The topic of Quality Management invariably develops into a discussion of company Culture, its defects and the difficulty of changing to a more acceptable culture model.  Managers complain of inherited culture that is immutable, while workers believe the culture is a consequence of an uncaring management team.
What the executives of the organization say and do [...]

What a strange question you might respond, but is it?  Assuming we are considering a typical organisation, where audits are scheduled, conducted and reported in a more or less structured manner, probably because of a mandatory requirement to conduct the audit, the question becomes more valid as we examine audit operations.
Remaining with our organisation that [...]

One of the features of the ISO9001 standard is the requirement to monitor and measure process performance  (Section 8).  External auditors tend to simply verify the existence of such measurements and move on, while the attitude of internal auditors tends towards indifference.  This article attempts to discuss the value of such measurement, and the pitfalls [...]

FMEA - Failure Mode and Effect Analysis is a technique - a systematic method - of identifying and preventing product and process problems.  In ISO9001 terms it is a true ‘Prevention’ tool, it is a Risk Assessment.
As might be expected, FMEAs were first introduced into the obvious high risk industries of aero-space and military ordnance, [...]

For much of the past hundred years it has been common practice within manufacturing to employ sampling techniques to determine the acceptability of product.  The purpose of this sampling is to permit an assessment of specified features of a product without the cost - in time or money - of examining every item in a [...]

To achieve any level of accreditation, in any discipline requires the applicant to undergo a level of training and experience that will fit them to carry on their profession with minimal risk to their clients. So, for example, a doctor must have specialist undergraduate training, followed by post graduate training and experience prior to achieving [...]

As predicted a new iS09001 Standard has been finalized and is now available. Rather like its predecessor it arrived in time-just!
Throughout the development we have been assured that the document would not contain major revisions, just a collection of “amendments or clarifications’. An amendment is said to be a change that will address known issues, [...]