Lean Quality System
A Lean ISO 9001 QMS gets rid of the waste
Lean ISO Internal Audit. Do your processes meet your goals? Are you even auditing your processes? There is general agreement among Quality Managers and Quality Auditors that process auditing is more beneficial than clause based auditing. But are you sure you understand the difference? In clause based auditing, an organization or a segment of an organization is audited to verify it complies with a particular clause of the ISO 9001 QMS Requirements. With process auditing, a particular process or group of processes is audited to ensure that it complies with any part or clause of the standard that applies to it.
Saint Louis based ISO quality auditors are available to perform internal audits, supplier audits or an ISO Gap Analysis. Bizmanualz can then work with you to develop or improve your ISO QMS or lean out your ISO QMS.
Lean Provides Organizational Improvement
Lean ISO Quality Implementation. Implement a Lean ISO 9001 compliant Quality System anywhere in the St. Louis area, reduce procedure paperwork, improve your manufacturing processes, or take your company to the next process capability level. What is the first thing you think of when you hear the term “ISO 9001“? Lengthy policies, complicated procedures, and miles of forms to fill out? You may be misinformed — ISO 9001 is based on sound business practices and is designed to help your organization improve incrementally.
Now, what do you think of when you hear the term “lean“? Are you thinking “no fat”? Do the words “efficient”, “effective”, or “no waste” come to mind? If we put the two terms together, we get Lean ISO 9001, which means a quality management system (QMS) with no fat…an ISO 9001 system that is efficient, effective, and reduces waste within your organization. Wouldn’t you rather have a Lean ISO System?
What can a Lean Quality System Do for You?
“Quality is meeting the customer’s perception of what they need, want, and desire.”
QUALITY PROBLEM
Ardent Outdoors was successfully developing high-end spinning and casting reels and accessories built with quality and American craftsmanship. Ardent President and CEO Michael Brooks and his staff planned for an increase in sales, and to expand their number of products and number of employees. But they realized that any additional growth in production would require some kind of organization improvement.
Because each of the company’s reels is handmade—a value unique in the industry that Brooks did not want to compromise—rates of inconsistency among products could be high. And that inconsistency would be compounded by a more demanding production schedule resulting from business growth.
QUALITY SYSTEM APPROACH
Ardent approached Bizmanualz to help plot a strategy for product growth and increased consistency.
“For me, consistency is quality,” Brooks said.
If Brooks intended to create production growth and maintain that quality, Ardent needed to focus their efforts on quality management to increase consistency. Steve, our operational improvement consultant, assessed the company’s areas for organization improvement and created a strategy to address the problems. He determined that the cumulative consistency of all production—assembly, testing, design, supplies, etc.—was only 30 percent. The goal was to increase that cumulative level to at least 50 percent.
QUALITY SOLUTION
Working with management, Steve established three organization improvement areas that would dramatically increase consistency: assembly processing, document control and quality engineering.
He listed the action items in each area that would lead to overall consistency. For instance, to improve operations in assembly processing, Steve showed factory leadership how process changes—such as developing job aids, developing tooling and fixtures, improving the floor layout, labeling bins for defective parts, and relocating extra inventory –would improve Ardent’s bottom line and increase production capability.
And it did.
QUALITY RESULTS
Steve determined that organization improvement saved the company 30 work minutes per day, per employee, which translates to saving 130 man hours per year, per employee. Within three months, Steve led the team to more than double their cumulative consistency. Ardent’s production increased dramatically when Alton Jones used Ardent’s XS1000 bait casting reel to win the Bassmaster Classic. Even with the unexpected spike in sales, the company was able to maintain its production growth and consistency.
“With Steve’s help, we were able to handle the increase in production smoothly and effectively,” Brooks said. “After working with Bizmanualz, our consistency increased, we cut waste, and we saved money.”
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