ISO 9000 AND THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

ISO 9000 AND THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

A formal quality management system has the potential to change attitudes, cultures, and work procedures at any construction firm in a way the organization has never experienced before. In most cases, in order to set up a

formal quality management system at a construction firm, there has to be direct demands from their customers, whose requirement for quality is essential for doing business. Most of the construction organizations will not enter into the cost and allocation of resources to implement a quality management system unless they will be compensated. There is a general movement towards making implementation of a quality management system a contractual requirement. Small to medium sized organizations can always argue that they ‘operate to a quality system’ although this is not formalized. However, since the existence of such ‘informal’ quality systems are

difficult to justify, the International Standards Organization, (ISO) has come up with ISO 9001 series of standards that are applicable to all organizations irrespective of size or nature of business.

ISO 9000 refers to a set of quality management standards. Standards present an opportunity for an organization to develop a quality management system that meets the requirements specified by ISO 9001:2000, which are

recognized internationally, making the organization competitive. ISO 9001 family of standards is undeniably the most prolific of all formal standards. This could be due to the worldwide applicability standardization and

flexibility with which the standards are associated, even though there are some experts that still question the standards’ applicability in the construction industry. It is important to note that ISO 9001:2000 has replaced ISO 9001:1994, ISO 9002:1994 and ISO 9003:1994, while the old ISO 9002 and ISO 9003 standards have been discontinued.

A formal quality management system has the potential to change attitudes, cultures, and work procedures at any construction firm in a way the organization has never experienced before. In most cases, in order to set up aformal quality management system at a construction firm, there has to be direct demands from their customers,whose requirement for quality is essential for doing business. Most of the construction organizations will not enterinto the cost and allocation of resources to implement a quality management system unless they will becompensated. There is a general movement towards making implementation of a quality management system acontractual requirement. Small to medium sized organizations can always argue that they ‘operate to a qualitysystem’ although this is not formalized.

However, since the existence of such ‘informal’ quality systems aredifficult to justify, the International Standards Organization, (ISO) has come up with ISO 9001 series of standardsthat are applicable to all organizations irrespective of size or nature of business. ISO 9000 refers to a set of quality management standards. Standards present an opportunity for an organization todevelop a quality management system that meets the requirements specified by ISO 9001:2000, which arerecognized internationally, making the organization competitive. ISO 9001 family of standards is undeniably themost prolific of all formal standards. This could be due to the worldwide applicability standardization andflexibility with which the standards are associated, even though there are some experts that still question thestandards’ applicability in the construction industry. It is important to note that ISO 9001:2000 has replaced ISO9001:1994, ISO 9002:1994 and ISO 9003:1994, while the old ISO 9002 and ISO 9003 standards have been discontinued.

ISO 9001 and occupational health and safety

ISO 9001 and occupational health and safety

Adopting ISO 9001 might lead to improvements in occupational health and safety in a variety of ways. In the process of formally documenting procedures, for example, managers can identify and eliminate hazardous practices and add safety precautions. Moreover, by fostering more focused attention to detail,ISO 9001 adoption can reveal new “win-win” opportunities to improve quality or efficiency and occupational health and safety that were previously obscured by indirect and distributed costs and benefits.

Additionally, processes that provide warning signals and prompt corrective action can forestall serious accidents. Finally, routine auditing and corrective action procedures required by ISO 9001 to address management system failures encourage root-cause analysis that can identify problematic work practices that might otherwise precipitate not only quality failures, but occupational health and safety concerns.

Departments charged with managing quality sometimes also manage health and safety, and companies are increasingly implementing integrated management systems that incorporate all these considerations. Occupational health and safety can be improved by applying the tools of continuous improvement associated with ISO 9001 certification. Employees who know how to identify root causes of quality problems, for example, also have the skills to identify root causes of safety problems.

The high rates of repetition and increased monitoring implicit in the emphasis of ISO 9001 on routinization and standardization of tasks can increase stress and repetitive motion injuries, potentially worsening the safety records of plants with quality program. Moreover, to the extent that the higher equipment utilization associated with ISO 9001 adoption translates into reduced employee downtime, employee fatigue, a major cause of injuries, might be expected to increase. Additionally, new quality management procedures implemented in association with ISO 9001 that add inspection tasks to work processes optimized for production can occasion poor ergonomic conditions that leave employees susceptible to injuries.

Process Approach In ISO 9001 Standards

Process Approach In ISO 9001 Standards

The ISO 9001 International Standard promotes the adoption of a process approach when developing, implementing and improving the effectiveness of a quality management system, to enhance customer satisfaction by meeting customer requirements.

For an organization to function effectively, it has to determine and manage numerous linked activities. An activity or set of activities using resources, and managed in order to enable the transformation of inputs into outputs, can be considered as a process. Often the output from one process directly forms the input to the next.

The application of a system of processes within an organization, together with the identification and interactions of these processes, and their management to produce the desired outcome, can be referred to as the “process approach”.

An advantage of the process approach is the ongoing control that it provides over the linkage between the individual processes within the system of processes, as well as over their combination and interaction.

When used within a quality management system, such an approach emphasizes the importance of

a) understanding and meeting requirements,

b) the need to consider processes in terms of added value,

c) obtaining results of process performance and effectiveness, and

d) continual improvement of processes based on objective measurement

Six Sigma Vs ISO 9000

Six Sigma Vs ISO 9000

The debate over whether or not to choose Six Sigma over ISO 9000 is getting more interesting with each passing day. In an attempt to determine which of these is the better of the two, it is highly pertinent to discuss that in the context of applicability of them to industries. And there exists a huge amount of difference between the approaches of these two methodologies in tackling the issues.

Six Sigma – A Critical View

Six Sigma utilizes a multi-faceted approach to doing business with total improvement of the end product being the goal. In doing so, Six Sigma defines and analyzes the processes critically almost always focusing on process improvements. The statistical tools used in Six Sigma help not just in the adoption of processes but are also critical tools of Six Sigma implementation.

Process Development Stages

Let us examine the above statement as applicable to a process for easier understanding. While working on process improvement, the Black Belts break up the original sequence of different events that comprise the entire process and each event is further subdivided internally. This enables the “belts” to take an entirely different view of the process via the entire process as a whole. The powerful statistical tools employed at this stage of evaluation make the picture clearer and help the “belts” to arrive at decisions about the value additions those made to the process by different events.

This principle obviously goes beyond standardizing the processes and setting the pathway for being vigilant about adherence to the Six Sigma methodology. Useless values which have lost meaning make way for more meaningful events and eventually more robust and comprehensive processes. In a Six Sigma environment, customer demands will assume a key role in driving the processes towards aligning all activities with the vision of the leader of the company. The approach is “how to” rather than “what to” deliver.

The ISO 9000 Approach

The ISO approach towards quality management concentrates on standardization of the activities of production. The eight quality principles of ISO 9000, along with its twenty-four requirements outline business processes. The emphasis here is on the control of events in each aspect of doing business by documenting evidence and reports. The eight principles of ISO 9000 include prioritizing customer data, purchasing and quality systems, among other critical aspects. ISO 9000 recognizes each process, whose end goals are the same, as an independent entity. Documented quality requirements typically decide, based on set rules, whether or not a particular process adhered to that standard.

Document and Process Control

Maintenance of quality is achieved by adhering to key process and document control. Operating procedures and process control documents restrict deviations outside the concepts of what you should be doing in every process. What-you-should-be-doing is given emphasis under standard conditions rather than dealing with process improvement.

Stalwarts in industry are examining the possibility of merging the best practices of the two. Several industry leaders have already acknowledged the benefits of using both methodologies to compliment each other. Another view is that, as Six Sigma implementation is what you do within your company (unlike the certification in ISO) the company does not get recognition for achieving successful Six Sigma implementation. However, as long as the culmination of a business activity is defined by both methodologies as retaining and improving the customer base along with maximizing the bottom line, rejection of one in favor of other will be hard to justify.

ISO 9001 Standards & ISO 14001 Standards

In order to assist organizations to have a full understanding of the new ISO 9001:2008, it may be useful to have an insight on the revision process, how this revision reflects the inputs received from users of the standard, and the consideration given to benefits and impacts during its development.

Prior to the commencement of a revision (or amendment) to a management system standard, ISO/Guide 72:2001 Guidelines for the justification and development of management system standards recommends that a “Justification Study” is prepared to present a case for the proposed project and that it outlines details of the data and inputs used to support its arguments. In relation to the development of ISO 9001:2008 user needs were identified from the following:

-the results of a formal “Systematic Review” on ISO 9001:2000 that was performed by the members of ISO/TC 176/SC2 during 2003-2004
-feedback from the ISO/TC 176/Working Group on “Interpretations”
-the results of an extensive worldwide “User Feedback Survey on ISO 9001 and
The Justification Study identified the need for an amendment, provided that the impact on users would be limited and that changes would only be introduced when there were clear benefits to users.

The key focuses of the ISO 9001:2008 amendment were to enhance the clarity of ISO 9001:2000 and to enhance its compatibility with ISO 14001:2004.

A tool for assessing the impacts versus benefits for proposed changes was created to assist the drafters of the amendment in deciding which changes should be included, and to assist in the verification of drafts against the identified user needs. The following decision making principles were applied:

1) No changes with high impact would be incorporated into the standard;

2) Changes with medium impact would only be incorporated when they provided a correspondingly medium or high benefit to users of the standard;

3) Even where a change was low impact, it had to be justified by the benefits it delivered to users, before being incorporated.

The changes incorporated in this ISO 9001:2008 edition were classified in terms of impact into the following categories:

-No changes or minimum changes on user documents, including records

-No changes or minimum changes to existing processes of the organization

-No additional training required or minimal training required

-No effects on current certifications

The benefits identified for the ISO 9001:2008 edition fall into the following categories:

-Provides clarity

-Increases compatibility with ISO 14001.

-Maintains consistency with ISO 9000 family of standards.

-Improves translatability.

Audit Of Electronic Documents In ISO 9001 Standards

Audit Of Electronic Documents In ISO 9001 Standards

Electronic documents that establish management system policies and procedures can be in a variety of file formats depending on the software applications that are utilized by the organization to generate the documents. Electronic file formats include, Text, HTML, PDF, etc. Spreadsheets and databases formats are also considered to be electronic “documents” subject to the control elements of the management system to being audited.

Given the relative ease with which users can now create electronic spreadsheets and other electronic documents, auditors (either internal or external) should ensure that policies governing the controls that apply to management system documentation in-general are also employed for electronic documents through appropriate procedures.

Organizations need to employ suitable and effective methods within the electronic environment for ensuring the adequate review, approval, publication and distribution of its management system documentation. These should be consistent with the methods for the development and modification of electronic documents.

In many cases document control measures may also be standard features of software applications used for their creation. Therefore auditors should understand these application-specific controls to the degree that these are utilized as a basis for conformance to the applicable management system standard.

Given the increased capacity to modify, update, reformat and otherwise improve documents within an electronic-based management system, auditors should pay particular attention to control elements such as document identification and document revision level.

As electronic media facilitates an increased rate of document modifications, auditors should verify that the controls being employed for the management of obsolete documents are considered within the organizations’ document control policies and procedures.

Auditors should verify that electronic-based documentation exists to provide orientation to users with regard to the functional and control aspects associated with electronic documents. Additionally, “Point-of-use” requirements associated with the applicable management system standards will typically be addressed in part by the organization’s document access policies. Auditors should understand the organization’s policies and procedures regarding user privileges as these become important factors for properly realizing the organization’s processes.

External electronic communication with suppliers, customers and other interested parties may involve the exchange of documents. Given that these external documents may contain key parameters that specify the functioning of the organization’s processes, auditors should verify the degree to which these documents are formally introduced and controlled within the electronic-based management system.

How To Prepare ISO 9001 Standards Audit Check List

How To Prepare ISO 9001 Standards Audit Check List

There are a few steps to prepare ISO 9001 Standards Check List, namely:

1. Apply the concept of Plan Do Check Act (PDCA). This PDCA concept is applied at the Quality Management System and the process levels.

2. Convert the question to requirement raised by QMR or the QMS Committee which derived from theISO 9001 standards. In this case, several questions can lead to one single requirement.

3. To edit those questions to suit the process that is to be audited. For example, you are going to audit the Purchasing/Procurement Department and you’re sitting down with the Audit Team trying to come up with relevant questions.

The main objective in auditing any process is to extract adequate information and evidence in order to verify that the process is conformant to the ISO 9001 requirements and that, it is effective in achieving its objectives. As an auditor, you need to be able to investigate, assess and verify the conformity and effectiveness of a given process, in terms of its planning, implementation, monitoring & measurement and improvement. As a Lead Auditor, preparing your Audit Team for the actual audit is crucial in ensuring success of the audit excercise. There is no better way to do that than by developing the audit questions with them.