lean Articles
Below you will find all articles and posts tagged with lean. These articles are either primarily about lean or about topics that are directly related to lean.
In this series of articles we are discussing implementing an ISO 9001 Quality Management System (QMS) in four distinct phases. By breaking the implementation into stages, it becomes more manageable and less overwhelming. In phase one, the general requirements described in Clause 4 of ISO 9001 QMS requirements are implemented, and in phase two the elements of continual improvement from Clause 8 are set in place and practiced.
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Author: Sandi Villarreal Published on: March 16th, 2009
Categories: ISO Quality Standards, Strategic Process Improvement
If your goal is ISO certification, the best method is to create a compliant QMS in stages.
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Author: Don Reed Published on: March 9th, 2009
Categories: ISO Quality Standards
Creating a Quality Management System (QMS) that fulfills the requirements of the ISO 9001:2008 Standard can seem like a daunting task. But it doesn’t have to be.
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Author: Don Reed Published on: March 2nd, 2009
Categories: ISO Quality Standards
Last week we identified the most common process maturity level in many organizations, phase one — Reactive. Few organizations are able to advance much farther up in management system maturity. This week we will look at the next two levels in our process maturity model that describe the phases in which an effective management system comes to life. The Documentation and Stability Phases.
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Author: Sandi Villarreal Published on: February 9th, 2009
Categories: Business Process Improvement, Procedures & Process Training
Your management system consists of business processes that interact with each other through documents and records. Yet in many companies the system appears to be functioning whether anything is documented or recorded. Can this be an effective management system? It depends on the process management maturity of your organization.
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Author: Don Reed Published on: February 2nd, 2009
Categories: Business Process Improvement, Process Management
When you hear the phrase “internal control system required by Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Section 404,” do you automatically think of policies and procedures? Simply having accounting policies and procedures does not indicate an internal control system. Well-written accounting procedures that document well-defined accounting processes, however, are an important component of the internal control system you are building.
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Author: Editor Published on: November 17th, 2008
Categories: Accounting & Internal Control, Accounting Procedures Manuals, Writing Policies and Procedures
Question of the month: How can you make sure that procedures are used in your organization?
How effective are procedures that languish in file drawers or collect dust in binders… never used or seeing the light of day? What is the point of having procedures like these? We have talked in the past about why you need procedures, now let’s talk about how to get those procedures used.
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Author: Editor Published on: September 29th, 2008
Categories: Monthly Summary
Last week we discussed how to ensure procedures are used. Along with communication, training and auditing, we brought up the concept of buy-in. We thought the topic of buy-in deserved further discussion. So, what is buy-in?
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Author: Don Reed Published on: September 12th, 2008
Categories: Writing Policies and Procedures
Our previous essay listed the typical problems with procedures that we hear from those attending our Well-Defined Processes class. We divided these problems into two broad categories: poorly written and not used. The previous essay also covered problems that fit into the “poorly written” category.
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Author: Editor Published on: September 8th, 2008
Categories: Writing Policies and Procedures
According to comments we receive from attendees at the conclusion of our two day Well-Defined Processes course, one of the more enjoyable aspects of the course (besides the excellent instruction and great materials!) is the interaction that typically takes place between participants.
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Author: Editor Published on: August 11th, 2008
Categories: Procedures & Process Training, Writing Policies and Procedures
