Why Have a Quality Management System for Service Industry Businesses? At first glance a Quality Management System (QMS) might appear inappropriate for service industry businesses.  There would appear to be a lack of metrics to serve as inputs, as a large portion of the product is not physical.  Customer satisfaction however is a very tangible

ISO 9001 Certification Audits Once an ISO 9001 program is in place, a company will face audits as part of the certification process.  These audits ensure that the company’s program is in compliance with the requirements of the standard.  This may seem like a process that would likely cause a great deal of stress, but

Implementing ISO 9001:2015 as a Powerful Tool ISO 9001: 2015 is a powerful tool for quality management but care must be taken in its implementation to ensure that your company’s vision remains.  Any tool is only as beneficial if it is used properly.  To be certain, any Quality Management System (QMS) requires processes.  While these

Capital One Cyberattack The Capital One cyberattack is a concern for small businesses.  Capital One said Monday that the personal information of approximately 106 million card customers and applicants had been compromised.  This is one of the largest cyberattacks on a big bank. The information of customers and applicants compromised included small businesses.  The Wall

ISO 27001 provides businesses effective cybersecurity against today’s threats.  Microsoft notified nearly 10,000 customers, in 2018 that they had been targeted.  Most of these customers were businesses.  The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) has identified Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea as nation-states responsible for most cyberattacks.  Other players include corporate competitors, organized crime, and

ISO 27001 Prevents Cyberattacks Implementing an ISO 27001 Information Security Management System (ISMS) prevents cyberattacks.  The Ponemon Institute in a 2017 study found that a typical firm experiences 130 security breaches each year.  Mitigating these breaches requires more than advanced IT practices, it requires a dedicated management system.  ISO/IEC 27001 is such a system.  It

Counterfeit Parts and Quality Management Systems (QMS) AS9100 and AS5553, provide a Quality Management System (QMS) approach to the problem of counterfeit parts for the aviation, space, and defense industries.  Unfortunately, counterfeit parts threaten every sector of manufacturing, most especially the electronics industry. Counterfeit Parts pose a Threat to OEMs The best product design is

ISO 9001: 2015 Quality Management System Requirements Proper documentation is the cornerstone of ISO 9001:2015.  Creating a system of documentation that is appropriate to your company’s requirements is crucial.  This is because the documentation defines the manner in which it will conduct business.  Paying attention to the design of your Quality Management System (QMS) at

Using Your QMS for your company, this is critical to it being effective! Please remember that your Quality Management System should be designed to improve your processes and improve the satisfaction of your customers.  It is up to your management team and senior leadership to identify the strategic direction of your company and align the

 Corrective Actions provide Opportunities for Improvement! One of the most overlooked areas of the QMS for increasing profitability is to implement a process to control corrective actions. Some business leaders see this process as unnecessarily complicated and time consuming, but this is often because it is excessively used on small problems that do not need

Opportunities for Improvement are tied to effective Internal Audits and Management Review. Companies must strive to identify Opportunities for Improvement in many ways, the biggest opportunity is through its Internal Audit with a critical review in the subsequent Management Review meeting.  Many in management view their internal audit program as a waste of resources that

Quality Objectives must be established for your QMS and be measurable and reasonable for your company. The use of quality objectives to drive improvement is not new to the ISO 9001:2015 requirements.  Quality objectives, which are one of the best ways to focus the improvement activities within your company, have been included in the QMS

Risks and Opportunities are managed on a daily basis at every company. Everyone evaluates risks and opportunities every time they make a decision.  It is all about weighing the probability of a positive outcome versus the impact or cost of a negative outcome from an action taken. An addition to the ISO 9001:2015 requirements, compared