Quality management system

The UK government enquiry into the Piper Alpha disaster in the North Sea in 1988 has had a significant impact on working practices and equipment and has helped to improve offshore safety around the world. One result has been the development of a Safety Management System (SMS) which is a method of integrating work practices, and is a form of quality management system. Major oil companies have each developed their own specific SMS, to suit local environments and modes of operation, but the SMS typically addresses the following areas (recommended by the Cullen Enquiry into the Piper Alpha disaster) ... 

Is any processes quality management system certified under the requirements of an ISO 9000 or ISO 14000 standard If yes, skip question number 5. ... 

ISO 14000 / ISO 9000 Standards published by the International Organization for Standardization. ISO 14000 standards are for companies establishing an environmental management system. ISO 9000 standards are for companies establishing a quality management system. 

TQM involves all the organizations, all the functions, the external suppliers, the external customers and involves the quality policy. Similarly, TQM cannot be achieved without good Quality Management Systems (QMS) which bring together all functions relevant to the product, providing policies, procedures and documentation. The elements of a quality organization consist of these three mutually dependent items (Field and Swift, 1996) ... 

As discussed earlier in this chapter, the main requirements to ensure an appropriate safety culture are similar to those which are advocated in quality management systems. These include active participation by the workforce in error and safety management initiatives, a blame-free culture which fosters the free flow of information, and an explicit policy which ensures that safety considerations will always be primary. In addition both operations and management staff need feedback which indicates that participation in error reduction programs has a real impact on the way in which the plant is operated and systems are designed. 

Presents an effective process for integrating PSM and ESH systems into one overall Quality Management system. 

If your organization does not have a Quality Management system, you can still apply many of the concepts described in these guidelines. However, you will still need to identify a pervasive, consistent management system within which to conduct the integration. 

The ISO 9000 series of standards has been used for illustrative purposes throughout this book. However, all the leading Quality Management systems have similar structures so you will find the concepts familiar regardless of which system your company has adopted. Chapter 9 summarizes the principal differences and similarities between ISO 9000 and other commonly used Quality Management systems. 

The ISO 9000 series has been chosen because it is the most widely used Quality Management system and is a recognized international standard. The use of ISO 9000 in this book is not an endorsement of ISO 9000 over other systems. Rather, it is a practical decision based on the need to select one system to consistently illustrate the ideas contained in the book. 

Companies that have no quality system or that have just started implementing a quality system should be aware that the guidelines do not show how to select and implement quality systems. In the latter case, the book will still be useful in helping combine and streamline management systems. In addition, the comparison of different Quality Management systems in Chapter 9 may provide some useful input to Quality Management system selection. 

The intended audience for these guidelines includes those responsible for developing and implementing PSM and ESH management systems which could benefit from incorporation into a Quality Management system. This... 

Once you have identified all the PSM and ESH programs and elements within your organization, you can develop a chart that shows the potential synergies with your Quality Management program. One axis of this table will be the programs and elements you identified and listed in Exhibit 2-7. The other axis will be the requirements of your Quality Management system. 

Exhibit 2-9 illustrates the degree of overlap between PSM, ESH, and your Quality Management system. You should use this table to demonstrate... 

Quality Management system priorities to consider are management responsibility, quality system principles, auditing, contract review, design control, corrective action, document control, quality records, training, product safety and liability, and statistical techniques, because these are critical aspects of the Quality Management system where Xmple Inc. already has some systems in place. 

What needs to be understood is that the role of managers changes in quality management systems. The day-to-day process is driven by the staff involved in the process, rather than the manger, and these staff are likely to be in every department in the company. The role of the manager is to monitor performance, be a catalyst for improve-... 

The first step is to understand the Quality Management system within your company. Your company s existing programs may be formal or informal or a mixture of both. Characteristics of these are briefly described below. 

You will need to undertake a series of interviews to understand existing PSM and ESH programs. You may also need to conduct some interviews to confirm aspects of your quality management system. However, if the Quality Management system is not well documented this may indicate a weakness, and you should reconsider the wisdom of moving forward with the proposed integration. It is essential to test how the processes are actually functioning, as this frequently differs from any description, formal or informal. 

Q The basis for the integration will be ISO 9000 why this and not another quality management system ... 

Experience indicates that in a typical company there will be considerable overlap between and within the PSM and ESH and quality management systems. Your work to secure support (Chapter 2) will have already demonstrated many of these overlaps. The detailed assessment of the existing management systems described in this chapter will provide a comprehensive understanding of the overlaps. 

Quality Management systems have demonstrated their effectiveness in providing efficient, flexible management processes. However, in many instances they have failed to deliver their promises in full and in some cases have failed completely. These failures have been ascribed to cultural obstacles that were not identified during the design process. In a recent survey of 350 senior executives Arthur D. Little, Inc. found that 68 percent of the companies reported unanticipated problems with their change process. 

What aspects of the current quality management system are already included in these systems ... 

Understands the quality management system you will be using... 

The very design of Quality Management systems is intended to guarantee continuous improvement. Many of the features discussed in the earlier chapters contribute to continuous improvement. This chapter summarizes these features and demonstrates how they relate and combine to provide continuous improvement. 

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