kecepatan konsumsi customer. Besarnya kecepatan ini tergantung dari perkiraan permintaan selama setahun, fluktuasi, policy dan kemampuan tools dan equipment dan terakhir adalah budget. Hasil dari disain ini antara lain proses flow, lay out, manufacturing sequence, disain pull system, disain pergerakan material, ergonomis, inventory, jumlah resources, skedul proyek, jumlah kebutuhan tools dan equipment, pemilihan mesin, metode kerja, value stream, dan perhitungan finansial. Secara umum, disaini inilah yang dianggap sebagai core dari manufacturing system.

Employee Environment & Involvement

Sistem ini berkaitan dengan seluruh human resources. Sub-sub elemennya antara lain adalah Belief & Value yang berkaitan dengan visi dan misi perusahaan, Multiple Skill, Suggestion System, Natural Workgroup (sejenis QCC), Training, Health & Safety, Standard Manufacturing Leadership dan lain-lain. BV berkaitan dengan konsep moral, training & multiple skill berkaitan dengan kompetensi, NWG atau QCC dan SS berkaitan dengan keterlibatan karyawan terhadap kebijakan perusahaan dan improvement, H&S saya pikir no issue, dan SML berkaitan dengan kontrol terhadap resource performance serta pelaksanaan target dan kebijakan perusahaan.

Workplace Organization

Yakni organisasi area kerja, lebih terkait kepada pembentukan sikap dan moral dan kontrol terhadap proses produksi yang kondusif. Organisasi ini lebih dikenal dalam bentuk 5S, tetapi di kami istilahnya terjemahan dalam bahasa Inggris. Sub element lainnya adalah andon system, addressing system, organisasi area kerja di office, dan sistem komunikasi perusahaan.

Operational Availability

Item ini berkaitan dengan planned maintenance systems, yakni control terhadap peralatan, quick response, change over dan performance machine secara keseluruhan. Selain itu juga didevelop sistem dimana keterlibatan karyawan produksi dalam melakukan maintenance peralatan.

Material Movement

Lebih detail mengenai sistem pull, levelling schedule, build to plan, production planning, warehouse, pergerakan material, sistem supply material ke area produksi, plan for every part, visual control untuk mengatur storage, common lot theory untuk meminimasi part built up di antara proses produksi/operasi. Item ini termasuk yang mengambil porsi sistem cukup besar selain disain manufacturing.

Implementation Guide

Implementation Guide ini lebih banyak berisi tentang petunjuk pelaksanaan untuk mendevelop strategic planning. Site plan dijadikan sebagai master pelaksanaan yang didasarkan kepada objektif perusahaan. Seluruh strategic planning bisa didevelop berdasarkan perkembangan bisnis, policy dan target-target spesifik perusahaan. Value stream management & audit digunakan sebagai alat untuk melakukan proses kontrol. Selain itu, ditentukan scientific methodlogy untuk melakukan innovation & continuous improvement. Dalam contoh actual adalah penggunaan Suggestion System untuk improvement perorangan, Natural Workgroup yang dibekali dengan 8 Step 7 Tools untuk improvement kelompok, dan 6 Sigma sebagai alat improvement dan innovation. Secara strategis, value stream dibagi ke beberapa bagian sesuai dengan jenis project/business, dan ketiga hal di atas berada dibawah payung value stream untuk mencapai lean manufacturing. Value stream & audit dikontrol secara periodik oleh manajemen. Sejatinya, informasi di atas menggambarkan overview saja. Sebagai tambahan, untuk proses auditnya tidak seperti quality sistem audit, tetapi menggunakan merit system sehingga grade sebagai tolok ukur. Besarnya target grade ditentukan oleh company. Misalnya target grade 3.5. (Oleh Mohammad Syarwani untuk IPOMS-APICS)

Supply Chain Management

2009-01-08T18:30:00.000-08:00

Third-party solution providers can help within emerging markets.

It’s hard not to pick up a newspaper or industry magazine or surf the internet without reading that manufacturing industries are relocating their operations to other countries. During the past couple of years, it’s been equally difficult to avoid articles concerning serious quality issues present in consumer and industrial products produced in emerging economies. Even as product lines move to China, India, and Russia, domestic companies are losing significant numbers of experienced employees throughout their organizations due to early retirement or reassignment. Diminished and often lost in this regard is the tribal knowledge of operators who know the pulse of the manufacturing process. This triple whammy of outsourcing, loss of tribal knowledge, and decrease in product quality has emphasized the need for third-party suppliers of supply chain solutions.

Even without the prospect of moving a product line, buyers continue to look offshore for lower-cost suppliers, both for export back to the home market as well as to serve the needs of the growing, emerging markets. However, the launch and start-up of essentially new and unfamiliar product lines in these foreign lands may produce quality levels below expectation. Significant transit time across the ocean eats away any buffer in the production timeline, so cost savings can easily be lost when expedited shipments are required. Quality Management Systems (QMS) don’t mitigate the problem. QMS standards such as ISO 9001 and ISO/TS 16949 for the automotive industry still require product validation and some level of supplier development, regardless of the country of origin of the purchased products.

To address these complexities, it is crucial to have resources on the ground in the developing market. When suppliers are located halfway around the world in a culture that is unlike our own, quality professionals need to be creative in the way that they develop and support the supply base. Manpower reductions and other cost- reduction strategies, as well as increasing travel costs, have organizations leaning toward outsourcing some or all of their supplier-development activities to independent third parties familiar with quality management systems, tools, and techniques.

Why a third party?

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Implementasi Lean Manufacturing (1/2)

2009-01-07T19:08:00.000-08:00

Lean Manufacturing tidak saja berkisar dari sisi manufacturing process, tetapi lebih terintegrasi hingga ke departemen non manufacturing. Namun demikian penekanan utama ada pada flow process.

Untuk menentukan apakah anda membutuhkan sebuah metodologi praktis, konsepnya 5 Step. Dasarnya semua berasal dari customer. Jika sudut pandangnya adalah manufacturing, maka urutan proses yang dilakukan adalah sebagai berikut (kira-kira gambaran dari penerapan 5 step).

Customer Requirement (ini yang diset sebagai value, defined by customer)

Pada step ini tidak berarti bahwa segala sesuatu harus diberikan customer, tetapi organisasi anda berhak untuk menetapkan kriteria lebih spesifik. Sebagai contoh, customer cukup mengatakan saya butuh anda merakit mobil sesuai gambar yang saya berikan, produksi dengan rate 200 pcs/week, ex-work (barang keluar dari gudang sudah milik customer). maka Value dalam hal ini adalah Takt time anda 200 pcs/week, atau silakan konversikan ke detik, ex-work, proses produksi, rate konsumsi material, pemilihan supplier (jika tidak ditentukan oleh customer), dll. Sedangkan diluar hal tersebut adalah non value added yang harus dibuang, seperti pergerakan material, rate consumption over specification, scrap, etc.

Manufacturing System Design (MSD)

Jika dibutuhkan, maka dilakukan disain produk,atau disain proses. Dan penentuan utama dari disain proses inilah yang paling banyak menentukan seperti apa yang harus dilakukan di floor. Kaitan dengan disain proses sangat luas. Yang paling dipengaruhi adalah pemilihan mesin, sistem produksi, jumlah resources, lay out, sistem inspeksi dan project schedule. Tahap ini sangat banyak hal teknis yang rasanya perlu bahasan tersendiri.

Value Stream

Dalam tahap disain, sebenarnya initial value stream mapping sudah disusun. Namun demikian, value streamnya masih bersifat global dan belum sampai tahap detail. Jika disain prosesnya cukup matang, maka sebenarnya waste sudah teridentifikasi di proses manufacturing, dan ini akan sangat membantu pembentukan di value stream. Informasi lain yang berkaitan dengan value stream yang biasanya dating belakangan adalah lead time material, MoQ, Std Pack, material movement (termasuk juga seperti repackaging, dlsb) dan lain-lain, berkaitan dengan material serta shipment lead time dan shipment mode. Ada tiga value stream yang minimal, yakni ideal value stream, current value stream dan future value stream. Ideal, silakan disusun secara ideal dengan pertimbangan system produksi, quality systems, dan aturan terkait serta best practiced. Current menggambarkan keadaan faktual saat itu, dan future menggambarkan apa yang akan anda capai dalam satu periode tertentu.

Continuous Improvement Production

Levelling Schedule atau sistem sebangsanya karena harus sudah didefine dalam tahap MSD. Dalam hal ini, tergantung kebijakan perusahaan, karena adakalanya tidak menerapkan sistem pull karena pertimbangan finansial dan PC&L. Misal, harga barang yang sangat mahal, barang hazardous, total production cycle yang sangat pendek, produksi yang tidak continuous, material handling yagn cukup sulit, dll sehingga akhirnya menggunakan sistem push. Continuous improvement di sini lebih ditekankan kepada proses review secara periodik. Tools yang digunakan adalah tools yang sama seperti saat mendisain, yakni manufacturin systems design dan value stream. Hanya saja, pengalaman menunjukkan bahwa seringkali ada anggapan bahwa kembali kepada standar adalah improvement, ini praktis salah. Improvement dilakukan jika anda sudah mengikuti prosedur yang ada.

Bersambung ….

ISO launches development of future standard on energy management

2009-01-02T18:14:00.000-08:00

The first meeting of ISO’s new project committee PC 242 which is to develop an International Standard on energy management was held on 8-10 September in Washington, DC, USA.

The future ISO 50001 will establish a framework for industrial plants, commercial facilities or entire organizations to manage energy. Targetting broad applicability across national economic sectors, the standard could influence up to 60 % of the world’s energy use.

The meeting was attended by delegates from the ISO national member bodies of 25 countries from all regions of the world, as well as representation from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), which has liaison status with PC 242. All the participating countries have existing activities on energy management and have a strong interest in also developing a harmonized solution at the international level.

As part of the proceedings, delegates described their various initiatives in detail. For example, a presentation was given by UNIDO on the preparatory work the organization has carried out to support the ISO process by researching energy management needs in developing countries.

This gave PC 242 an insight into the different policies and situations around the world which need to be taken into account in the development of a globally relevant International Standard for energy management.

Excellent progress was made in the technical discussions and a first working draft has already been created. A major point of discussion is the need to ensure compatibility with the existing suite of ISO management system standards. The committee therefore took the key decision to base the draft on the common elements found in all of ISO’s management system standards.

This will ensure maximum compatibility with key standards such as ISO 9001 for quality management and ISO 14001 for environmental management.

The project committee is fully committed to an ambitious schedule and aims to have ISO 50001 ready for publication by the end of 2010.

ISO Secretary-General Alan Bryden commented: "This first meeting of PC 242 marks the launch of a new global approach to systematically address energy performance in organizations – pragmatically addressing energy efficiency and related climate change impacts. It is fully in line with and supportive of the global mobilization on these major challenges, and with the IEA-ISO position paper on the contribution of International Standards."

Breakthrough Improvements in Biscuit Manufacturing

2008-12-10T18:32:00.000-08:00

Making quality a way of life

Recognizing that quality is a key growth driver in an increasingly competitive market, the new management of a large, well-established FMCG food company in India decided to explore total quality management (TQM) as the means of establishing a quality culture. The case presented here is the first successful application of TQM in the company’s manufacturing processes. The dramatic improvements achieved went a long way in demonstrating that TQM works.
The problemDamaged stock returned from the market (0.76 percent of sales) was a chronic problem defying resolution, and senior management threw this challenge to TQM. A quick analysis indicated that 67 percent of the returns were due to broken biscuits.
Reducing breakage in a specific product line was therefore chosen as the first project. A cross-functional factory team was selected for the effort. The manufacturing process has the following key steps:

Mix ingredients as per the recipe
Preprocess into a pliable mass
Sheet mass to the specified thickness
Mold-cut the sheet into individual units
Cook in a six-stage oven
Pack stacks of products into flexible retail packs
Packing into shippers for dispatch

A two-day quality training program was conducted with the team to introduce them to TQM, why and how it works, and most important, to open their minds to explore change. The project was then begun using TQM’s seven-step problem-solving method, as defined below:

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Creating a Sustainable Innovation Process

2008-12-05T18:18:00.000-08:00

by Peter Sherman

Today’s hyper-competitive business environment is creating a need for even more new products, new services, and new processes. Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) offers a generalized and effective approach for designing new products and services from the ground up. One of the more popular DFSS methodologies is define, measure, analyze, design, verify (DMADV).
Unfortunately, DFSS doesn’t address how new ideas are generated in the first place nor does it offer a framework for creating a sustainable innovation process. The innovation or ideation process starts much earlier in the typical DMADV process. See figure 1.

The focus of this article is two-fold: first, discuss innovation and its importance to an organization. Second, present a suggested approach for developing and implementing a sustainable innovation process in your own company.
Invention vs. innovation New ideas, more ideas, better ideas. Ideas are the life-blood of most companies, whether it means generating incremental revenues from new products or services, preserving revenues and customers, or reducing costs through new processes to more effectively manage the business. According to a Conference Board 2007 global survey of CEOs, executives’ No. 1 concern is “sustained and steady top-line growth.” Without a constant flow of ideas, a business is condemned to obsolescence.
Historically, invention was the traditional approach for creating new products and services as personified by the lone genius operating in his lab. Thomas Edison or the Wright Brothers come to mind. Gradually, invention in the United States was performed through large corporate research and development (R&D) efforts by companies such as AT&T (Bell Labs), Xerox Corp., RCA, Eastman Kodak Co., and IBM. These internal research labs spawned significant technological breakthroughs and patents such as the transistor, semiconductor, laser, etc.
Innovation is different from invention in that it goes beyond the solitary genius or traditional corporate R&D. Innovation involves leveraging your company’s combined internal core expertise (market research, marketing, engineering, R&D, manufacturing, or distribution) to develop new products or services. It also means working closely with external groups including customers, vendors/suppliers, academia, and even competitors. As A.G. Lafley, CEO of Proctor & Gamble describes, “Innovation is a team sport that uses the expertise of people from a lot of different fields. It lets you make unlikely connections that enable you to solve wickedly hard problems. It ties that idea to a better customer experience, and results in increased sales and profits.”
Creating a sustainable innovation process is even more challenging. Examples of systematic innovators include P&G (household and beauty care products), IDEO (product design), Google (web-based tools and applications) and IdeaLab! (serial entrepreneur of new business models). The innovation process within these companies share the following characteristics:
A strong commitment from executive leadership with clear direction
An inclusive approach that brings together all key stakeholders to encourage idea generation and knowledge-sharing.
A streamlined yet disciplined process to screen, evaluate, prioritize, and recommend ideas to management for approval.
A framework for quickly testing the feasibility of concepts
Leadership commitmentMost initiatives that fail aren’t due to the inherent nature of the initiative or program itself. They die because of the lack of senior management commitment. Even the best of new programs or initiatives require the backing of a senior executive(s). Leadership must be very clear about the mission, how it supports the strategic agenda, and articulate specific goals and objectives, such as, “Within five years we expect to generate 50 percent of our revenues through new products/services introduced within a 36-month period.”
Leadership commitment also means aligning resources, capabilities, and needs. Before ideation, business plans must identify opportunistic markets for the company. Determine priorities for new product/service development in specific arenas according to resources, capabilities and needs. Establish a case as to why this market, why this time. In this way, target constituencies can be identified for exploration. A shotgun approach to the marketplace will dilute resources and result in ideas that may target niche groups or segments that don’t leverage brand equities adequately.
An inclusive approachThe successful innovation process brings together stakeholders from all disciplines (internal and external) to participate in identifying/defining opportunities, refining concepts, product refinement (as it matures in the test stages), and defining success. These stakeholders include internal groups such as marketing, sales, engineering, operations, and R&D, as well as external organizations including customers, vendors/suppliers, academia, and even competitors. It should be recognized that success isn’t defined by numbers alone or that one number will establish the threshold for moving forward.
Internal competition—particularly in larger organizations—hampers communication because it encourages groups to hoard information. To bring together all stakeholders and encourage information-sharing, a level of trust must be created. Consider allowing the sponsoring innovation group to be completely independent (i.e., politically neutral) of the corporate structure to avoid such political landmines. To this end, a dedicated innovation screening team represented by key stakeholders in the organization coordinates and manages the day-to-day activities of the innovation process. This ensures that the process becomes operational. The screening team works closely with the innovators to facilitate the ideation process and foster communication with other innovators.
The next challenge is to determine the means of how information is going to be shared with your stakeholders. The web offers an extremely effective, secure, reliable, and low-cost means to communicate and store information, distribute tools and templates, and show status in real time.
Finally, a proper risk-reward model is critical to encouraging participation in such an innovation program. This might include combinations of formal recognition, gifts, or even monetary awards. Some companies offer equity stakes in the company (in the form of stock options or restricted stock) as an incentive for employees to come up with meaningful ideas. In 2005, Ericsson embarked on an innovation initiative to stimulate employees to think differently about how new telecommunications devices and services could be developed. Ericsson initiated an “Idea Competition” to its 2,000 U.S. employees The screening criteria was very basic and simple, including New Customer Potential, Retain Existing Customers, and Revenue Growth. Within four weeks, 856 ideas were submitted. These were initially screened down to the top 20, which were further screened to the three winning ideas. The winners were awarded cash prizes ranging from $3,000 to $10,000.
The innovation screening processAny innovation process must strike a delicate balance between being simple enough as to encourage idea generation and yet follow a disciplined approach. The key steps in the innovation screening process include: Analyzing, evaluating, prioritizing, recommending, and approving of ideas. A diagram is a useful technique to understand all the key suppliers, inputs, processes, outputs, and customers (SIPOC) of the innovation process. See table 1.

Figure 2 represents a suggested generic innovation process. It’s designed with specific gates including idea generation, screening, recommendation, approval, and testing.

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Statistical Process Control (SPC)

2008-11-30T18:27:00.000-08:00

Statistical process control (SPC) is a method for achieving quality control in manufacturing processes. It is a set of methods using statistical tools such as mean, variance and others, to detect whether the process observed is under control.

History

Statistical process control was pioneered by Walter A. Shewhart and taken up by W. Edwards Deming with significant effect by the Americans during the World War II to improve aircraft production. Deming was also instrumental in introducing SPC techniques into Japanese industry after that war.

General

Classical Quality Control was achieved by observing important properties of the finished product and accept/reject the finished product. As opposed to this statistical process control uses statistical tools to observe the performance of the production line to predict significant deviations that may result in reject products.

The underlying assumption in the SPC method is that any production process will produce products whose properties vary slightly from their designed values, even when the production line is running normally, and these variances can be analyzed statistically to control the process.

For example, a breakfast cereal packaging line may be designed to fill each cereal box with 500 grams of product, but some boxes will have slightly more than 500 grams, and some will have slightly less, producing a distribution of net weights. If the production process itself changes (for example, the machines doing the manufacture begin to wear) this distribution can shift or spread out. For example, as its cams and pulleys wear out, the cereal filling machine may start putting more cereal into each box than it was designed to. If this change is allowed to continue unchecked, product may be produced that fall outside the tolerances of the manufacturer or consumer, causing product to be rejected.

By using statistical tools, the operator of the production line can discover that a significant change has been made to the production line, by wear and tear or other means, and correct the problem - or even stop production - before producing product outside specifications. An example of such a statistical tool would be the Shewhart control chart, and the operator in the aforementioned example plotting the net weight in the Shewhart chart.

QA , QC & Quality tools

Quality Assurance , Quality Control & Quality tools

Just In Time (JIT) is an inventory strategy implemented to improve the return on investment of a business by reducing in-process inventory and its associated costs. The process is driven by a series of signals, or Kanban that tell production processes to make the next part. Kanban are usually simple visual signals, such as the presence or absence of a part on a shelf. JIT can lead to dramatic improvements in a manufacturing organization's return on investment, quality, and efficiency when implemented correctly.

New stock is ordered when stock reaches the re-order level. This saves warehouse space and costs. However, one drawback of the JIT system is that the re-order level is determined by historical demand. If demand rises above the historical average planning duration demand, the firm could deplete inventory and cause customer service issues. To meet a 95% service rate a firm must carry about 2 standard deviations of demand in safety stock. Forecasted shifts in demand should be planned for around the Kanban until trends can be established to reset the appropriate Kanban level. In recent years manufacturers have touted a trailing 13 week average is a better predictor than most forecastors could provide.For More info referhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_In_Time

Kaizen ( Japanese for "change for the better" or "improvement") is an approach to productivity improvement originating in applications of the work of American experts such as Frederick Winslow Taylor, Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Walter Shewhart,and of the War Department's Training Within Industry program by post-WWII Japanese manufacturers. The development of Kaizen went hand-in-hand with that of Quality control circles, but it was not limited to quality assurance.

The goals of kaizen include the elimination of waste (defined as "activities that add cost but do not add value"), just-in-time delivery, production load leveling of amount and types, standardized work, paced moving lines, right-sized equipment, and others. A closer definition of the Japanese usage of Kaizen is "to take it apart and put back together in a better way." What is taken apart is usually a process, system, product, or service.

Kaizen is a daily activity whose purpose goes beyond improvement. It is also a process that when done correctly humanizes the workplace, eliminates hard work (both mental and physical), teaches people how to do rapid experiments using the scientific method, and how to learn to see and eliminate waste in business processes.

"Kaizen" is the correct usage. "Kaizen event" or "kaizen blitz" are incorrect usage. Kaizen is often misunderstood and applied incorrectly, resulting in bad outcomes including, for example, layoffs. This is called "kaiaku" - literally, "change for the worse." Layoffs are not the intent of kaizen. Instead, kaizen must be practiced in tandem with the "Respect for People" principle. Without "Respect for People," there can be no continuous improvement. Instead, the usual result is one-time gains that quickly fade.

Importantly, kaizen must operate with three principles in place: process and results (not results-only); systemic thinking (i.e. big picture, not solely the narrow view); and non judgmental, non-blaming (because blaming is wasteful).

Everyone participates in kaizen; people of all levels in an organization, CEO on down, as well as external stakeholders if needed. The format for kaizen can be individual, suggestion system, small group, or large group.

The only way to truly understand the intent, meaning, and power of kaizen is through direct participation - many, many times. Lean accounting and just in time producton are related concepts.

Process Models

A decades-long goal has been to find repeatable, predictable processes or methodologies (software engineering) that improve productivity and quality. Some try to systematize or formalize the seemingly unruly task of writing software. Others apply project management techniques to writing software. Without project management, software projects can easily be delivered late or over budget. With large numbers of software projects not meeting their expectations in terms of functionality, cost, or delivery schedule, effective project management is proving difficult.

Waterfall processes

The best-known and oldest process is the waterfall model, where developers (roughly) follow these steps in order. They state requirements, analyze them, design a solution approach, architect a software framework for that solution, develop code, test (perhaps unit tests then system tests), deploy, and maintain. After each step is finished, the process proceeds to the next step, just as builders don't revise the foundation of a house after the framing has been erected. If iteration is not included in the planning, the process has no provision for correcting errors in early steps (for example, in the requirements), so the entire (expensive) engineering process may be executed to the end, resulting in unusable or unneeded software features.In old style (CMM) processes, architecture and design preceded coding, usually by separate people in a separate process step.

Iterative processes

Iterative development prescribes the construction of initially small but ever larger portions of a software project to help all those involved to uncover important issues early before problems or faulty assumptions can lead to disaster. Iterative processes are preferred by commercial developers because it allows a potential of reaching the design goals of a customer who does not know how to define what he wants.

Agile software development processes are built on the foundation of iterative development. To that foundation they add a lighter, more people-centric viewpoint than traditional approaches. Agile processes use feedback, rather than planning, as their primary control mechanism. The feedback is driven by regular tests and releases of the evolving software.Agile processes seem to be more efficient than older methodologies, using less programmer time to produce more functional, higher quality software, but have the drawback from a business perspective that they do not provide long-term planning capability. In essence, they say that they will provide the most bang for the buck, but won't say exactly when that bang will be.

Extreme Programming, XP, is the best-known agile process. In XP, the phases are carried out in extremely small (or "continuous") steps compared to the older, "batch" processes. The (intentionally incomplete) first pass through the steps might take a day or a week, rather than the months or years of each complete step in the Waterfall model. First, one writes automated tests, to provide concrete goals for development. Next is coding (by a pair of programmers), which is complete when all the tests pass, and the programmers can't think of any more tests that are needed. Design and architecture emerge out of refactoring, and come after coding. Design is done by the same people who do the coding. (Only the last feature - merging design and code - is common to all the other agile processes.) The incomplete but functional system is deployed or demonstrated for (some subset of) the users (at least one of which is on the development team). At this point, the practitioners start again on writing tests for the next most important part of the system.

While Iterative development approaches have their advantages, software architects are still faced with the challenge of creating a reliable foundation upon which to develop. Such a foundation often requires a fair amount of upfront analysis and prototyping to build a development model. The development model often relies upon specific design patterns and entity relationship diagrams (ERD). Without this upfront foundation, Iterative development can create long term challenges that are significant in terms of cost and quality.

Critics of iterative development approaches point out that these processes place what may be an unreasonable expectation upon the recipient of the software: that they must possess the skills and experience of a seasoned software developer. The approach can also be very expensive, akin to... "If you don't know what kind of house you want, let me build you one and see if you like it. If you don't, we'll tear it all down and start over." A large pile of building-materials, which are now scrap, can be the final result of such a lack of up-front discipline.

Formal methods

Formal methods are mathematical approaches to solving software (and hardware) problems at the requirements, specification and design levels. Examples of formal methods include the B-Method, Petri nets, RAISE and VDM. Various formal specification notations are available, such as the Z notation. More generally, automata theory can be used to build up and validate application behaviour by designing a system of finite state machines.

Finite state machine (FSM) based methodologies allow executable software specification and by-passing of conventional coding (see virtual finite state machine or event driven finite state machine).

Recent approaches try to merge the specification and code into one activity to ensure the specification and code match. While Agile methods propagate specification of all requirements in code, methods such as VFSM develop executable specifications, trying to avoid the coding activity entirely

Quality control tools

The following are the mostwidely used Quality control tools

Run Chart : Run charts are used to analyze processes according to time or order. Run charts are useful in discovering patterns that occur over time. Detailed tutorial

Pareto Chart : Pareto charts are extremely useful because they can be used to identify those factors that have the greatest cumulative effect on the system, and thus screen out the less significant factors in an analysis. Ideally, this allows the user to focus attention on a few important factors in a process.

Flow Chart : Flowcharts are pictorial representations of a process. By breaking the process down into its constituent steps, flowcharts can be useful in identifying where errors are likely to be found in the system. Detailed tutorial

Cause and Effect Diagram :This diagram, also called an Ishikawa diagram (or fish bone diagram), is used to associate multiple possible causes with a single effect. Thus, given a particular effect, the diagram is constructed to identify and organize possible causes for it. Detailed tutorial

Histogram : Histograms provide a simple, graphical view of accumulated data, including its dispersionand central tendancy. In addition to the ease with which they can beconstructed, histograms provide the easiest way to evaluate the distribution ofdata. Detailed tutorialScatter diagrams : Scatter diagramsare graphical tools that attempt to depict the influence that one variable has on another. A common diagram of this type usually displays points representing the observed value of one variable corresponding to the value of another variable. Detailed tutorial

Control Chart : The control chart is the fundamental tool of statistical process control, as it indicates the range of variability that is built into a system (known as common cause variation). Thus, it helps determine whether or not a process is operating consistently or if a special cause has occurred to change the process mean or variance.

source : http://q-environment.blogspot.com/

Can ISO Standards Be Bad for Your Company?

2008-11-25T18:41:00.000-08:00

“What am I missing?” I'm often asked. “My compliance to this standard isn’t improving my systems, and it isn’t increasing my customers' satisfaction.” The answer to this question varies by company and types of implementation, but the solution is straightforward.

Companies that aren't getting the desired results of standards registration are generally one or more of the following:

Companies that overdocumented the management system
Lean companies with ambitious schedules and deadlines
Businesses with strong management styles that have become disillusioned with customer-required standards and programs. Personnel charged with implementing documented systems don't have any more respect for them than top management demonstrates.
Inadequate training and unnecessary restrictions through overdocumentation can set any quality system up for failure. Additionally, employees must understand the benefits and restrictions of the system. International standards are written to allow the flexibility needed for companies to be compliant without giving up efficiency and effectiveness.

Once this ineffective, formal ISO 9001 or ISO/TS 16949 documented system is in place, what's on paper hinders getting products shipped or services completed. It becomes almost impossible to deliver products or perform services efficiently, and to complete all of the paperwork and other system requirements. In the end, management begins telling staff, “Just get the job done, get the paperwork later.” This may be appropriate in the short term. If all the extra paperwork and requirements are completed, the company may not be around to solve the overdocumentation issue.

Overdocumentation can be a result of many different factors, including:

Incomplete understanding of the requirements and intent of the standards
The wrong approach to corrective actions
Not fully addressing what's important to the business or management when creating the documentation
Consultants focusing on delivering more paperwork for your implementation dollar

If the quality system is set up based on any combination of these situations, personnel begin to ignore it and companies begin taking short cuts.

Eventually, employees become uncertain of what's required, what's a guideline and what can generally be ignored. This can be done while maintaining good quality products and services, but, again, only for the short term. Employees, over time, don't know what paperwork or system to attend to and which to overlook. Nothing written can be considered important. The overriding culture requires pleasing management, shipping product and ignoring paperwork and other system requirements. Such companies end up worse off because they've lost the informal systems and culture that made them successful in the first place. The implicit culture familiar to employees holds that no paperwork is valuable and the “boss” doesn't do what he says through the formal, documented system.

One telltale sign of this condition is a scramble to prepare for registrar audits by completing requirements and paperwork. The company may do well on an audit, but it’s like winning money you can’t spend. Fabricated paperwork after the fact adds no value for the company or the customer.

The natural progression from this scenario is that these documented systems begin to fail. The usual issues, like employee turnover and new product launches, add to the bottleneck. Negative trends show up in your metrics, quality concerns increase and profits diminish. Safety and environmental issues may begin to surface. Your documented system has become an exceptional-looking “show car” that has nothing inside. It looks good, but it won't take you anywhere. You spend all of your time fixing problems instead of improving your processes. Your company culture doesn’t support the system or the changes. This adds to the idea that ISO 9001 or ISO/TS 16949 isn’t working when, in fact, it was never properly implemented.

In truth, if a good system is put in place and if employees are trained and motivated to use it properly, compliance to the standards should benefit the entire company. A correctly documented and implemented system will take no additional time and will be able to drive improvement and keep a company competitive.

Following are some solutions to keep your documented system working properly:

Get rid of all unnecessary paperwork. It's better to start with less and fine-tune as you go.
Train everyone—management and employees—on a simpler system.
Motivate employees to follow the system and to recommend changes.
Set goals and keep everyone in the company accountable.
Continuously improve systems.

I would rather see a company reduce more paperwork than it should. At least this way its employees would always have time to complete their tasks, with no contradictions from management. We can always add as we find the need. This isn't an extraordinary amount of work, but it requires a true commitment by the management team.

This can be done effectively in several ways, including:

Implementing lean or kaizen events
Reducing documentation girth during an upgrade to a new revision of the standard (e.g. QS 9000 to ISO/TS 16949)
Constantly asking why. A very effective trainer, lean guru and planner once told me that most adults should take a lesson from a 6-year-old child and start asking

So next time you pick up a procedure or complete a form, take a second glance at it and ask why it's there. If you don't know the answer, find someone who should. If you can't find anyone who knows and the document isn't legal in nature, try removing it from your system and determine the effects.

When formal documented systems are implemented to meet ISO 9001 or ISO/TS 16949 in the proper way, they add value to a business and make great sense to all concerned.

About the author

Brandon Kerkstra has extensive experience in product testing, inspection and quality in the military, nuclear, aerospace and automotive industries. He is the president of Management Solutions Group Inc., a training and consulting firm based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Source : www.qualitydigest.com

Fast Guide to Overall Equipment Effectivity (OEE)

2008-11-20T22:43:00.002-08:00

Fast Track OEE for Production People on the Move

Does your production have bottlenecks that you’re not aware of?
Could one machine be dragging down the entire facility?
Does your equipment have excess capacity that could be easily and inexpensively tapped?

There’s been along parade of manufacturing buzzwords and systems over the years. As you are all too aware, many have been little more than a waste of time, energy and money for you and your already overworked staff.

But Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is different. OEE truly reduces complex production problems into simple, intuitive presentation of information. It helps you systematically improve your process with easy-to-obtain measurements.

We invite you spend a few minutes reading The Fast Guide to OEE. It’s a step by step tutorial that will help you instantly make more with whatr you’ve got.

What is OEE?

OEE is a “best practices” way to monitor and improve the effectiveness of your manufacturing processes (i.e. machines, manufacturing cells, assembly lines).

OEE is simple and practical. It takes the most common and important sources of manufacturing productivity loss, places them into three primary categories and distills them into metrics that provide an excellent gauge for measuring where you aer – and how you can improve!

OEE is frequently used as a key metric in TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) and Lean Manufacturing programs and gives you a consistent way to measure the effectiveness of efficiency.

Download the ebook for complete read …..

Root Cause Analysis

2008-11-15T18:43:00.000-08:00

Root cause analysis (RCA) is a class of problem solving methods aimed at identifying the root causes of problems or events. The practice of RCA is predicated on the belief that problems are best solved by attempting to correct or eliminate root causes, as opposed to merely addressing the immediately obvious symptoms. By directing corrective measures at root causes, it is hoped that the likelihood of problem recurrence will be minimized. However, it is recognized that complete prevention of recurrence by a single intervention is not always possible. Thus, RCA is often considered to be an iterative process, and is frequently viewed as a tool of continuous improvement.

Root cause analysis is not a single, sharply defined methodology; there are many different tools, processes, and philosophies of RCA in existence. However, most of these can be classed into five, very-broadly defined "schools" that are named here by their basic fields of origin: safety-based, production-based, process-based, failure-based, and systems-based.

Safety-based RCA descends from the fields of accident analysis and occupational safety and health.
Production-based RCA has its origins in the field of quality control for industrial manufacturing.
Process-based RCA is basically a follow-on to production-based RCA, but with a scope that has been expanded to include business processes.
Failure-based RCA is rooted in the practice of failure analysis as employed in engineering and maintenance.
Systems-based RCA has emerged as an amalgamation of the preceding schools, along with ideas taken from fields such as change management, risk management, and systems analysis.

Despite the seeming disparity in purpose and definition among the various schools of root cause analysis, there are some general principles that could be considered as universal. Similarly, it is possible to define a general process for performing RCA.

General principles of root cause analysis

Aiming corrective measures at root causes is more effective than merely treating the symptoms of a problem.
To be effective, RCA must be performed systematically, and conclusions must be backed up by evidence.
There is usually more than one root cause for any given problem.

General process for performing and documenting an RCA-based Corrective Action

Notice that RCA (in steps 3, 4 and 5) forms the most critical part of successful corrective action, because it directs the corrective action at the root of the problem.

Define the problem.
Gather data/evidence.
Identify issues that contributed to the problem.
Find root causes.
Develop solution recommendations.
Implement the recommendations.
Observe the recommended solutions to ensure effectiveness.

[edit] Root cause analysis techniques

5 Whys
Failure mode and effects analysis
Pareto analysis
Fault tree analysis
Bayesian inference
Ishikawa diagram, also known as the fishbone diagram or cause and effect diagram
Barrier analysis - a technique often used in particularly in process industries. It is based on tracing energy flows, with a focus on barriers to those flows, to identify how and why the barriers did not prevent the energy flows from causing harm.
Change analysis - an investigation technique often used for problems or accidents. It is based on comparing a situation that does not exhibit the problem to one that does, in order to identify the changes or differences that might explain why the problem occurred.
Causal factor tree analysis - a technique based on displaying causal factors in a tree-structure such that cause-effect dependencies are clearly identified.

Basic Elements of Root Cause

Materials

- Defective Raw Material

- Wrong type for job

- Lack of raw material

Machine/Equipment

- Incorrect tool selection

- Poor maintenance or design

- Poor equipment or tool placement

- Defective Equipment or tool

Environment

- Orderly workplace

- job design or layout of work

- Surfaces poorly maintained

- Physical demands of the task

- Forces of Nature

Management

- No or poor management involvement

- Inattention to task

- Task hazards not guarded properly

- Other (horseplay, inattention....)

- Stress demands

Methods

- No or poor procedures

- Practices are not the same as written procedures

- Poor communication

Management System

- Training or education lacking

- Poor employee involvement

- Poor recognition of hazard

- Previously identified hazards were not eliminated

Here Some Scheme matrix of RCA Download it HERE

AIAG Plays Lead Role in International Standard ISO 12100 Safety of Machinery

2008-11-10T22:33:00.000-08:00

ISO, ANSI, CEN, ASTM, SAE, CSA, AS/NZS … the list of national and international standards seems never ending and always changing. As a result, standards and regulations continue to create significant challenges for AIAG members in identifying, understanding and applying the requirements of the many standards.

AIAG members move equipment and machinery between national and international regions to optimize production. Layers of different standards and regulations can lead to significant wastes in terms of delay related to equipment transit and obtaining approvals from necessary authorities. In addition, retrofitting machinery guarding to meet differing safety requirements of specific regions often adds costs and little value. Harmonizing requirements in the standards facilitates quick and easy movement of equipment, and helps minimize wastes of many kinds.

“He who controls the industry standard controls commerce” is a truism of our time. AIAG members currently working through the nest of environmental and chemical requirements coming from the EU are all too familiar with this reality. Similarly, the control of industry safety standards is proving to be critically important with machinery safety.

ISO 12100 Safety of Machinery

ISO 12100 is a fundamental safety standard being developed that will apply to a very broad array of machinery. There are many machines that have specific industry consensus standards that pertain to the particular equipment (e.g., power presses, robots, packaging machinery). There are many more machines for which no industry specific standard exists. In this case, the ISO “A level” standard ISO 12100 Safety of Machinery applies. Complying with the requirements of ISO 12100 is a critical first step in achieving mobility of equipment and consistent operations.

Prior to the drafting of ISO 12100, there were three distinct and separate standards that addressed what is essentially one process: ISO 12100-1 (hazard identification), ISO 12100-2 (risk reduction), and ISO 14121-1 (risk assessment). Cutting up the process into three separate standards was originally necessary for political reasons in the early 1990s. Without this construction there were concerns that no standard would ever have been approved. The unfortunate consequence was that this tripartite construction introduced several technical difficulties or inconsistencies and led to inefficiencies and wasted time, effort and motions for users of the standards, and for the standards writing committees. Even something as simple as flipping between documents is an unnecessary waste. For standards writers, this tripartite construction resulted in additional meetings and unnecessary discussions about barriers from the separation of content. For example, the tripartite format led to ridiculous artificial limitations such as the inability to discuss risk reduction in the ISO 14121 risk assessment standard – even when everyone agreed the only reason to do risk assessment is to reduce risk. As technology changes evolved, each standard attempted to address and incorporate changes in due course. But the revisions were not in lock step thus substantial problems arose when changes made to one standard were inconsistent with the other two.

ISO 12100-1 and -2 were reissued as revised documents in 2003. Subsequent to that time, an effort to revise ISO 14121 (risk assessment) commenced in 2004. The U.S. had great hopes at the time to update the document with current knowledge gained in applying the risk assessment process. What eventually became clear to the U.S. delegation was that the ability to modify the primary standard was very limited, largely due to the artificial constraints of the tripartite construction.

U.S. Innovation

To address this problem, the U.S. began to examine how to combine the content of the three distinct standards into a single document. The idea was raised at a meeting of the ISO Technical Committee 199, Working Group 5 (WG5 – Risk Assessment) in late 2004. The majority of TC 199 Member country participants balked at the idea of combining the requirements of risk assessment and risk reduction. “It will not happen” was the predominant sentiment.

One reason for resistance stemmed from the structure of the ISO standards. The ISO A-B-C level organizational structure follows.

Type-A standards (basis standards) give basic concepts, principles for design, and general aspects that can be applied to machinery;
Type-B standards (generic safety standards) deal with one or more safety aspects or one or more types of safeguards that can be used across a wide range of machinery:
Type-C standards (machinery safety standards) deal with detailed safety requirements for a particular machine or group of machines.

In the case of ISO 12100-1 and -2, there are approximately 800 Type B- and C- standards that reference the content of these two A level standards.

However, the idea made sense to members of the U.S. delegation and another opportunity soon presented itself. The primary standard for the packaging machinery industry, ANSI/PMMI B155.1, was due for a revision. A draft revision of the standard was prepared that integrated the risk assessment process with the technical requirements for packaging machinery. The B155.1 standard committee diligently worked on the document resulting in the April 2006 publication of ANSI/PMMI B155.1:2006.

As the packaging machinery standard was nearing completion, a second opportunity arose in the B11 machine tool industry. The B11 community needed to retool its standards development process and decided to leverage the progress made in B155.1. A new B11 standard writing subcommittee was formed and modified and further improved the ground-breaking work of B155.1. In August of 2008, the ANSI B11 standard addressing the general safety requirements and risk assessment/risk reduction for machines, machine tools, and machine tool systems was formally approved as a new American National Standard.

Both of the ANSI standards B155.1 and B11 are currently being used by machinery suppliers and users in the U.S. to build safer and productive machinery. Feedback from these communities is that the standards are working very well. Re-engaging the International Stage Based on the successes of B155.1 and ANSI B11, the U.S. re-introduced the concept of a single, integrated safety of machinery standard in early 2007. A proposal was made to pursue a two step approach. The first step was to be an editorial combination of the existing three standards. Combining existing and approved text without technical changes into a single standard leaves limited room for controversy or objection. The second step, which may or may not occur any time soon, would be the technical revision of the merged document.

By early 2008 the same WG5 participants that had initially opposed a merged document had changed their position to espousing that not only could the combination be done, but “it should be done.” At the 2008 October meeting in Germany, WG5 resolved remaining comments on the document and approved its promotion to the Draft International Standard (DIS) stage of development. The DIS version will be circulated to member countries for one last round of technical review and comment. A meeting is scheduled for September 2009 to resolve any comments after which the document will work through the remaining editorial approvals. Since no technical changes are being considered in the current activity, the standard is expected to advance through to approval rapidly. Publication is currently expected to occur in early 2010.
A key element to the success of this effort is the two step process. The first step, the editorial combination of the three standards, was accomplished at the Committee Draft level at the recent meeting in Waldkirch, Germany on 6-8 October 2008.

Through the efforts of the U.S. participants, the current draft standard combines these three distinct standards into one new ISO 12100 – which provides one place, one flow, one base for addressing what is essentially a single process – identifying hazards, assessing risks and reducing them. The intent is that this standard will help bring the world closer to harmonizing where suppliers and users can build to one standard and then ship machinery anywhere.

Although there seems to be technical limitations with the current draft of ISO 12100, there is little appetite to initiate the technical revision any time soon. There is recognition that some time is necessary for readers to fully understand the changes made in step one, and that the stability of this key A-level standard would benefit from a delay before initiating the technical revision. If, or when, a technical revision does commence, the U.S. will strongly advocate for consideration of key elements from the ANSI B11 and ANSI/PMMI B155.1 standards. AIAG’s Role Leadership at the ISO level requires: a) the ability to participate in an on-going effort, b) the practical knowledge of what is and is not needed, and c) participation beyond one or two meetings. Long term participation is critical to building international support for the participants and the ideas they promote.

AIAG’s Safety, Health & Environmental Steering Committee and the other U.S. participants recognized very early the critical importance of the ISO 12100-1, -2 and 14121 standards to the long range future of AIAG members. Through AIAG support and participation, the U.S has been able to significantly influence the content of the standard. AIAG supported leadership has been very active and influential in the work of the WG5.

Unfortunately, the U.S. has had a fairly long history of arriving late to the standards development table and expecting the ISO world to change in response to its concerns. This approach has not been very successful. In many instances the “late to the party” approach has led to minimal influence on the resulting requirements and considerable alienation of other participants who have made the effort to participate at the formative stages of standards development. As many AIAG members have come to realize, the real opportunity to influence an industry standard occurs in the very early, formative stages.

“The best defense is a good offense.” In the ISO arena, the offense occurs in introducing safety methods and practices that have proven effective in the U.S. Similarly, the defense aspect is to keep unworkable ideas and requirements out of international standards that are proposed by others less familiar with the practical aspects of risk assessment or which would cause problems in U.S. applications.

With AIAG foresight and support, the U.S. has been able to significantly influence the content of the ISO 12100 standard and register success for U.S. manufacturers. The U.S. has provided a significant dose of practical knowledge in crafting ISO 12100. Since the U.S. has already combined the elements of these three individual standards not once but twice, the more time that passes before a technical revision only lends credibility and a strong strategic advantage in a very important area to U.S manufacturing interests.

Based on benchmark practices learned through participation in the work of WG5, the U.S. is in a lead position of applying the principles of the risk assessment process. AIAG members and other U.S. manufacturers are seeing significant productivity improvements and competitive advantages from a simple, harmonized approach to machinery safety. The improved ISO 12100 standard is expected to help AIAG members in achieving mobility of equipment, consistent operations and to complete in the global marketplace.

Readers interested in current best practices should obtain copies of B155.1 and B11. Meeting the requirements of these standards will also meet the requirements of the forthcoming ISO 12100, and help improve machinery safety and productivity.

Bruce Main, PE CSP participates on the AIAG EHS Steering Committee and is the Convenor (Lead) of the ISO TC199 Working Group 5. Contact him with questions at Bruce@designsafe.com (source www.aiag.org)

ISO 22000 standard for safe food supply chains

2008-11-05T19:31:00.000-08:00

September 2005 is ISO’s publication target for ISO 22000 1), the new standard for food safety management systems, which is intended to ensure that there are no weak links in food supply chains.

ISO has circulated the final draft of the standard to the national standard bodies that make up its membership for a two-month voting period, ending on 5 July 2005.

ISO 22000, Food safety management systems – Requirements for any organization in the food chain, can be applied to organizations ranging from feed producers, primary producers through food manufacturers, transport and storage operators and subcontractors
to retail and food service outlets – together with interrelated organizations such as producers of equipment, packaging material, cleaning agents, additives and ingredients.

“As food safety hazards can be introduced at any stage of the food chain, adequate control throughout the food chain is essential,” commented Jacob Færgemand, convenor of the ISO working group that is developing ISO 22000.

Food chain

“Thus, food safety is a joint responsibility that is principally assured through the ombined efforts of all the parties participating in the food chain.”

ISO 22000 specifies the requirements for a food safety management system in the food chain where an organization needs to demonstrate its ability to control food safety hazards in order to provide consistently safe end products that meet both the requirements
agreed with the customer and those of applicable food safety regulations.

Dorte Jespersen, secretary of the ISO 22000 working group, explained the background to the standard : “Organizations that produce, manufacture, handle or supply food recognize that customers increasingly want them to demonstrate and provide adequate evidence of their ability to identify and control food safety hazards and the many conditions impacting food safety”.

“The growing number of national standards for food safety management has led to confusion. Consequently, there is a need to harmonize the national standards at an international level.”

The standard can be applied on its own, or in combination with other management system standards such as ISO 9001:2000, with or without independent (third party) certification of conformity.

Complemented

The publication of ISO 22000 will be complemented by an ISO Technical Specification (ISO/TS 22004) giving guidance on the implementation of the standard, with a particular emphasis on small and medium-sized enterprises. In the following months, another Technical Specification ((ISO/TS 22003) will be published explaining certification requirements applicable when third-party certification is used.

These documents are being developed by working group WG 8, Food safety management systems, of ISO technical committee ISO/TC 34, Food products. Experts from 23 countries are participating and organizations with liaison status include the following: Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the European Union (CIAA), Codex Alimentarius Commission, International Hotel and Restaurant Association, CIES/ Global Food Safety Initiative, and World Food Safety Organization (WFSO). (by Roger Frost)

Publication of new edition of ISO 9001 expected in October-November 2008

2008-10-28T21:43:00.000-07:00

A new edition of ISO 9001, the world's most widely used quality management system standard, is being submitted for voting as a Final Draft International Standard and, subject to formal approval by the ISO membership, the publication of the revised version should be in the October-November 2008 time frame.

The proposed ISO 9001:2008 does not introduce additional requirements compared to the last edition in 2000 and does not change the intent of ISO 9001:2000.

The draft International Standard was approved at the 19-23 May 2008 meeting of ISO technical committee ISO/TC 176, Quality management and quality assurance, held in Novi Sad, Serbia, and hosted by the Serbian national standards body, ISS. ISO 9001 will be circulated in July as a Final Draft International Standard, on which ISO's national member bodies as a whole may vote.

ISO 9001 provides the requirements for a quality management system (QMS), which is a framework for an organization to control its processes in order to achieve objectives including customer satisfaction, regulatory compliance and continual improvement. Organizations that implement the standard can choose to have their QMS independently certified as conforming to the requirements of ISO 9001, as means of increasing the confidence of their business partners, customers and regulators in their products and services.

Although certification is not compulsory, it is estimated that over one million ISO 9001 certificates have been issued to organizations in private and public sectors, in manufacturing and services, and in 170 countries. The new edition, however, will not require any specific reassessment for certification.

ISO 9001:2008 will be the fourth edition of the standard which was first published in 1987. The third edition, published in 2000, represented a thorough revision, including new requirements and a sharpened customer focus, reflecting developments in quality management and experience gained since the publication of the initial version.

ISO's rules for the development of standards require their periodic review to decide if they need revising, maintaining or withdrawing. Compared to the 2000 revision, ISO 9001:2008 represents fine-tuning, rather than a thorough overhaul. It introduces clarifications to the requirements existing in ISO 9001:2000, based on user experience over the last eight years, and changes that are intended to improve further compatibility with the ISO 14001:2004 standard for environmental management systems.

To accompany the publication of the new versions, ISO is now working on implementation guidance for ISO 9001:2008, a reference table comparing and contrasting ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 9001:2008 and answers to Frequently Asked Questions. ISO is collaborating with the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) concerning accredited certification.

ISO 9001 is one of 17 standards (plus a corrigendum) developed by ISO/TC 176 on quality management supporting tools. These include ISO 9004:2000, Quality management systems – Guidelines for performance improvements, which is undergoing revision and expected to be published as a new edition in 2009.

ISO focuses at Dubai event on standardization needs of "Buildings for a sustainable future"

2008-10-26T22:41:00.000-07:00

An open session on "Buildings for a sustainable future" was the highlight of yesterday’s programme at the 31st ISO General Assembly taking place on 14-16 October in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The event addressed the expectations on international standardization in this area and highlighted a number of exemplary achievements around the world. It was also intended to foster new avenues for the development of ISO standards supporting the incorporation of new technologies and best practice for the construction and operation of the sustainable buildings of the future.

The UAE Minister of Environment and Water, Dr. Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahad, officially opened the event, of which he was also the patron.

ISO's 31st General Assembly is hosted by ISO's local member, the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA) and the country's Minister of Environment and Water, Dr. Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahad, is Chair of the Higher Organizing Committee for the event, including the open session, which was moderated by Mr. Rashad Mohammed Bukhash, Director of the Architecture Heritage Department of Dubai Municipality.

The background to the open session is that with sustainability becoming a global imperative, the trade in products and services more open and the design and construction of buildings more subject to international competition, International Standards must provide the means by which sustainable technologies and best practices can be disseminated and implemented efficiently and effectively on a global scale.

International Standards, supporting energy efficiency, environmental performance, environmental impact of building products or greenhouse gas emission accounting and verification, provide a firm foundation for designers, architects, engineers, owners, facility managers and government authorities to develop and operate sustainable buildings.

The keynote address was delivered by President of the International Union of Architects, Mrs. Louise Cox.

The keynote address to the ISO event was delivered by Mrs. Louise Cox, President of the International Union of Architects, who spoke on the theme of, "Sustainable building for the global village: the vision and standards needs for architects and designers."

Mrs. Cox pointed out that, over the past decade, communities in cities and towns around the world recognise that large-scale efficiency and energy conservation programmes and the introduction of revolutionary renewable energy generation technologies tangibly help to pursue beautiful visions of the future.

"Renewable energy technology and other carbon emissions reduction programmes are being introduced most visibly, and at an increasing, ultimately global scale," she said. "International Standards in architecture, building and engineering, alternative energies and landscape design need to develop with this change and should not always be prescriptive. They could be performance-based, to encourage innovation and adjustment to suit differing cultures and applications.

"For the developed and developing world, heritage and sustainability issues, equity, social responsibility, cultural identity, resistance to natural disasters, all need to be considered in integrated sustainable design and in standards."

Mrs. Cox's speech was followed by two panel sessions:

Standards for energy efficient and environmental friendly buildings
Standards for security, safety and accessibility in buildings

Mr. Khaled Awad, Director of Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company's Property Development Unit, spoke on the local Masdar project to establish a base for the world's first carbon-neutral, waste-free city.

Presentations on aspects of these themes were made by eminent experts from France, the European Commission, the USA's White House Task Force on Energy, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

The theme of World Standards Day, 14 October 2008, is "Intelligent and sustainable buildings" and the October 2008 issue of ISO Focus magazine includes numerous articles on the contributions of ISO standards to various aspects of this topic.

ISO standards contribute to meeting World Food Day 2008 challenge

2008-10-20T22:39:00.000-07:00

World Food Day 2008 addresses what has been categorized by many as one of the greatest challenges of our time: climate change and its impact on food security. ISO has here an important contribution to make, not only through its numerous International Standards on food related issues, but also through standards that help quantify and mitigate climate change.

World Food Day is organized by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Commission (FAO) each year on the 16 October. The event provides an opportunity to highlight the plight of the 862 million undernourished people in the world – a number that FAO warns could be pushed even higher if the threat of global warming and the consequences of a rising demand for bioenergy are not addressed.

ISO’s portfolio of environmental standards provides practical tools for addressing these issues. Among these are ISO 14001 which has become the global benchmark for environmental management systems, ISO 14064 which gives the requirements for quantifying, monitoring and reporting on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and ISO 14065 which specifies accreditation requirements for organizations validating or verifying GHG emission assertions.

ISO Secretary-General Alan Bryden comments: “Climate change mitigation, energy efficiency, water supply and food security are inter-related challenges – all of which ISO addresses through its existing standards and current developments.”

Issues directly related to food are mainly addressed through ISO/TC 34, the ISO technical committee developing standards on food products. The committee currently offers 725 standards and related documents.

Its work covers practically all agricultural products for human consumption and animal feeding stuffs ranging from fruits to cereals to poultry and coffee to name a few. About 65 % of its standards concern testing and analytical methods, and are directly targeted at agricultural producers, food manufacturers, laboratories, merchants/retailers, consumers and regulators.

Among ISO developments of recent years relating to the concerns of World Food Day are the following:

a new subcommittee of ISO/TC 34 to develop standards on the topical subject of biomarkers
the ISO 22000 series of standards for safe food supply chains, already implemented by an estimated 4 000 organizations in 93 countries at the end of 2007
standards for the detection of genetically modified organisms and derived products in food
guidelines for quantitative ingredient declarations to help consumers know what they are eating
waste reduction by biotechnological methods and enhancement of the conversion of waste materials for the manufacturing of new added value products.

Fifty-four countries participate in the work of ISO/TC 34 and another 53 have observer status. Representatives from these countries are coming together on 16-17 October, 2008 for a plenary meeting in Paris, France. The event will provide an opportunity to discuss current projects and propose new areas of work, as well as to address organizational and administrative issues.

Other ISO committees develop standards that can contribute to the goals of World Food Day, including ISO/TC 234, a recently formed committee developing standards for sustainable fishing and aquaculture.

ISO has a strong partnership with many United Nations agencies concerned with food issues. They participate as liaison organizations in a number of ISO committees: among them are the World Health Organization (WHO), FAO, and the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC).

Another noteworthy example of partnership is that between ISO and the International Dairy Federation (IDF) who work together to prepare and publish analytical methods. Following recent concerns with melamine found in milk products, IDF and ISO are jointly investigating how to tackle this issue through the standards they develop.

A Practical Approach to ISO/IEC 17025

2008-09-25T20:08:00.000-07:00

Henry Troemner LLC has been in the precision measurements and calibration business since 1838. The company’s work is done under the strict guidelines prescribed by ISO/IEC 17025--“General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories,” with a view toward providing its customers with the lowest possible measurement uncertainties. Before undergoing the ISO/IEC 17025 registration process, however, Troemner first sought to become an ISO 9001-registered company.

“We were one of the first organizations in the Philadelphia area to achieve ISO 9001 registration,” says Tracey Hill, Troemner’s quality coordinator and lead internal auditor. “Once the critical step of ISO 9001 registration was successful, the company’s focus shifted to the rigorous requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation. The guidelines make an organization take a critical look at every aspect of performing a calibration.”

This resulted in a list of processes that required additional documentation, and procedures that needed to be written for the first time. In addition to the documentation, detailed testing data were required by the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) and United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) to provide evidence that the measurement assurance program had the proper controls in place.

From the first contact with a customer to the delivery of the customer’s device with a calibration certificate, every step of the process can have an affect on the quality of the calibration. The requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 provided Troemner with a framework to develop procedures to fully cover all the diverse aspects of the calibration process and the generation of calibration certificates.

However, the development of a documented ISO/IEC 17025 quality system is not enough in the metrology industry. The key to having a successful quality system is to become accredited. In the field of metrology, a third party such as NVLAP, administered through the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), ensures that technically competent individuals are performing the calibrations correctly.

“Accreditation translates to a cost savings in minimizing or even eliminating the need for on-site visits by the customer,” says Hill. “If a calibration service provider is not accredited, customers are taking a significant risk with their own quality control program.”

Once the decision was made to seek ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, Troemner’s registered ISO 9001 quality management system (QMS) was reviewed, expanded, and enhanced to meet the specific requirements for calibration laboratories. The goal was for Troemner to become ISO/IEC 17025-accredited by both NVLAP and UKAS for mass calibrations. Accreditation is a formal recognition by an authoritative entity that an organization or individual is competent to carry out specific tasks. Troemner pursued both of these accreditations to obtain the domestic and international recognition that NVLAP and UKAS carry. By having this double accreditation, Troemner’s mass calibration services could be provided all over the world.

Troemner’s customer base was keenly interested in their accreditation status. “Recognition from an external body is really what our customers want,” says Hill. “We are giving them the peace of mind that they are dealing with somebody who has a system in place and has had that system checked, double-checked, and triple-checked by external people.”

Of the 25 clauses within ISO/IEC 17025 that Troemner met for accreditation, five speak directly to customers: subclause 5.6--“Measurement traceability”; subclause 5.3--“Accommodation and environmental conditions”; subclause 4.4--“Review of requests, tenders, and contracts”; subclause 4.14--“Internal audits”; and subclause 5.10--“Reporting the results.”

Measurement traceability

Troemner maintains a strong chain of traceability back to nationally recognized standards. To uphold this traceability chain, the company performs intralaboratory comparisons of its own standards and interlaboratory comparisons with other accredited facilities. These comparisons demonstrate stability in its standards and laboratory practices.

“For example,” explains Hill, “if you need to meet requirements by the FDA, they will tell you that the device that you use in your lab needs to be controlled, and one of the main means of ‘control’ is knowing the exact value and uncertainty that the device provides.”

The process starts with the nationally recognized standard device that has a value and uncertainty. That device is measured and compared to Troemner’s reference standard, resulting in a value and uncertainty for the Troemner device. Next, in Troemner’s calibration laboratory is the measurement of the customer’s device that provides a value and uncertainty that is reported on the customer’s calibration certificate. This series of measurements completes the traceability chain from national standard to every customer device.

“When we return a product back to a customer with our calibration certificate,” says Hill, “they have confidence that the data on the certificate has been generated in accordance with our quality assurance program and the ISO/IEC 17025 requirements, which in turn provide evidence of traceability back to nationally recognized standards.”

Accommodation and environmental conditions

Troemner’s mass laboratories were specifically constructed to create an environment of stable temperature and humidity, low vibration, and low air velocity, which is suitable for making precise mass measurements. The quality control metrology manager is responsible for monitoring and maintaining the environmental conditions for all calibration services.

To meet the prescribed range of environmental conditions set out by NVLAP, Troemner moved to a new facility in 1999 and specifically constructed a calibration lab as a building-within-a-building design.

“The area that our mass laboratory actually sits on is a separate foundation that is insulated with sand, and has various materials underneath, so it will not be affected by vibrations” says Hill. “The area has its own HVAC system to very precisely control the temperatures and the humidity of the environment. We have alarms built into our software programs so that if something happens we know about it and stop calibrations and fix it. This ensures the accuracy of the measurements and calibrations.”

Review of requests, tenders, and contracts

It is critical for the laboratory to fully understand the customer’s requirements for the calibration. Contract review by Troemner’s inside sales department is where this important activity takes place. The contract review process helps to establish a consistent format for the review and understanding of what customers need.

“This is our first interface with the customer,” states Hill. “We ask ‘What do you need?’ and try to gain an understanding by having a very detailed and complete contract review process. ISO/IEC 17025 plays into this because the standard makes you think of all the different areas that can affect your customer. It give you the tools you need to develop a procedure so that there’s consistency among your staff. It’s important that everybody is asking the customer the same set of questions and going through the same process to ensure that we receive consistent information.”

Internal audits

Under the direction of the lead internal auditor, every section of ISO/IEC 17025 is audited once a calendar year. Any problems that arise during internal audits are treated as corrective actions to ensure that the issue is documented, addressed, resolved, and verified. Internal audits are an important opportunity to identify areas for improvement and to implement preventive action.

Auditing is a regular activity that keeps a company’s finger on the pulse of what’s going on. “We have the chance to check up on ourselves to be sure we’re in excellent shape for when an external assessor or one of our customers comes in and wants to audit us,” says Hill. “It’s an opportunity to learn and to make sure that training has been effective. It lets you sleep at night. You know you’re doing everything you can to make sure that the system is operating at its highest level. You know you’re identifying problems and nipping them in the bud.”

Reporting the results

In the field of calibration, the certificate is everything. It is imperative to present the data properly. ISO/IEC 17025 includes very specific requirements as to what shall be included on the certificate. NVLAP and UKAS look closely at the certificates to make sure that all the requirements are met.

“Say you have a pipette and you want it calibrated,” says Hill. “You ship it to Troemner, and we perform a series of measurements and perform the calculations. You get your pipette back with a calibration certificate. Then, if you need to have data entered into your programs based on the work that you do with that pipette, the numbers that we give you are hugely important. For example, FDA requirements are critical for our customers. So, those certificates mean that the pipette we calibrated has been assigned a value and an uncertainty, and the quality of the measurement process is ensured.”

Since 1995, when Troemner’s Mass Calibration Laboratories received accreditation from both NVLAP (Lab Code 105013-0) and UKAS (a UKAS-Accredited Calibration Laboratory No. 0516), Troemner has continued to meet and maintain the most rigorous testing and manufacturing standards for all of its calibration services.

Troemner’s journey with ISO/IEC 17025 has been essential in maintaining the highest quality standards.

“Each one of the clauses within the standard plays a role in how we look at and pursue quality within our organization,” concludes Hill. “Our experience and success with ISO/IEC 17025 for mass services prompted us to expand our calibration labs so that we can now provide accredited calibration services for other measurement disciplines.”

Internal Auditing Tips

2008-09-14T00:46:00.000-07:00

On this page we will be adding tips to assist you in your auditing efforts. Feel free to contact us with your tips. We will not only post them, but we will make sure you get the credit.
As always...Good Auditing!

Free Tip #1:
Contact auditees at least four times about their scheduled audit. The first contact would come when the annual audit schedule is generated. The second should be about one month prior to the audit. This allows the auditee time to prepare for any additional resources necessary (They shouldn't need extra time to "get their areas squared away".). The third contact should be about a week before the audit. At this time, you can give the auditee a detailed schedule about exact times, and locations of audit activities. For example, you will be auditing receiving inspection at 10:45. Each of these contacts should be in writing (email is just as good). The day before the audit, place a quick phone call (or voicemail) to verify the audit.
Of course, you still need to have an opening meeting, and that is in addition to the above. The reason for the multiple contacts is simply, we tend to forget things due to our work load. Audits should never be a surprise, this ensures the auditee has every chance to prepare.

Free Tip #2:
When preparing the audit schedule take into account such things as:

Available resources
Audit Scope
Sample Size

The key is not to bite off more than your auditors can chew [Translation: Don't over-commit your resources]. Smaller, but more frequent audits may be better than comprehensive three-day audits. Inadequate resources may indicate lace of Executive Management commitment. You can get more information on the above from November's and December's newsletters.

Free Tip #3:

One of the hardest things to do is get a quick turn-around time on corrective actions. Auditors are frequently frustrated by lower and mid-management's foot dragging on responding to audit findings. One way to get faster action is to have executive management place effective corrective action turn-around time in management's performance appraisals. By tying in corrective actions to performance appraisals, bonuses, etc., you virtually force management into timely, effective corrective actions. This could also work with audits completed on time, etc. It also shows lower and mid-management that executive management is committed to the process.
Tip takes from December's issue

Free Tip #4:

If you company has email…try to set up a paperless audit system where the only thing you would need to "print out" and hand write would by your audit worksheet, which you take withy you to collect your evidence/samples. We have a paperless system here - we are able to email out notification forms and audit summaries without ever printing a sheet. It works EXCELLENTLY! We even File our paperless paperwork electronically for when our third -party auditors come to audit!Write your procedures in Flowchart style. This helps to make the workflows appear that much clearer for new and veteran auditors alike. By having all of our procedures in flowchart style, we have cut down on our audit time by half and increased audit accuracy tremendously!Jill Chavanne, Internal Audit Program Manager, Weiss-aug. Co

Free Tip #5:
Auditors are frequently frustrated by lower and mid-management's foot dragging on responding to audit findings. One way to improve the timeliness of audit finding responses is to issue reminder notifications. Our audit finding response due dates are normally two weeks from the issue date of the finding. I typically issue two "Reminder of Approaching due date" notifications, one at 50% of allotted response time and the other at 75%. This method can be modified to fit your particular system, i.e. issuing only one notice for lessor response time allotments. This documentation can be in the form of a manual memorandum/form or the more efficient e-mailed memorandum/form. Issuing reminder notifications demonstrates a monitored system and can also prove useful if elevation of the finding becomes necessary. David A. Wimer, BAE SYSTEMS

Free Tip #6:
"Be sure to follow-up on corrective actions from previous audits: don't only audit to see the corrective actions have been implemented. Make sure the corrective action corrected the problem that caused the corrective action in the first place."
Betsy Hsiao, Quest Analytical

Free Tip #7:
In order to have an effective Corrective Action, Nonconformities must have three attributes:
They must be Understandable: If the auditee does not understand the nonconformity, they will not know how to deal with it. They must be Actionable: If there is no action that can be taken, the Corrective Action cannot be achieved. They must be Unarguable (that is not a word, but it fits): If an auditee can argue ANY part of a nonconformity, they will argue rather than correct.

Free Tip #8:
Auditing is all about asking questions. As an auditor, you have to make sure you ask the right person, the right question. You also have to make sure YOU understand the question you are about to ask. If you don't understand the question, how can you expect to understand the answer. You must also ask questions in a manner that the auditee will understand them.

source http://www.internal-auditor.com/tips.htm

ISO and IAF announce schedule for implementation of accredited certification to ISO 9001:2008

2008-09-10T20:01:00.000-07:00

ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and the IAF (International Accreditation Forum) have agreed on an implementation plan to ensure a smooth transition of accredited certification to ISO 9001:2008, the latest version of the world's most widely used standard for quality management systems (QMS). The details of the plan are given in the joint communiqué by the two organizations which appears below.

Like all of ISO's more than 17 000 standards, ISO 9001 is periodically reviewed to ensure that it is maintained at the state of the art and a decision taken to confirm, withdraw or revise the document.

ISO 9001:2008, which is due to be published before the end of the year, will replace the year 2000 version of the standard which is implemented by both business and public sector organizations in 170 countries. Although certification is not a requirement of the standard, the QMS of about one million organizations have been audited and certified by independent certification bodies (also known in some countries as registration bodies) to ISO 9001:2000.

ISO 9001 certification is frequently used in both private and public sectors to increase confidence in the products and services provided by certified organizations, between partners in business-to-business relations, in the selection of suppliers in supply chains and in the right to tender for procurement contracts.

ISO is the developer and publisher of ISO 9001, but does not itself carry out auditing and certification. These services are performed independently of ISO by certification bodies. ISO does not control such bodies, but does develop voluntary International Standards to encourage good practice in their activities on a worldwide basis. For example, ISO/IEC 17021:2006 specifies the requirements for bodies providing auditing and certification of management systems.

Certification bodies that wish to provide further confidence in their services may apply to be "accredited" as competent by an IAF recognized national accreditation body. ISO/IEC 17011:2004 specifies the requirements for carrying out such accreditation. IAF is an international association whose membership includes the national accreditation bodies of 49 economies.

ISO technical committee ISO/TC 176, Quality management and quality assurance, which is responsible for the ISO 9000 family of standards, is preparing a number of support documents explaining what the differences are between ISO 9001:2008 and the year 2000 version, why and what they mean for users. Once approved, these documents will be posted on the ISO Web site – probably in October 2008.

Joint IAF-ISO communiqué

Implementation of accredited certification to ISO 9001:2008

ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and the IAF (International Accreditation Forum) have agreed an implementation plan to ensure a smooth migration of accredited certification to ISO 9001:2008, after consultation with international groupings representing quality system or auditor certification bodies, and industry users of ISO 9001 certification services.

ISO 9001:2008 does not contain any new requirements

They have recognized that ISO 9001:2008 introduces no new requirements. ISO 9001:2008 only introduces clarifications to the existing requirements of ISO 9001:2000 based on eight years of experience of implementing the standard world wide with about one million certificates issued in 170 countries to date. It also introduces changes intended to improve consistency with ISO14001:2004

The agreed implementation plan in relation to accredited certification is therefore the following:

Accredited certification to the ISO 9001:2008 shall not be granted until the publication of ISO 9001:2008 as an International Standard.

Certification of conformity to ISO 9001:2008 and/or national equivalents shall only be issued after official publication of ISO 9001:2008 (which should take place before the end of 2008) and after a routine surveillance or recertification audit against ISO 9001:2008.

Validity of certifications to ISO 9001:2000

One year after publication of ISO 9001:2008 all accredited certifications issued (new certifications or recertifications) shall be to ISO 9001:2008.

Twenty four months after publication by ISO of ISO 9001:2008, any existing certification issued to ISO 9001:2000 shall not be valid.

ISO 9001:2008 proposed changes

2008-09-04T00:31:00.000-07:00

The main changes being introduced into the revised standard are as follows:-

Clause 0.2 (Process approach)
Text added to emphasize the importance of processes being
capable of achieving desired outputs

Clause 1.1 (Scope)
Clarification that “product” also includes intermediate product
Explanation regarding statutory, regulatory and legal requirements

Clause 4.1 (General requirements)
Notes added to explain more about outsourcing
Types of control that may be applied to outsourced processes
Relationship to clause 7.4 (Purchasing)
Clarification that outsourced processes are still responsibility of the
organization and must be included in the quality management
system

Clause 4.2.1 (Documentation)
Clarification that QMS documentation also includes records
Documents required by the standard may be combined
ISO 9001 requirements may be covered by more than one
documented procedure

Clause 4.2.3 (Document control)
Clarification that only external documents relevant to the QMS need
to be controlled

Clause 4.2.4 (Records control)
Editorial changes only (better alignment with ISO 14001)

Clause 5.5.2 (Management rep)
Clarifies that this must be a member of the organization’s own
management

Clause 6.2.1 (Human resources)
Clarification that competence requirements are relevant for any
personnel who are involved in the operation of the quality
management system

Clause 6.3 (Infrastructure)
Includes information systems as example

Clause 6.4 (Work environment)
Clarifies that this includes conditions under which work is
performed and includes, for example physical, environmental and
other factors such as noise, temperature, humidity, lighting, or
weather

Clause 7.2.1 (Customer related processes)
Clarifies that post-delivery activities may include:
Actions under warranty provisions
Contractual obligations such as maintenance services
Supplementary services such as recycling or final disposal

Clause 7.3.1 (Design & development planning)
Clarifies that design and development review, verification and
validation have distinct purposes
These may be conducted and recorded separately or in any
combination as suitable for the product and the organization

Clause 7.3.3(Design & development outputs)
Clarifies that information needed for production and service
provision includes preservation of the product

Clause 7.5.4 (Customer property)
Explains that both intellectual property and personal data should be
considered as customer property

Clause 7.6 (Now retitled Control of Monitoring and Measuring
equipment)
Explanatory notes added regarding the use of computer software:
“Confirmation of the ability of computer software to satisfy the
intended application would typically include its verification and
configuration management to maintain its suitability for use.”

Clause 8.2.1 (Customer satisfaction)
Note added to explain that monitoring of customer perception may
include input from sources such as customer satisfaction surveys,
customer data on delivered product quality, user opinion surveys,
lost business analysis, compliments, and dealer reports

Clause 8.2.3 (Monitoring / Measurement of process)
Note added to clarify that when deciding on appropriate methods,
the organization should consider impact on the conformity to
product requirements and on the effectiveness of the quality
management system.

Download the detail here or here

Quantifying for Quality

2008-09-03T20:04:00.000-07:00

This is the first “Measurement Matters,” a column that will show how much measurement matters in achieving and maintaining quality, especially in manufacturing. I will cover topics such as types of measurements and measurement devices, how measurements are made, what can be done with the measurement data, what can influence measurements and the interpretation of measurement data. Some of the topics may be common knowledge to many of you, but I hope there will be something in every issue that will be useful to you, or at least that makes you think. Let’s start with a basic definition. Measuring is the act of quantifying something. That quantification is a measurement. Take this very simple example: You can tell that something is hot or cold—that's a qualitative assessment of temperature. Such an assessment isn't a measurement; determining the actual temperature of the item is measurement. Another example is the diameters of golf balls and basketballs. We can tell by looking at them that basketballs are bigger. That's a crude measurement with nothing more than our eyes. But until we use some kind of measuring tool, we don't know how much bigger the basketball is—we need to quantify it. Bigger and smaller, hotter and colder, and other such examples are qualitative measurements. Saying,“It is warmer today than yesterday” is a qualitative statement. “It's 4 degrees Fahrenheit warmer at noon today than it was at noon yesterday” is a quantitative statement.

The science of measurement is metrology. Many times you'll hear people use measurement and metrology interchangeably, but a metrology system provides measurements. Using a measuring device to collect measurement data is part of the science of metrology. A scientist of metrology is a metrologist.

Let’s go back to the simple hot/cold example.

Considering something to be hot or cold is a relative determination of the magnitude of the hotness or coldness of the item. When two items are at opposite extremes of temperature, it's obvious that one is hot and the other is cold. There can even be visual cues such as the orange of a hot ember, or visible ice crystals at the other extreme. However, when the difference in temperature gets very small, one item may be hotter or colder than the other, but you may not be able to discern the difference. They may feel equally cold or hot to the touch. This brings up the issue of resolution—your finger may not be sensitive enough to indicate that the temperatures aren't equal. It may take a sensitive thermometer to show that there's a slight difference in temperature.

This raises another measurement matter—how accurately do you need to know the difference in temperature? It depends on the application or requirement. As long as two items feel like they're at the same temperature, that may be good enough. At the other extreme, it may be necessary to know temperature differences to fractions of a degree, because of thermal expansion affecting the fit of two mating parts. Measurements are important in context. Although it's possible to measure to small fractions of a degree, it may not be necessary. On the other hand, lack of measurement resolution may force decisions that can have severe implications.

As you might expect, there's the important measurement matter of selecting the proper tool for the measurement. There are a number of considerations in the selection process including the range and resolution of the measurement that is required, where and when the measurement is to be made, how important the measurement is (which can influence how much money to spend on it, which can, in turn, affect which technologies to employ), and the degree of difficulty involved in using the tool properly. Determining what to do with the measurement data is another subject with multiple considerations.

As you can see, there are many factors to consider about measurement. In future columns we will discuss many of these factors individually. One example is measurement variability. When measurements are repeated and the results vary, did the part change between measurements? Did the measuring device drift? Did the measuring environment change? Did the operator of the measuring device change? And, most important, did the measurement vary enough to matter?

There are also calibration issues. Is absolute measurement always necessary? How often must I calibrate? What’s the difference between calibration and certification?

There are lots of measurement matters that you may think about every day, or may have never considered. Companies that provide a service or sell measuring machines think about these things, so you don’t have to. But understanding measurements can help you better understand your measurement data and make better business decisions with those data.

Until next time, remember, measurement matters.

source www.qualitydigest.com

The Cost of Poor Calibration and Quality

2008-08-28T00:55:00.000-07:00

As the skilled, baby-boomer workforce nears retirement, years of technical expertise is exiting as well. Factories are watching years of knowledge leave their organizations, and how to replace these skilled workers has manufacturers concerned.

In a 2008 survey of 100 senior manufacturing executives commissioned by Advanced Technology Services and conducted by Nielsen, 81 percent said they would be affected by the serious lack of skilled labor, costing an average $52 million each over the next five years. This figure reflects more than just the cost of recruiting, training, and retaining workers; it includes the high price of lost production as well.

One segment suffering the greatest effect from the skilled workforce retiring is in an area where the difference of one micron, one millionth of a meter, can mean the difference between growth and profitability and record loss.

As the skilled workforce retires, the lack of metrology awareness among young adults is alarming. Without infusing a new workforce behind the retiring baby boomers, the vulnerable state of calibration programs becomes somewhat of an epidemic. Desperate companies are resorting to hiring less-skilled technicians to fill the shoes in an area where precision down to one millionth of a meter is required, and where the slightest variation can have a rippling effect on not only in-the-factory issues such as production, scrap and waste, but consumer-facing issues from safety, customer satisfaction, and higher warranty costs.

Although the effects of poor or less stringent calibration procedures may be easy to list, the implications of such increases exponentially as it flows down the manufacturing chain ultimately affecting the quality of the final product, which in many cases, is where the manufacturer’s brand equity lies.

Product quality is the most critical success factor for manufacturers. Without it, there are no sales. The consequence of poor calibration has severe financial repercussions. In fact, according to the ATS commissioned survey, the average cost of poor quality calibration costs manufacturers $1,734,000 each year. When considering solely large companies with revenues of more than $1 billion, the cost balloons to an average of $4,000,000 annually.

So the questions become how does poor calibration affect your bottom line, and how do you avoid the pitfalls of poor quality?

Consider the cost and time required to repair a calibration error. Another ATS/Nielsen Research survey of 100 manufacturing executives in the automotive industry conducted in 2006, reports an average cost from stopped production at $22,000 per minute.

The implications of incorrect or incomplete calibration on a function that compromises a measurement essential to a part or component’s performance can be great. Imagine that an out-of-tolerance component is used to build the final product, thus rendering the product inoperable or unusable. Consequences might range from beyond productivity hiccups to necessitate an expensive global recall campaign because of threats to public safety.

If gauge availability is hindering an operation’s ability to release product for shipping, costs skyrocket. Deadlines are missed, shortages occur, satisfaction ratings suffer, and sales revenue drops. A properly trained calibration workforce ensures gauges are certified correctly and available when needed. An effective calibration program is a preventive cost that is often overlooked.

All told, poor quality and product defects that lead to injuries and worse, death, as we’ve seen in the headlines this past year, will erode and even destroy a manufacturer’s brand image in a way that can take years to rebuild. Consumers will stop purchasing once-fatally-flawed tires, toys once contaminated with lead or toothpaste discovered to have once contained toxins. Such public flaws and brand erosion can be as costly as the demise of a company.

How to avoid the pitfalls of poor quality
The quality initiative in the United States has driven immense change over the past 10 years within the four walls of factories. Processes and procedures define the “how” and “what” an organization does to meet customer expectations. Safety and social responsibility drive product quality and force organizations to develop standardized processes to satisfy ISO requirements. Customer requirements are forcing organizations to invest in quality management systems at a time when U.S-based manufacturers are faced with competing in a changing global marketplace and economic uncertainty.

More and more manufacturers are turning to outsourcing noncore functions to focus on strategies that will improve productivity and profitability. Outsourcing asset management and calibration significantly reduces costs by delegating the responsibility to trained experts for whom quality is core. Industry analyst firm Frost and Sullivan sizes the North American market for calibration services at well over a half billion dollars.

In the 2008 ATS survey of senior manufacturing executives, two-thirds said that they would outsource their production maintenance as a way to gird against the effects of a recession. These managers agree that core competencies should pinpoint activities that one must do well if they are going to gain a competitive edge in the market. Should it be determined that production maintenance isn’t a core competency, and then the option to outsource all or part of maintenance becomes a viable option. Indeed, by definition these outsourced professionals have tackled the issues of recruiting, training, and retaining the elusive skilled worker who is becoming rarer every day with the retirement of a generation and lost knowledge.

Regardless, whether training an in-house team or outsourcing to experts, it’s imperative that a team of calibration professionals executes a program of analyzing and optimizing current gauge inventory, leveraging resources, and reducing inventory. Asset management programs including 5S in cribs and gauge areas are where cost reductions and lean methodologies can be realized quickly. Removing gauges from inventory that are no longer needed or in use, reduces inventory transactions and provides a means to increase revenue through additional sales. Selling old equipment and gauges drives profits directly to the bottom line.

Effective calibration in conjunction with lean practices such as total productive maintenance (TPM) can have a signification effect on asset productivity. TPM is a holistic approach to equipment maintenance that trains and involves operators and support personnel, institutionalizes continuous improvement and embodies the overall lean culture of an enterprise. While TPM can be implemented as a stand-alone process, it’s most effective when deployed as an integral part of the overall cultural transformation that takes place as the enterprise adopts and implements a lean business strategy. TPM is one of many lean tools that engage all employees to eliminate waste, improve equipment reliability and overall business performance. TPM isn’t a short-term program; it’s a life long commitment that requires a certain discipline about the fundamental way people and organizations care for their equipment.

Predictive maintenance (PdM) techniques are also invaluable in helping to determine the condition of production equipment and to predict when and what type of maintenance should be performed. This approach offers cost savings over routine preventive maintenance programs in which maintenance tasks are performed only when scheduled.

There are many predictive maintenance technologies, and some have become standard in many industries. Those standard technologies include: thermography assessments, vibration monitoring, oil analysis combined with wear particle analysis, ultrasound measurements and motor current analysis.

Predictive technologies enable the gathering of equipment health data much like a doctor conducts a physical, blood analysis, and X-rays on a human. These actions don’t fix the problems, but can find them in a very early stage, not easily detected by visual or other basic inspection of the equipment. In short, monitoring the equipment health and making maintenance decisions based on these conditions can prevent catastrophic failures and extensive downtime.

In this competitive global business environment, forward-thinking manufacturers who entrust their maintenance to outsourced partners are proving that a well-executed maintenance strategy, including an educated, expert focus on calibration and quality, are delivering a competitive advantage.

About the author
Matthew Scott Tillison is calibration operations manager for Advanced Technology Services Inc. in Peoria, Illinois, with oversight of 32 employees across three calibration laboratories. Formerly trained by the United States Marine Corps, Mr. Tillison is a Certified Quality Auditor via ASQ.

ISO publishes book+CD on integrated use of management system standards

2008-08-26T20:14:00.000-07:00

ISO has published a combined book and CD giving organizations advice on how to make integrated use of management system standards.

The integrated use of management system standards distils the experience and expertise of an ISO task force comprising 16 members drawn from business organizations representing a wide range of countries and sectors, as well as from standards bodies and academia.

“The book provides a good mixture of theory and practice and will be useful for beginners as well as for the experienced,” declares Petra Eckl of MLPC International, France, leader of the ISO task force. “It will form a bridge between the increasing number of ISO management system standards that meet specific concerns of organizations and their stakeholders, and the user organization’s own and unique management approach.”

ISO management system standards (MSS), such as ISO 9001:2000 for quality management and ISO 14001:2004 for environmental management, are among the most widely used International Standards, while new ISO MSS are gaining ground, including ISO 22000 (food safety), ISO 28000 (supply chain security) and ISO/IEC 27001 (information security).

Contrary to many other types of standard, management system standards cover multiple aspects, levels and functions of an organization and, therefore, their implementation can have a substantial impact on how an organization operates and manages its business processes. In addition, more and more organizations are applying not only one, but a range of management system standards to satisfy their own needs as well as those of external stakeholders.

The book acknowledges that there is a market need for separate management system standards addressing different aspects, issues or risks that organizations need to manage. It provides guidance on how organizations can apply the different standards in a combined way, integrated with their business processes.

Based on the practical experience of organizations that have successfully made integrated use of management system standards, the book identifies a variety of methodologies, tools and practices.

The book, which is in colour and includes numerous graphics, is structured as follows:

a description of the main characteristics, parts and functions of the management system of an organization
what sort of requirements are contained in a management system standard, why these are important and how an organization should apply them
guidance on how requirements from multiple management system standards can be integrated in a combined way within the existing management system of an organization.

Each chapter includes the following distinct sections:

Guiding questions that helps to focus the reader
Overview summarizing the theory of the topic concerned
Approach featuring the methodologies and tools applied
Jim the Baker – an imaginary character whose company is used to illustrate the implementation of the methodologies and tools
Cases in point with actual practices and examples from case studies
Practice assists readers in applying the principles and methods provided to their own situation.

The accompanying CD (inside the back cover), contains real-life examples extracted from 15 case studies made in a wide variety of situations. Examples are included from companies in Asia, South America and the Middle East, as well as Europe and North America. Multinational companies are included as well as smaller ones, in different sectors of activity, for profit and not-for-profit, applying different sets of management system standards.

ISO Secretary-General Alan Bryden comments: “This book should prove to be a very useful complement to ISO’s continuing efforts to ensure theconsistency, coverage and effective useof its management system standards.”

The integrated use of management system standards (ISBN 978-92-67-10473-7), 146 pages + CD, A5 format, ring binder, costs 48 Swiss francs and is available from ISO national member institutes (see the complete list with contact details) and from ISO Central Secretariat through the ISO Store or by contacting the Marketing & Communication department (see right-hand column).

Quality-Process-Software-CMMI-ISO-SixSigma

2008-08-21T00:53:00.000-07:00

Differences between Continuous and Staged Representations in CMMI
http://www.sei.cmu.edu/cmmi/presentations/sepg05.presentations/cepeda-cmmi.pdf

CMMI 1.2 for Development online - browser version
http://www.wibas.de/presentation/site/cmmi_1.2_browser.html.en

This is the link to see online version of CMMI 1.2 for development
http://chrguibert.free.fr/cmmi12/text/index.php

What is not CMMI Level 4 and 5
http://www.sei.cmu.edu/appraisal-program/presentations/hi-matmis.pdf

Causal Analysis and Resolution: A Business Driver at All Levels http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2002cmmi/norausky3a1.pdf

Quality Glossary
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/glossary.asp

Quality Methodologies
http://www.isixsigma.com/me/

Statistics in Quality
http://www.isixsigma.com/st/

Quality Tools
http://www.isixsigma.com/tt/-

5Whys http://www.protoolkits.com/Analysisandrequirements/Analysistechniques/fivewhys.html-

Fishbone Diagrams
http://www.protoolkits.com/Analysisandrequirements/Analysistechniques/fishbonediagrams.html

Manage Changes
http://www.protoolkits.com/Analysisandrequirements/managechangerequests.html-

Process Maps
http://www.protoolkits.com/Analysisandrequirements/Analysistechniques/processmaps.html

One who wants to know about CMMI and related stuff, become a member in https://seir.sei.cmu.edu/seir
[Site will ask you about the work you do and why you want to become a member.]

Some Project Management Literature Templates and Checklists can be found athttp://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/hr/project/templates/index.html

Project Management Reference Site
http://www.managementhelp.org/plan_dec/project/project.htm http://www.method123.com/free-project-management-book.php

Some Suggested Readings
www.processimpact.com/PMBP/Module_8/data/downloads/metrics_traps.pdf http://www.processimpact.com/pubs.shtml#requirements http://www.processimpact.com/articles/metrics_primer.html

Relation Between CMMi and Six SIgma

2008-08-13T00:48:00.000-07:00

Successfully implementing CMMI and Six Sigma together requires an understanding of the relationships between the two.

This report contains a brief summary of each initiative and then outlines the connections between frameworks commonly used in Six Sigma and the CMMI process areas. Coupling this knowledge with a conscious strategy enables an organization to create tactical plans and specific mappings to support implementation.

Example strategies and tactics that organizations have used to integrate these initiatives are also provided.

http://www.sei.cmu.edu/pub/documents/05.reports/pdf/05tn005.pdf

Banner for Rent

2008-08-10T02:23:00.000-07:00

Temporary we only accept 125x125px banner ads.
We accept only with paypal account.
If you interest in this opportunities you can checkout here:

Please send your banner image (we accept only gif, png or jpg) through
this email address include your payment evidence as confirmation.
email address : jhoniegudel@yahoo.com

Regards,

Albertus Janiardi

New ISO 15743:2008 will help to manage risk in cold workplaces

2008-08-06T06:10:00.000-07:00

A new ISO standard provides a comprehensive methodology for assessing risk and managing work in cold environments.

Due to the negative impact of cold on human health and performance, as well as on work productivity, quality and safety, a comprehensive strategy of risk assessment and management practices and methods is needed for work in cold environments.

ISO 15743:2008, Ergonomics of the thermal environment – Cold workplaces – Risk assessment and management, has been developed to describe the methods and practices for assessing and managing occupational health and performance risks in cold workplaces.

The standard gives practical instructions for risk analysis and management in cold working conditions. It describes:

a model and methods for risk assessment practices in cold work
a model and method for occupational health care professionals to identify individuals having symptoms which increase their cold sensitivity, plus optimal guidance and instructions for individual cold protection
informative guidelines on how to apply different international thermal standards and other validated scientific methods when assessing cold related risks
a model and methods for cold risk management practices
practical examples of working in cold conditions.

Working in a cold environment can involve several adverse effects on human performance and health: thermal discomfort, increased strain, decreased performance and cold-related diseases and injuries. Cold can also interfere with several other factors in the workplace, modifying or aggravating the risk of common hazards and increasing the risk of cold-associated injuries.

A number of industries, type of commerce and occupations involve substantial cold exposure:

outdoors (such as the construction industry, maintenance of electrical power lines, gas lines, telecommunication systems or road, agriculture and forestry work, fishing industry)
indoors (meat processing industry, cold stores in industry and in the transport chain from industry to the shops).

It includes working inside vehicles and inland and offshore work but the standard is not applicable to diving or other types of work performed underwater.

“ISO 15743:2008 complements a series of ISO standards concerned with work in cold conditions as well as other areas of thermal stress. It supports good occupational health and safety practice and will help developers, manufacturers, management, occupational safety personnel, occupational health care workers and others." comments Prof. Ken Parsons, Chair of the ISO subcommittee that developed the standard.

ISO 15743:2008, Ergonomics of the thermal environment – Cold workplaces – Risk assessment and management, was developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 159, Ergonomics, subcommittee SC 5, Ergonomics of the physical environment, It costs 120 Swiss francs and is available from ISO national member institutes (see the complete list with contact details) and from ISO Central Secretariat through the ISO Store or by contacting the Marketing & Communication department (see right-hand column).