Our newsletters provide information on business management systems ISO 9001, AS9100 Aviation, Space and Defense, ISO/TS 16949 Automotive, ISO 27001 Information Security, ISO 13485 Medical Devices, ISO 14001 Environmental, and others.  This includes performance improvement methods such as Six Sigma, Lean Enterprise, and other topics of interest to our readers.

If you have any questions regarding the content or have a topic of interest for a future newsletter, please let us know.

During the years 2007 through 2010, there were 322 applications for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. These 322 applications were from 273 firms and organizations; the 49 additional applications were repeat applications from some of the 273 firms and organizations. The 273 firms and organizations that applied for the Award from 2007 through 2010 were asked by the Program Office to participate in a study of the benefits they received through the Award application process.

Specifically, each firm or organization was asked to complete a Web-based survey instrument. A total of 45 firms and organizations responded to the survey request-a response rate of 16.5%-and the results from an evaluation analysis based on those responses are discussed in this report.

Using a counterfactual evaluation method, three categories of social benefits have been quantified from the responses of 45 Award applicants to a Web-based survey.  These categories
are:

• the counterfactual cost savings of the applicants because it was not necessary for them to incur the investment costs to achieve on their own the same level of benefits from their performance excellence strategies as they realized from the availability of the publicly funded Baldrige Performance Excellence Program,
• the gains to consumers from greater satisfaction from higher quality products because the Baldrige Criteria were available and used,
• the gains to the economy from saving scarce resources (because successful performance excellence strategies not only enable higher quality products or services but also lower the costs of providing them) because the Baldrige Criteria were available and used.

The benefit-to-cost ratio of 820-to-1-using only the benefits for the surveyed group of applicants for the National Quality Award since 2006 but using all of the social costs of the Baldrige Program-certainly supports the belief that the Baldrige Program creates great value for the U.S. economy.

The Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, with the imprimatur of national leadership and a prominent national award presented by the President, creates great value that could not be
replicated by private sector actions alone.

The entire report is available in PDF at the NIST website.

The ISO 19011:2011 audit guidance standard has revised audit definitions, expanded related notes, and added new definitions. Some examples of these changes are described below.

The definition of audit: a systematic, independent, and documented process for obtaining audit evidence and evaluating it objectively to determine the extent to which the audit criteria are fulfilled. Its revised note clarifies that the purpose of an internal audit may be to confirm the effectiveness of the management system or to obtain information for the improvement of the management system. The note adds that in a small organization, independence can be shown by freedom from responsibility for the activity being audited or freedom from bias and conflict of interest.

The definition of audit findings: the results of the evaluation of the collected audit evidence against audit criteria. A note states audit findings indicate conformity or nonconformity. A new note under audit findings clarifies that findings can lead to the identification of opportunities for improvement or recording good practices. Another new note says if the audit criteria are selected from legal or other requirements, the audit finding is termed compliance or non-compliance (instead of conformity or nonconformity).

The definition of audit client: the organization or person requesting an audit. Its note states that in the case of an internal audit, the audit client can also be the auditee or the person managing the audit program. The note also says requests for external audit can come from sources such as regulators, contracting parties, or potential clients.

The definition of competence: the ability to apply knowledge and skills to achieve intended results. The related note states that ability implies the appropriate application of personal behavior during the audit process.

The new definition for guide: a person appointed by the auditee to assist the audit team. The new definition for observer is: a person who accompanies the audit team but does not audit. Its notes add that an observer is not a part of the audit team and does not influence or interfere with the conduct of the audit. It says an observer can be from the auditee, a regulator, or other interested party who witnesses the audit.

The new definition for management system: a system to establish policy and objectives and to achieve those objectives. The related note states a management system of an organization can include different management systems, such as a quality management system, a financial management system, or an environmental management system.

Purchase ISO 9001:2011 Guidelines for auditing management systems at the ANSI Standards Store.

Our newsletters provide information on business management systems ISO 9001, AS9100 Aviation, Space and Defense, ISO/TS 16949 Automotive, ISO 27001 Information Security, ISO 13485 Medical Devices, ISO 14001 Environmental, and others.  This includes performance improvement methods such as Six Sigma, Lean Enterprise, and other topics of interest to our readers.

If you have any questions regarding the content or have a topic of interest for a future newsletter, please let us know.

Celebrating our 10th Year (2002-2012) Improving Performance!

We are very proud in celebrating our 10th anniversary of business improving operational and quality management systems performance.  It has been an extremely rewarding experience for us and we look forward to this New Year and Beyond.  Our sincere thanks to all our clients and newsletter readers.

While 66 percent of manufacturers expect to experience revenue growth in 2012, many say the recovering economy will remain a major hurdle to operations, according to a recent ASQ survey.

Nearly 1,600 manufacturing professionals from around the world responded to ASQ’s 2012 Manufacturing Outlook Survey, which was conducted online from Oct. 17 through Nov. 4. Respondents represent the aerospace, automotive, food, medical device, pharmaceutical and utility industries, among others.

According to the survey results, more than 70 percent of respondents say they experienced revenue growth in 2011. In ASQ’s 2011 Manufacturing Outlook Survey conducted in late 2010, 67 percent had hoped to experience revenue growth in 2011.

Despite the outlook regarding revenue, manufacturers continue to be wary of the global economy, citing the housing market and fears of a double-dip recession.

In addition to fears of the world economy, manufacturers say the lack of a qualified workforce is inhibiting their ability to grow. According to the survey results, 44 percent of respondents say finding qualified applicants is the biggest hurdle to filling vacant positions, while 27 percent say budget is a biggest hurdle to filling open positions. Twenty-three percent claim time-and the lack thereof-is the biggest hiring hurdle.

Retiring employees pose minimal effect.

Survey results show few manufacturers think their company will be adversely affected by retirements in 2012. On a scale of one to 10, where one is “very unlikely” and 10 is “very likely,” nearly 68 percent of respondents said retirements were “unlikely” to affect their business, including 26 percent who said retirements were “very unlikely” to affect the organization. Only 9 percent said retirements were “very likely” to affect the business.

“While many manufacturers are showing improvement and experiencing revenue growth, there remains clear hurdles facing these businesses,” said ASQ CEO Paul Borawski. “Even though companies say retiring baby boomers aren’t adversely affecting their businesses, finding qualified employees is still a concern-one that can affect businesses in this global economy-as retiring employees often leave with a wealth of knowledge not easily replaced.”

Beginning with the first publication of ISO 9000 in 1987, the impact of ISO on organizational practices and world trade has been tremendous. The development of management system approaches to many specific sectors has happened as well. Some of these you may not be aware of include:

ISO 10002:2004 Quality management – Customer Satisfaction – Guidelines for complaints handling in organizations.  ISO 10002 provides guidance on the process of complaints handling related to products within an organization, including planning, design, operation, maintenance, and improvement.

ISO 10003:2007 Quality Management – Customer Satisfaction Guidelines for Dispute Resolution External to Organizations.  ISO 10003 provides guidance for an organization to plan, design, develop, operate, maintain, and improve an effective and efficient dispute-resolution process. It is applicable to complaints relating to the organization’s products intended for, or required by, customers, the complaints-handling process, or dispute-resolution process

ISO/TS 10004:2010 Quality management – Customer satisfaction – Guidelines for monitoring and measuring.  ISO/TS 10004 provides guidance in defining and implementing processes to monitor and measure customer satisfaction. It is intended for use by organizations regardless of type, size, or product provided.

ISO 50001:2011 Energy Management (planned).  ISO 50001 will help organizations to improve their energy performance, increase energy efficiency, and reduce climate change impacts. It will establish a framework for industrial plants, commercial facilities or entire organizations to manage energy.

ISO 22000:2005 Food safety management systems. ISO 22000 specifies requirements for a food safety management system where an organization in the food chain needs to demonstrate its ability to control food safety hazards in order to ensure that food is safe at the time of human consumption.

IWA 1:2005 Health Care quality management systems — Guidelines for process improvements in health service organizations.  IWA 1 provides additional guidance for any health service organization involved in the management, delivery, or administration of health service products or services, including training and/or research, in the life continuum process for human beings, regardless of type, size and the product or service provided.

ISO 31000:2009 Risk management.  ISO 31000 provides principles and generic guidelines on risk management. The standard can be applied to any type of risk, whether having positive or negative consequences.

ISO 20000-1:2011 Service management system requirements.  ISO 20000-1 is a service management system (SMS) standard. It specifies requirements for the service provider to plan, establish, implement, operate, monitor, review, maintain, and improve an SMS.

ISO has developed over 18,500 International Standards on a variety of subjects and some 1,100 new ISO standards are published every year. The full range of technical fields can be seen from the listing International Standards. Users can browse that listing to find bibliographic information on each standard and, in many cases, a brief abstract.

Click here to browse all ISO Standards.