ISO 9001 Standard - ISO 9001 Standards

ISO 9001 Standard - ISO 9001 Standards

Identifying and Recording Design Changes In ISO 9001 Standards

Identifying and Recording Design Changes In ISO 9001 Standards

The documentation for design changes in ISO 9001 Standards should comprise the change proposal, the results of the evaluation, the instructions for change and traceability in the changed documents to the source and nature of the change. You will therefore need:
- A Change Request form which contains the reason for change and the
results of the evaluation – this is used to initiate the change and obtain
approval before being implemented.
- A Change Notice that provides instructions defining what has to be changed this is issued following approval of the change as instructions to the owners of the various documents that are affected by the change.
- A Change Record that describes what has been changed – this usually forms part of the document that has been changed and can be either in the form of a box at the side of the sheet (as with drawings) or in the form of a table on a separate sheet (as with specifications).
Where the evaluation of the change requires further design work and possibly experimentation and testing, the results for such activities should be documented to form part of the change documentation.
At each design review a design baseline should be established which identifies the design documentation that has been approved. The baseline
should be recorded and change control procedures employed to deal with any changes. These change procedures should provide a means for formally
requesting or proposing changes to the design. For complex designs you may prefer to separate proposals from instructions and have one form for proposing design changes and another form for promulgating design changes after approval. You will need a central registry to collect all proposed changes and provide a means for screening those that are not suitable to go before the review board, (either because they duplicate proposals already made or because they may not satisfy certain acceptance criteria which you have prescribed). On receipt, the change proposals should be identified with a unique number that can be used on all related documentation that is subsequently produced. The change proposal needs to:
- Identify the product of which the design is to be changed
- State the nature of the proposed change identify the principal requirements, specifications, drawings or other design documents which are affected by the change
- State the reasons for the change either directly or by reference to failure
reports, nonconformity reports, customer requests or other sources
- Provide for the results of the evaluation, review and decision to be
recorded

Reasons a Company Becomes Certified in ISO 9001 Standards

ISO 9000 certification or registration can be an expensive process. A company must consider the reasons and promised benefits for going through this process. If a company decides to seek certification, they should consider making sure their suppliers are certified or at least compliant to the ISO 9000 standards.
Major reasonsIn the early 1990s, companies seemed to be jumping on the certification bandwagon without seriously considering the rationale for doing so. Often they did so because competitors or “everybody else” is getting registered. Today companies seriously look at the reasons and benefits for becoming registered.
The major reasons that company leadership or management decides to seek ISO 9000 certification are to gain continued or increased business and to maintain effective operations.
Improved businessA company can maintain a relationship with customers, as well as get increased business through complying to the ISO 900 standards or becoming certified. This comes from satisfying customer demands, the desire for European business, and to advertise.
Finally, some companies want to become certified, so they can advertise that fact and give the impression of being better than their competitors.
You have seen ads with a logo stating the company is certified at some ISO 9000 level. It apparently gives those companies a leg up on competitors not registered.
Again, this seemed more important in the 1990s, but you don’t see that many companies using ISO 9000 certification as an advertising tool.
ISO 9000 is supposed to make sure your business is run in an orderly manner that will assure continued success.
One would think that a goal such as being run effectively and able to deliver goods consistently and reliably would also be desirable for a company’s own operation. Surprisingly, many companies do not consider that as a goal.

Costs and resources Of ISO 9001 Standards

Costs and resources Of ISO 9001 Standards
The largest cost of ISO 9001 is the involvement of company

employees. The ‘ownership’ created by involving employees in designing the quality system maximises the chances of them accepting it. Reducing this cost by minimising employee involvement is a false economy. The next largest cost will be for designing and developing the system. This needs to be led by someone with experience in this particular field. You may have someone within your own organisation who has carried out this role, perhaps with a former employer. Your Business Link may offer free or subsidised advice and training, and will be able to provide names of approved consultants. Grants for work in this area tend to be directed through Business Links. Different areas have different grants, which depend on local conditions. A typical grant may cover up to 50 per cent of the cost of an approved consultant. Certification fees are around £800 for the smallest companies. Overall costs depend upon company size and the number of locations involved. Ask certification bodies for quotes for initial audits and surveillance visits. Many will give an all-inclusive price, including surveillance visits for three years. Typically, special rates will depend on how long the assessment is likely to take and what the company’s turnover is. Ask your certification body if it offers special rates for small companies. The standard requires that companies have trained internal auditors to conduct audits on the system. An internal audit can provide an effective means of monitoring the system and identifying areas for improvement. For further details, contact the International Register of Certificated Auditors.

ISO 9001 Standards – Design and Development

ISO 9001 Standards - Design and Development
Plan and control the product design and development. This planning must determine the:Identify problems and propose any necessary actions
- Stages of design and development
- Appropriate review, verification, and validation activities for each stage
- Responsibility and authority for design and development
The interfaces between the different involved groups must be managed to ensure effective communication and the clear assignment of responsibility. Update, as appropriate, the planning output during design and development.
NOTE: Design and development review, verification, and validation have distinct purposes. They can be conducted and recorded separately or in any combination, as deemed suitable for the product and the organization.
Determine product requirement inputs and maintain records. The inputs must include:
- Functional and performance requirements
- Applicable statutory and regulatory requirements
- Applicable information derived from similar designs
- Requirements essential for design and development
Review these inputs for adequacy. Resolve any incomplete, ambiguous, or conflicting requirements.
Document the outputs of the design and development process in a form suitable for verification against the inputs to the process. The outputs must:
- Meet design and development input requirements
- Provide information for purchasing, production, and service
- Contain or reference product acceptance criteria
- Define essential characteristics for safe and proper use
- Be approved before their release
Perform systematic reviews of design and development at suitable stages in accordance with planned arrangements to:
- Evaluate the ability of the results to meet requirements
- The reviews must include representatives of the functions concerned with the stage being reviewed. Maintain the results of reviews and subsequent follow-up actions.

ISO 9001 Standards – Control of Measuring and Monitoring Equipment

ISO 9001 Standards - Control of Measuring and Monitoring Equipment
Determine the monitoring and measurements to be made, and the required equipment, to provide evidence of product conformity. Use and control the monitoring and measuring devices to ensure that measurement capability is consistent with monitoring and measurement requirements.
Where necessary to ensure valid results:
- Calibrate and/or verify the measuring equipment at specified intervals or prior to use
- Calibrate the equipment to national or international standards (or record other basis)
- Adjust or re-adjust as necessary
- Identify the measuring equipment in order to determine its calibration status
- Safeguard them from improper adjustments
- Protect them from damage and deterioration
Assess and record the validity of prior results if the device is found to not conform to requirements. Maintain records of the calibration and verification results.
Confirm the ability of software used for monitoring and measuring for the intended application before its initial use (and reconfirmed as necessary).
NOTE: Confirming the ability of software to satisfy the intended application would typically include its verification and configuration management to maintain its suitability for use.
For More Information Please Visit http://www.iso9001-standard.us

BACKGROUND TO THE ISO 9001:2008 REVISION PROCESS

BACKGROUND TO THE ISO 9001:2008 REVISION PROCESS
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 ISO 9004″ by ISO/TC 176/SC 2/WG 18 and similar national surveys.
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 categorie
- 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.