What do you think are the essential requirements of a qms

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Reference no: EM13939477 , Length: word count:3500

ACTIVITY 1.1

Before reading any further ask yourself the question:

How do I as a customer recognise a Quality organisation?

This question can be extended by asking:

How, in general, do customers recognise a Quality organisation?

Now ask yourself: How do its employees recognise a Quality company?

It might be helpful to put these questions to a few colleagues and add their responses. Note that there are no absolute 'right' or 'wrong' answers.

Again, feel free to consult your colleagues. Record your thoughts below.

After you have considered the questions in the exercise and completed your thoughts in the space provided, look at the "Customer" and "Employee" lists subsequently given in the text. These are answers to the questions above, given by many employees of other organisations. Add any of these responses to your own lists if you think they are appropriate.

ACTIVITY 1.2

Select 20 key points appropriate for you and your organisation from the lists you generated in Activity Module 1.1 and those provided in the course. Score each of them out of 5 (5 being the most successful, 1 being the least), measuring the current achieved success in meeting the criteria. You may well wish to return to these lists, and perhaps modify and refine them as you proceed through this course and increase your understanding of Quality Management Systems and ISO 9001 in particular.

ACTIVITY 1.3

1. Having worked through this module write down in the space provided what you see as achievable Quality goals for your organisation on a three year timescale.

2. State what action you could personally take to support the achievement of these goals.

3. Drawing upon the lessons learnt from this module:

a) Draw up a definition of Quality for your organisation.

b) Next, compare this with the more general definitions shown for "Quality" in the glossary.

c) Discuss your definition with your colleagues and record their reactions.

d) If you consider it necessary, modify your definition.

ACTIVITY 3.1

Bear in mind and use, from Module 2, the concepts of the "work process activity model" and the "network of individual work process activity models" which constitute the overall process.

On a separate sheet make a first attempt, in pencil, to flowchart that part of your organisation with which you are concerned. Discuss the flowchart with your colleagues and check that they agree that it accurately defines what happens in the organization. Then modify the flowchart, if necessary and create it in power point, excel or word and paste it below.

ACTIVITY 4.1

Analyse your journey to work each day or some other familiar journey. What is the average journey time and how much does it vary? What are the causes of this variability? Could this variability be reduced? Give some examples of special cause variability in journey times.

JOURNEY TO WORK  JOURNEY TIMES (IN MINUTES) 
Shortest time (when no special cause variability) 
Longest time ( when no special cause variability) 
From these calculate the average time       
Normal variability in journey time       
(plus or minus from average time)  +      -

a) causes of ‘normal variability':

b) possible ways of reducing "normal variability"

c) "special cause variability" affecting journey times

d) any ways of reducing "special cause variability"

ACTIVITY 4.2

What should Company B have done?

ACTIVITY 4.3

Record your thoughts (a) on why 'end of process' inspection is likely to be ineffective and (b) why monitoring throughout a process is cost effective? Give at least three answers to each of these.

a) Shortcomings of end-of-line only inspection (list minimum 5 examples):

b) Why monitoring throughout process will be cost effective (list minimum 5 reasons):

ACTIVITY 4.4

Reflect on the list of causes of variability in this module and relate them to some of the processes run by your organization; write yours in the space provided in your workbook. At least three answers are required. Causes of variability present in my organisation's processes (list minimum 5 causes):

ACTIVITY 5.1

STUDY DIAGRAM 13

At least three answers are required to 1 and 2 below.

1. Is this your experience? Why do you think this is the case?

2. What do you think are the essential requirements of a QMS for it to survive and prosper and create continual improvement?

ACTIVITY 5.2

Choose one part of your organisation's activities, which you consider is not well understood and is capable of improvement. Encourage your colleagues to become involved. Think carefully about what you need to measure. Start with easy factors and easily available data and use simple analysis techniques. Display the quantitative data graphically in such a way that useful and practical conclusions can be derived. The degree of improved understanding generated may surprise you.

Note that this Activity Module may require more thought than originally apparent. Before tackling it please consider the following.

› It is important that the type of graph you use to display the results is suitable for the application. It will be worth doing some research in order to select the best option. If necessary, talk to more experienced colleagues about this.

› It is often the case that the first graph poses more questions than it answers, prompting further investigations, so be prepared to collect more data and to draw a second graph.

› Try to collect sufficient data to ensure the results are meaningful.

› Also, under the graph(s) briefly explain the data presented and record the conclusions drawn. Then suggest what further analysis, if any, might be useful.

› Finally, outline any action(s) which may arise from this work. If any action has already been taken, outline what has been done and describe its effect.

ACTIVITY 5.3

1. Refer back to Module 2 and the diagram illustrating a 'Basic Quality Management System' and suggest ways in which auditing could function as (a) a control system and (b) an improvement System.

2. What do you think the auditee requires of an audit. (see Glossary definition of an "auditee"). List at least three points.

3. What do you think are the personal qualities required of an Internal Auditor?

ACTIVITY 5.4

1. How would you attempt to determine the 'root cause' of a nonconformity? Remember surveys have shown that most nonconformities result from system failures.

2. Why should Corrective and Preventive Action processes not finger point?

3. Who should be responsible for taking Preventive Action or Corrective Action?

4. What sources of information are there in your organisation which would enable effective preventive action to be taken?

5. What additional information would be useful?

ACTIVITY 5.1

STUDY DIAGRAM 13

At least three answers are required to 1 and 2 below.

1. Is this your experience? Why do you think this is the case?

2. What do you think are the essential requirements of a QMS for it to survive and prosper and create continual improvement?

ACTIVITY 5.2

Choose one part of your organisation's activities, which you consider is not well understood and is capable of improvement. Encourage your colleagues to become involved. Think carefully about what you need to measure. Start with easy factors and easily available data and use simple analysis techniques. Display the quantitative data graphically in such a way that useful and practical conclusions can be derived. The degree of improved understanding generated may surprise you.

Note that this Activity Module may require more thought than originally apparent. Before tackling it please consider the following.

› It is important that the type of graph you use to display the results is suitable for the application. It will be worth doing some research in order to select the best option. If necessary, talk to more experienced colleagues about this.

› It is often the case that the first graph poses more questions than it answers, prompting further investigations, so be prepared to collect more data and to draw a second graph.

› Try to collect sufficient data to ensure the results are meaningful.

› Also, under the graph(s) briefly explain the data presented and record the conclusions drawn. Then suggest what further analysis, if any, might be useful.

› Finally, outline any action(s) which may arise from this work. If any action has already been taken, outline what has been done and describe its effect.

ACTIVITY 5.3

1. Refer back to Module 2 and the diagram illustrating a 'Basic Quality Management System' and suggest ways in which auditing could function as (a) a control system and (b) an improvement System.

2. What do you think the auditee requires of an audit. (see Glossary definition of an "auditee"). List at least three points.

3. What do you think are the personal qualities required of an Internal Auditor?

ACTIVITY 5.4

1. How would you attempt to determine the 'root cause' of a nonconformity?

Remember surveys have shown that most nonconformities result from system failures.

2. Why should Corrective and Preventive Action processes not finger point?

3. Who should be responsible for taking Preventive Action or Corrective Action?

4. What sources of information are there in your organisation which would enable effective preventive action to be taken?

5. What additional information would be useful?

ACTIVITY 6.1

1. List the parts of your organisation that are in any way involved in meeting your customers' requirements.

2. List any parts of your organisation that do not have the slightest effect on your organisation's ability to meet its customers' requirements. Are there any?

ACTIVITY 6.2

You have constructed a flowchart of your organisation as one of the activities in Module 3. Examine that flowchart and select 3 processes which you judge to be key to your organisation's operations. List a minimum of three reasons why you categorised them as 'key'.

ACTIVITY 6.3

1. Which parts of your business process are likely to be vulnerable to problems arising from lack of Document and Data Control?

2. What bad experiences has your organisation had in this area?

3. The aggregate consequential, indirect cost to the organisation resulting from poor document and data control is rarely estimated. Please make a 'quantified guesstimate' of what this might be in your case, taking into account such items as the costs of rework, rejection of product/service, the loss of existing customers in terms of lost revenue and profits, the failure to gain the confidence of potential new customers.

ACTIVITY 6.4

1. Define a set of general criteria for information / data that should be recorded. Such criteria, for example, could include "measures performance objectively", "need for traceability", "required by law", "needed to solve problems, if/when they occur". A minimum of 5 criteria should be given.

2. Examine some of the records kept in your organisation. Do they meet the criteria you have set?

3. If they do not, why are such records kept at all? If they are deemed necessary, then how could they be improved?

ACTIVITY 6.5

1. Who do you consider are the 'top management' of your organisation? List their names and job titles. List at least three people.

2. What do you think are their responsibilities for meeting customer requirements? Talk to one or two ‘top managers' and ascertain what they see as their responsibilities in this area.

3. Draw up in outline a simple plan (in the format given below) for a quality improvement initiative that you can action.

a. Aim of plan,

b. Specific task(s) to be planned.

c. What information is needed?

d. What actions must be taken to implement the plan?

e. Who does what, when is it done and how is it done?

f. What are the main criteria for measuring success?

ACTIVITY 6.6

Think about your own organisation and note down, the most important internal customer / supplier interfaces. In around 150 words comment on the effectiveness of communications across these interfaces and suggest potential improvements.

ACTIVITY 6.7

1. List the benefits that you yourself have gained through training. A minimum of 4 benefits must be given.

2. What additional training do you think you could benefit from?

3. How might your organisation improve its performance through training?

4. By participating in this course you are undergoing training. What do you see as its ultimate value?

5. People occasionally resist training. Give some possible reasons for this and suggest how they may be persuaded to be more receptive.

ACTIVITY 6.8

List the most significant extra costs that may be incurred if customer requirements are not understood. A minimum of 4 items is required.

ACTIVITY 6.9

1. Give 2-3 examples from your organisation where some form of design process is carried out. It may for example be the design of a form or a marketing campaign etc. Comment on the benefit of the application of 'design control'.

2. How would you apply control to a design process while allowing the greatest possible freedom for innovation?

ACTIVITY 6.10

1. Consider 2-3 suppliers you depend upon, not necessarily at work, and note a few ways they please you and a few ways they displease you. What actions could you take to reinforce good performance and eliminate bad performance?

2. What is the value of objective measurement of a supplier's performance?

3. Choose one of your department's or organisation's suppliers. What data could be compiled to measure the supplier's performance? Describe how the data collected would be used to measure this performance.

ACTIVITY 6.11

1. Select an example of service provision from your organisation's activities, either to internal or external customers. Is that service monitored, measured and controlled? If it is, briefly describe how this is done. If it is not, suggest briefly how this could be achieved. Note: as a guide, some examples of internal provision could be:

a) analysis of financial data to management from Accounts Dept.

b) analysis of sales data to Marketing Dept from Sales offices.

c) analysis of customer complaints from Customer Services Dept. to Management Review meetings.

2. If "after sales servicing" is a significant part of your business, how rigorously do you address it? Describe briefly how this service is monitored, measured and controlled. Alternatively, if "after sales service" plays little or no part in your business, briefly describe why this is so.

3. Do you, as a customer, have any service agreements on products you have bought? Choose 2 of these. How well are they fulfilled? How could they be improved?

ACTIVITY 6.12

Modern technology has revolutionised traceability. Give three examples, from your own experience, both within your own organisation and from your everyday experiences, of the benefit organisations.

ACTIVITY 6.13

1. Is clause 7.5.4 of ISO 9001 relevant to any of the activities of your organisation?

2. Can you think of any other examples? List at least two.

ACTIVITY 6.14

1. Discuss with your colleagues how much attention is currently being paid to handling, storing, packaging, preserving and delivering your products/services. Do any actions arise from these observations?

2. If you have access to customer complaints data analyse the complaints by type to show how many originate from handling, storage, packaging preservation and delivery and how many result from manufacturing or preparation defects. Record a summary and discussion of the results.

ACTIVITY 6.15

1. If a customer was measuring the performance of your organisation in meeting their requirements what measurements do you think they might make?

2. What measurements are actually made to verify that your product/service meets the requirements you agreed with your customers (7.2.1, 7.2.2 and 7.2.3)?

ACTIVITY 6.16

List the main processes in your organisation and the measurements that are made to control them. If they are not measured suggest how this might be done.

ACTIVITY 6.17

How would you define a nonconforming product? Give some examples of how this would apply in your organisation.

ACTIVITY 6.18

1. From modules 3 and 4 you should now have a basic understanding of flowcharting, process control and all the associated processes. However, before attempting this activity, work again through modules 3 and 4, particularly "Controlling your process", "Control systems", "Practicalities of process control" and the associated sections. You will also need to look again at the Standard and the comments in this Module 6 on clauses 5.5.1, 7.5, 7.6, 8.2.3, 8.2.4. When you are familiar with these, go back to your earlier flowcharts for your organisation and check if:

a) they are still valid. If not, correct them accordingly and draw the updated chart on a clean sheet and affix to part 2 of your workbook.

Title the new flowchart "Revised Version".

b) the factors governing the control of each of the discrete steps are understood; list them for clarity,

c) all steps have measuring and monitoring elements at both input and output points; list them.

d) the criteria and personal authorities for "go ahead", for input and output are clear for each stage.

Then select a "single stage process" which you know well and attempt to quantify its normal variability. Put forward proposals for reducing this variability.

2. Then select one stage of a simple process which you know well and attempt to quantify its normal variability. Put forward proposals for reducing this variability.

ACTIVITY 6a.1

1.1 Reflect on the 8 principles as a whole and comment on their current status of application

a) in your own position within the organisation

b) within your department and/or organisation as a whole

1.2 Choose any of the principles, (bearing in mind they are interlinked), which are most in need of significant improvement in both (a) and (b) above and outline the major actions which you would recommend to bring about the desired improvements. Endeavour to make your recommendations practical, taking into account any known or perceived limitations of time, human resource and costs.

Your answer should be about 1200-1500 words.

Reference no: EM13939477

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