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THE
QUEST METHOD
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Three Phases
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Quest
will create the initial strategy by understanding
the nature of your business and the structure
and size (headcount) of your organization.
You are given a proposal and this proposal
is refined by further discussion with the
Quest President. On acceptance of the proposal
you enter the first of three phases in creation
of an effective quality system.
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Planning (Phase One)
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Your
leadership plus key functional representatives
(depending on your organization size) form
the leadership and/or project team for the
journey. They spend up to 3 separate days
together in which they develop their understanding
of an ISO 9000 quality system, agree 'the
gap' between what the business has and what
ISO 9000 requires and then develop the foundations
for the quality system. The outputs from this
phase are an agreed 'gap analysis', and process
map of the business, ownership of quality
system elements, a defined project team, a
defined role for the management representative,
a quality policy statement, a quality plan
and a refined and agreed plan for the journey.
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System Development (Phase Two)
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The first step in this phase
is to develop quality system objectives in
what is often called the 'quality system manual'.
During this work the activities required for
operating the quality system and meeting the
system objectives are listed. This is carried
out by the Leadership team with the Project
Team in support.
The project team then moves on to developing
the quality system procedures and this is initiated
with a procedure workshop. As quality system
procedures are developed, areas where operating
procedures are required are identified.
Development of operating procedures will require
involvement of other employees and this is done
through "ISO 9000 in the Workplace' training.
With larger organizations this has been provided
through a 'Train the Trainer' method for the
clients own trainers.
In smaller organizations the quality system
procedures will be developed first. Smaller
organizations will usually find that operating
procedures are embraced within the quality manual.
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System Assessment (Phase Three)
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Many consultants miss the
opportunity to drive process improvement at
this point and. QUEST addresses this opportunity
by ensuring involvement of a person from each
function in an organization in the 'Internal
Audit'. This causes the 'Internal Audit' activity
to create a significant increase in understanding
and communication between functions and improvement
in the quality system. The first cycle focuses
on ensuring procedures are a true reflection
of practice, the second cycle focuses on complete
and accurate capturing of data in quality
records and the final cycle looks at the flow
of data and information between functions.
When Quest and yourself are satisfied with the
quality system performance the registrar, who
will have been chosen at the start of this assessment
phase, will conduct a 'book audit' and preliminary
assessment of the system.
The preliminary assessment of the system is
at a 'system' level and acts as a further stimulus
for system improvement after the Internal Audit.
The Registration Audit is then a confirmation
that the quality system is effective |
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HOW
QUEST WORKS WITH YOU |
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Initial Client Interface
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The
Director of Business Development identifies your initial needs and develops
the proposal which will best fit those needs. This will normally involve
an initial meeting with the President of your organization and/or the person
responsible for the quality system project. The proposal is developed and
then refined after the second meeting. References will be provided if requested
and the consultant to be involved in the project will be introduced to you.
When agreement on the proposal has been reached the Director of Operations
at QUEST will take responsibility for the project. |
Project Commencement
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The
Director of Operations will be introduced to your Project Leader and will
establish requirements for the initial activities. Your Project Manager
or 'Management Representative' will agree on date, details and location
of the first engagement and the Director of Operations will ensure the availability
of the lead consultant. The Management Representative will be provided with
a project handbook (Management Representatives Handbook) and also project
management software.
The Quest President will often conduct the initial leadership phase with
you, subject to availability.
The Director of Operations will be responsible for ensuring consulting dates
are agreed with you and the consultant. The consultant reports to the Director
of Operations on the completion of each engagement and will ensure any issues
are highlighted.
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Project Execution
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The
Consultant may work alone or have 'back up' dependent on client needs.
Wherever a project requires a higher involvement in procedure writing
by the consultant there may be a separate consultant employed for
this purpose.
The consultant will report briefly in writing to the Director of Operations
on completion of any consulting day.
The Director of Operations will receive a copy of the Quality System Manual
from you when completed and the first procedure drafts. These will be monitored
to ensure consulting work is being performed to standard.
The Director of Operations will provide you with registrar options
in the final phase of the project. Quest has a strong relationship
and is highly respected by a number of registrars.
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