A new ISO standard will help prevent death and injury to sailors attached to sailing trapezes on small craft, by ensuring they can release themselves from the wire hooking them to the boat in emergencies.

Although statistically sailing is one of the safer leisure activities, a number of incidents, sometimes fatal, have been reported involving trapeze wires.

A trapeze consists of a harness worn around the waist and attached to the upper mast by a wire, which allows sailors to hang outside the boat. Many models of sailing dinghy and catamarans include trapezes, as they are widely used to increase control and speed of a craft. But sailors must be able to detach themselves at any time, or they risk becoming trapped underwater or in dangerous conditions.

The new standard, ISO 10862:2009, Small craft – Quick release system for trapeze harness, provides requirements and test methods to ensure the correct operation of safety release devices, enabling the wearer to unhook rapidly in the event of an emergency.

Such a device should be easily accessible and able to be operated in all conditions, even when a craft is capsized or inverted.

“ISO 10862 includes a number of important features which could save a sailor’s life” said Ken Kershaw, a recreational craft safety expert, actively involved in the development of ISO 10862 and other small craft ISO standards.



Among the safety requirements the standard prescribes is a release time shorter than five seconds. Taking into account real life conditions, it also requires that the device be operable with only one hand and with the full finger neoprene gloves used in cold environments. At the same time, the safety mechanism should not to be released inadvertently.

“When preparing ISO 10862,” Mr. Kershaw explained, “we looked at other release systems used in kite surfing, mountaineering and deck safety harnesses and pooled all the information together.



“This standard is great news for manufacturers of sailing trapezes who will now have one global source for safety requirements. In Europe, harnesses complying with the standard will bear the CE mark, which is compulsory for safety equipment of this type” he concluded.

ISO 10862 is the result of a multi-stakeholder process which included the participation of recreational craft user groups as well as industry. Sailors were also invited to discuss the concerns they experienced when using trapezes.

Up until now, people seeking advice on how to plan their retirement or best invest their savings have been confronted with similar problems the world over. There is a vast choice of investment schemes, legal frameworks vary from country to country, and investments can go wrong. With so many financial planners to choose from, how can they know who to trust and how should they compare the different schemes on offer? For example, according to the technical committee that developed the standard, ISO/TC 222, Personal financial planning, the number of financial planners in the United States alone ranges from 800 000 to several million, depending on the definition of “planner”.

“An International Standard for financial planning will provide simplification for the client by setting forth requirements to assure that the client is well served by financial planners who have met the highest ethical and educational standards”, said Stuart Kessler, Chair of ISO/TC 222.

• The standard defines six steps of the personal financial planning process:
• establishing client/planner relations;
• determining goals and gathering data;
• evaluating the client’s financial status;
• developing and presenting the financial plan;
• implementing recommendations;
• monitoring the plan recommendations.

At the heart of ISO 22222:2005, is a framework that applies to all aspects of the personal financial planner’s ethical behaviour, and requires compliance with applicable rules and regulations. It gives the requirements for competence performance and competence assessment methods, and obliges the financial planner to demonstrate continued competency by following the necessary training programmes and maintaining records of these.

Read more here

In its broadest sense Six Sigma is a methodology that firms can use to improve the output quality of a process. Six Sigma has its roots in the repetitive processes of manufacturing; however, the same tools can be used in any business process from hiring new people to effective product design and marketing plans.

The foundation of the Six Sigma program is statistics; sigma stands for standard deviations from the mean of a data set in other words a measure of variation, while Six Sigma stands for six standard deviations from the mean. When a process reaches the six sigma level that process will be running close to perfection, producing a mere 3.4 defects per million. By using statistical and analytical tools firms can reduce the amount of variation in a process by removing the causes of variation therefore increasing the output quality of the process.


Jim Collins€™ advice to start with the right people is definitely applicable here. Implementing Six Sigma requires having the €œright people in the right seats€ to be successful.[2] Six Sigma is no different. Studying some of the companies listed above will prove that having the right people with the right skills and a shared vision is the foundation for success. The key players of the Six Sigma team are the:

1. Champion: (Usually upper management/ executive officers) The Champion is the person responsible for instilling the vision of Six Sigma and communicating it across the firm. The Champion should receive Six Sigma training in order to be an effective leader. While most likely not as knowledgeable in the use of specific tools in Six Sigma, a Champion must have an understanding of what the Black and Green Belts are doing in order to relay updates and accomplishments to upper management and throughout the company. The champion also assists the Black Belts by dedicating resources, assists in choosing projects, and is the advocate for the Black and Green Belts.

*Some programs distinguish between Champion and Executive leadership, it€™s up to you.

2. Master Black Belt: A master Black Belt is a Black Belt that has had extensive experience with the Six Sigma methodology. When a firm first tries to implement a Six Sigma program it may be necessary to hire the services of a master Black Belt to help facilitate correct implementation and initial success. The Master Black Belt can act as a coach to the Black and Green Belts by drawing on extensive experience relating past problems and how they were solved.

The Master Black Belt can also evaluate project results and give feedback to Black and Green Belts on performance and implementation.

Read more here

Is ISO 9001 relevant to software?

Today, software customers are clearly going global
and are demanding quality.  Given the stakes involved, it is important
for software organizations to understand all the rules for self-improvement
and for doing business in the international marketplace.  The ISO
9001 standard has become a basic part of these rules.

How does ISO 9001 apply to software?

ISO 9001 is an international “quality management system” standard–a standard
used to assess an organization’s management approach regarding quality.

ISO 9001’s focus is directed internally at an organization’s processes
and methods and externally at managing (controlling, assuring,…) the
quality of products and services delivered.

When viewing the key factors affecting the outcome of software development
(shown below in figure 1), ISO 9001’s focus is on all factors except “technology”.



Figure 1: Delivering Quality
Software – macro process (click figure for expanded view)

Scope of ISO 9001:

ISO 9001 is a generic international standard, adopted on a country-by-country
basis, and written for use by the widest possible audience.  As a
result, the standard provides requirements (what needs to be done)
and does not issue specific prescriptive solutions (how to do it).

Being so broadly focused, the ISO 9001 standard does not offer details
about its application to specific domains of expertise.  To assist
in the application of the standard for specific domains, a series of guidelines
are available; e.g., ISO 9000-3 is a guideline for the software development
industry.

Relevance of ISO 9000-3

ISO 9000-3 provides “guidance” on implementing an ISO 9001 compliant set
of processes (collectively referred as a “quality system” or as a “quality
management system”).



ISO 9000-3 is an international guideline.  Guidance is for software
development, supply and maintenance environments.  The guideline is
primarily written for “custom” (contract driven) software markets.
It can easily be adapted for other market needs such as commercial-off-the-shelf
(COTS), internal software development, etc..

ISO 9000-3 virtually mirrors the provision of ISO 9001–it does not
add to, or otherwise change, the requirements of ISO 9001.

ISO 9000-3 is not intended to be used as an internal/external audit
tool.  Its intent is to guide software organizations with their
ISO 9001 implementation and process change efforts: in short, software
organizations are audited against ISO 9001 (not ISO 9000-3).

An example of the type of guidance provided by ISO 9000-3 is shown in
the following table.
Read more here

ISO has published on its Web site a new electronic edition of its advice for managers, Selection and use of the ISO 9000 family of standards.

The ISO 9000 family, which currently consists of 17 international quality management standards and guidelines (plus a corrigendum), has earned a global reputation as a basis for establishing effective and efficient quality management systems.

The best known standard is ISO 9001, which specifies the basic requirements for a quality management system (QMS) that an organization must fulfil to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide products (which include services) that enhance customer satisfaction and meet applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. The standard can be used for certification/registration and contractual purposes by organizations seeking recognition of their quality management system. It is estimated that a million ISO 9001 certificates have been issued in 170 countries.

However, ISO technical committee ISO/TC 176, Quality management and quality assurance, which is responsible for developing and maintaining the ISO 9000 family, and which has updated the e-brochure, states: “You will obtain the greatest value by using the entire family of standards in an integrated manner.”

The e-brochure provides a general perspective on the ISO 9000 family of standards. It is an overview of the standards and demonstrates how, collectively, they form a basis for continual improvement and business excellence. The e-brochure includes:

• An overview of the ISO 9000 core standards
• A step-by-step process to implement a quality management system
• Examples of typical applications of the documents
• Information on the ISO 9000 family of standards.

Read more here

Vegetable

ISO 22000:2005, which gives the requirements for a food safety management system,
is implemented by more than 700 organizations in some 60 countries. It and the supporting standards
in the series can be used by any type of organization in the food chain, ranging from feed producers,
primary producers through food manufacturers, transport and storage operators, including also subcontractors
to retail and food service outlets.

The CD is designated the ISO Pack
on Food Safety Management Systems and it includes the following

standards and related documents:

• ISO 22000:2005, Food safety management systems -Requirements
  for any organization in the food chain and its corrigendum ISO 22000:2005/Cor1:2006 give the basic
  requirements for a food safety management system to ensure food safety along the food chain, up to the
  point of final consumption.





• ISO/TS 22004:2005, Food safety management systems – Guidance on the application
  of ISO 22000:2005 gives guidance on the use of ISO 22000, which is based on the principles of
  the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system developed by the Codex Alimentarius Commission
  and is designed to be applied together with relevant standards published by that organization.
• ISO 22005:2007, Traceability in the feed and food chain – General principles
  and basic requirements for system design and implementation gives the principles and specifies
  the basic requirements for the design and implementation of a feed and food traceability system.
• ISO/TS 22003:2007, Food safety management systems – Requirements for bodies
  providing audit and certification of food safety management systems and ISO/IEC 17021:2006, Conformity
  assessment – Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems,
  have been developed for certification bodies and the accreditation bodies that approve them as competent.
  Certification of a food safety management system to ISO 22000 is not a requirement of the standard,
  but is one means of providing assurance that an organization has implemented a system for the management
  of food safety in line with its policy.

Read more here

]]> http://quality-news.com/308/all-iso-standards-for-food-safety-management-systems-included-on-one-cd/feed/ 0 http://quality-news.com/299/quality-assurance-in-the-hospital-making-it-work/ http://quality-news.com/299/quality-assurance-in-the-hospital-making-it-work/#comments Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:04:23 +0000 QU-King http://quality-news.com/?p=299

resilience

institutions, and revised hospital accreditation guidelines have sharpened the clinical and administrative hospital
staffs’ concern for evaluating the quality of care they provide. Evaluation is particularly important for detecting and rectifying, as early as possible, any adverse effects caused by recent cost-containment efforts.Physicians have traditionally enjoyed a great deal of autonomy in their practices,’ and the mechanisms for monitoring and assuring the quality of the care they provide in hospital have tended to be based on internal peer review.23 Time, however, has torn away much of the curtain of professional mystique. The growth of the consumer movement, governmental concerns about spi-ralling health care costs, public policy debates over health care priorities, financial restraints on health care

4Physicians and administrators now must face the challenge of establishing comprehensive and vigorous
systems of quality assurance and learn to avoid the traps that impede implementation of such systems. Much of
the insecurity and frustration that they feel can be avoided by remembering that quality assurance is a very
simple process that deals with finding problems and fixing them.

5 Implementation of a quality assurance program does not imply that some unknown authority is about to challenge physicians or administrators on how they practise their professions, and the program should not be regarded as yet another bureaucratic measure that diverts time and energy from the important business of caring for patients; quality assurance is simply the systematization, documentation and assessment of certain evaluative activities and should be seen as a
stimulus that makes these activities as rigorous and pertinent as possible. Indeed, it may be argued that a hospital’s attention to quality assurance is one indicator of the overall quality of care provided by the hospital.

making it work
Thus, a comprehensive definition of quality health care would be as follows:
6 The optimal achievable result for each patient, the avoidance of physician-induced (iatrogenic) complications, and attention to patient and family needs in a manner that is both cost effective and reasonably documented.
The success of any quality assurance program depends almost entirely on the commitment and interest of the administrators, nurses, paramedical staff and physicians. A lack of commitment is far more injurious to the program than any technical flaws in the evaluative process. Coordinators of quality assurance programs must select a strategy that inspires interest and commitment without burdening clinical and administrative staff with an activity they neither understand nor believe in.
As Affeldt and associates7 have stated: “Just as a good manager monitors the status of the budget or staffing
levels routinely to assure a cost-effective department, the quality of the care in each department and in the
hospital [as a whole] should be monitored routinely with equivalent rigour.”

Recognition and consideration of five basic issues can do much to improve hospital-based quality assurance activities.

1. The temptation to try to buy an easy way out Hospital leaders – administrators and heads of clinical divisions or departments – must invest time and effort to learn the principles and practice of quality assurance. The installation of “canned” quality assurance packages is no substitute for leaders’ becoming intimately involved in the development of quality assurance ideas and activities.
2. The needfor a “utilization-focused” approach Acquiring information is no problem, but acquiring information that will actually help to resolve a problem is the sine qua non of an effective evaluation system.

It iS essential that a quality assurance program assure the relevance and utility of the results of the evaluation – the so-called utilization-focused approach.
8To assure the program’s utility, the coordinator of a quality assurance program must expend considerable
energy in helping the key decision makers and information users, identify and sharpen relevant questions.
9 Those who are most likely to be affected by the results of an evaluation must work together to define the issues and determine how they might best be resolved.

Read more here

]]> http://quality-news.com/299/quality-assurance-in-the-hospital-making-it-work/feed/ 0 http://quality-news.com/295/abc-analysis/ http://quality-news.com/295/abc-analysis/#comments Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:24:29 +0000 QU-King http://quality-news.com/295/abc-analysis/

ABC Analysis

Over 100 years ago, Vilfredo Pareto made the statement that twenty percent of the population owned 80 percent of the property in Italy. In 1940, Joseph Juran, a mechanical engineer, reapplied Paretos principle. In doing so, he created Pareto analysis or ABC analysis. Juran said that by using this analysis you could separate the vital few from the trivial many. Managers use this analysis today to prioritize tasks by those that are of most worth.
How To Use ABC Analysis: Sallys Grocery Store
While ABC analysis can be used for many different things, we are going to look at it from an inventory perspective. To better understand this tool, we are going to talk about Sally who owns a grocery store. She is fairly profitable, but would like to focus on the items that create more revenue. As you work this analysis, I will refer back to Sallys grocery store, and how her analysis went.

Proving the Pareto principle, we can see that although you may have a small amount of a certain item, it may create the largest amount of revenue.

Read more here

]]> http://quality-news.com/295/abc-analysis/feed/ 0 http://quality-news.com/260/total-quality-management-and-reinventing-government/ http://quality-news.com/260/total-quality-management-and-reinventing-government/#comments Sun, 14 Jun 2009 06:29:52 +0000 QU-King http://quality-news.com/?p=260 I. What is TQM?

TQM is a new paradigm of management! TQM is both a philosophy and methodology
for managing organizations. TQM includes a set of principles, tools, and
procedures that provide guidance in the practical affairs of running an
organization. TQM involves all members of the organization in controlling
and continuously improving how work is done. Government agencies that use
TQM agree that it is fundamentally different from traditional management.

II. History of TQM!

TQM Japanese Management?

Yes and No!

The American Walter A. Shewhart of Bell Laboratories developed a system
of measuring variance in production systems known as statistical process
control (SPC).

Statistical process control is one of the major tools that
TQM uses to monitor consistency, as well as to diagnose problems in work
processes.

His student W. Edwards Deming, a mathematical physicist and U.S Department
of Agriculture and Census Bureau research scientist, was hired to teach
SPC and quality control to the U.S. Defense industry. These methods were
considered so important to the war effort that they were classified as
military secrets known as Z1. Ironically, after WWII most U.S. companies
stopped using SPC and TQM type quality control procedures.

After WWII U.S. occupation forces in conjunction with the Japanese Union
of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) invited W. Edwards Deming to lecture
throughout Japan on SPC and quality control methodology.

The Japanese were
quick to adapt and modify Deming’s techniques. However, even today the
highest award in Japan for quality is named after W. Edwards Deming. And
one of the highest honors in Japan is to have him present at the ceremony.
Deming received one of Japan’s highest awards, the Emperor’s medal for
his contribution to the economic reconstruction of Japan.

Other American’s, for example, Joseph M. Juran also stressed to the
Japanese the importance of involving all departments in the pursuit of
quality and the importance of customer satisfaction, rather simple adherence
to technical specifications. Kaoru Ishikawa enlarged the ideas of Juran
and Feigenbaum to include as customers, internal customers, those in an
organization who depend upon the work output of others. Also, basing his
own work in part on the American Behavioral scientists Herbert Maslow (Hierarchy
of needs) and Douglas McGregor (Theory Y) he developed the concept of quality
circles. TQM today, as practiced in Japan, the U.S. and Europe, is a holistic
management philosophy that has evolved over time, and not simply a set
of specific techniques like SPC, Quality Circles, and continuous improvement
procedures. TQM, if implemented correctly, is a fundamental organizational
change.

III. Total Quality Management Today

In the private sector in the U.S. TQM began to have significant impact
in about 1985 when major U.S. companies (e.g. Proctor and Gamble and Ford
Motor Company, for example) began to work directly with TQM experts like
W. Edwards Deming. Government at all levels (Federal, State, and Local)
has only recently become involved. Currently, some aspects of TQM are in
practice at both the State and Local Level. David K. Carr and Ian D. Littman,
Excellence In Government Coopers and Lybrand (1991) report that TQM has
been applied in a variety of functional levels at various levels of government
in the U.S by 1991.

IV. Philosophy of TQM. The Major Differences Between TQM and Traditional
Management (Government and Private Sector). TQM has been characterized
as emphasizing the three C�s Customers, Culture and Counting.

. TQM is customer not specialist driven.

Users of products or services define what they want rather than have
their needs defined by specialists. In TQM, customer needs and expectations,
not agency established standards, define quality. No matter how good your
products and services are by some “objective” standard, they cannot have
total quality unless they meet your customers needs. A customer is anyone
who receives or uses what you produce or whose service satisfaction depends
upon your actions. There are two general types of customers in TQM internal
and external. An internal customer is someone in your organization whose
part in the work process comes after yours. An external customer is the
ultimate recipient of your product or service. TQM cannot be implemented
unless it is a top down organization. TQM reflects a different paradigm
of management. e.g. The chain on the automobile line in Japan versus U.S.

Read more here

]]> http://quality-news.com/260/total-quality-management-and-reinventing-government/feed/ 0 http://quality-news.com/256/quality-management-practices-in-the-growing-telecom-industry-%e2%80%93-an-industrial-insight/ http://quality-news.com/256/quality-management-practices-in-the-growing-telecom-industry-%e2%80%93-an-industrial-insight/#comments Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:21:38 +0000 QU-King http://quality-news.com/?p=256 Quality Management has made significant inroads into Telecom industry worldwide. Initiatives like TL 9000 Telecom Quality Management System aim to provide “a consistent set of quality expectations to drive efficiency and performance” in telecom industry worldwide. Companies are adopting various quality tools in this sector and even the latest Quality Management initiatives like Six Sigma are being used.
Telecom industry is however in its growing stage and reliable data on adoption of Quality Management in this industry, particularly in developing economies, has not been drawn up. An extensive literature review has been done to explore the contributions addressing initiatives and issues in Quality Management in Telecom businesses. In parallel, Telecom business firms in Pakistan are investigated for their current and planned Quality Management Initiatives, including TL 9000.

The primary and expected outcomes of current and planned Quality Management programs and initiatives have also been explored. Telecom Industry in developing economies is attracting huge FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) in Pakistan and India, and in other developing countries; and the trend is expected to continue. The result of this study will contribute towards:

• Decision making knowledge required by current and potential investors.

• Provision of Industrial insight for practitioner and researchers worldwide.

• Addition to Sector Specific Quality Management Body of Knowledge.

Quality in telecom

The definition of “quality”, in the fledgling telecom industry in Pakistan, is at best obscure.

Quality is often defined imprecisely in textbooks (Allen 2006) in terms of a subjectively assessed performance level (P) of the unit in question and the expectations (E) that customers have for that unit. A rough formula for quality (Allen 2006) (Q) is:


Q=P/E
(1) Often, quality is considered in the context of many smaller parts of a larger service, such as the clarity of voice, connectivity, courtesy of operators etc, and the key issue is, why some fail to perform up to expectation and others succeed.

Read more here

]]> http://quality-news.com/256/quality-management-practices-in-the-growing-telecom-industry-%e2%80%93-an-industrial-insight/feed/ 0