Quality manager

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) ... 

However this is not sufficient to give the customer confidence that a satisfactory quality of NDT will be provided. It is necessary to have a system of quality management and to confirm the effectiveness of its functioning. 

The specific character of NDT related to the quality assessment of safety critical products and objects requires constant analysis and continuous improvement of processes and their interconnection. Sometimes interaction of processes is very complicated (Figure 3) therefore the processes have to be systematized and simplified when possible to realize total quality management in NDT. 

Quality management in NDT is a fairly new trend and can be approached by two different conceptual routes (Figure 4). 

The second approach - creation of systems for non-destructive testing quality assurance in compliance with ISO standards 9000 series - considers the quality system as an assembly of organisational strueture, procedures, processes and resources necessary for overall quality management at the laboratory. This approach requires methodieal development. 

ISO 9000-1 Quality management and quality assurance standards - Part 1 Guidelines for selection and use ... 

M. Jenkins, ASTM Standard. News, 50 (July 1993) ISO 9000, International Standardsfor Quality Management, 5th ed., ISO, Geneva, Switzerland, 1994. 

Total Quality Management. Total quahty management (TQM) is the term which encompasses all of the continuous improvement activities with the goal of world class quahty. This corporate culture sets up the conditions for a climate favorable to companywide improvement. 

W. W. Eckenfelder, Jr., Principles of Water Quality Managements CBI Publishing, Boston, Mass., 1980. 

Pinal Air Quality Management Plan, 1982 rev.. South Coast Air QuaUty Management District and Southern California Association of Governments,... 

QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN THE INDUSTRIAL ANALYTICAL LABORATORY - DO WE GET OUR MONEY S WORTH ... 

Wageningen University and Research Centre Product design and Quality management group, PO Box 8129, 6700EV Wageningen, The Netherlands. E-mail kasper.hettinga wur.nl... 

Some approaches to quality management suggest that companies reduce the total number of suppliers for a service or material to just a few high quality entities. This allows the companies to symbi-otically develop relationships. Both parties can benefit greatly by using a system designed to rank preferred tollers. However, do not let the motivation to reduce the number of suppliers inhibit the critical review of potential tollers capable of performing the toll successfully. 

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

Similar as to quality, management should demonstrate indeed more than arm s length support for safety and safety improvement leading to the highest possible safety standards. Involved leadership and constancy of purpose is critical. 

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. 

ISO 9000 - Quality Management and Quality Assurance Standard. Guidelines for selection of Standards in the series and use of the same for the managemetit of quality systems. ISO 9001 - Model for Quality Assurance in Design or Development. Production. Installation and Servicing. 

ISO 9004 - Quality Management and Quality System Elements - Guidelines. 

Quality Management stresses participation by all involved in the work system, and their commitment to follow the systems meticulously and consistently. 

A recent survey of companies in the automotive and aerospace industry found that many companies are unaware of the benefits that can be gained from the utilization of quality tools and techniques. The adoption of BS EN ISO 9000 (1994) and Total Quality Management (TQM) strategies might be expected to increase the utilization of methods. However, the extent to which companies utilize methods is more strongly related to annual turnover than employee count, therefore the use of tools and techniques is dominated by large companies (Araujo et al., 1996). 

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) ... 

BS EN ISO 9000 1994 Quality Management and Quality A.ssurance Standards. London BSI. 

Kehoe, D. F. 1996 The Fundamentals of Quality Management. London Chapman Hall. 

Labovitz, G. H. 1988 Tough Questions Senior Managers Should he A.sking about Quality, The ODI Quality Management Series, Vol. 1. 

Radovilsky, Z. D., Gotcher, J. W. and Slattsveen, S. 1996 Implementing Total Quality Management statistical analysis of survey results. International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, 13(1), 10-23. 

Schonberger, R. 1992 Total Quality Management Cuts a Broad Swathe - through manufacturing and beyond. Organisational Dynamics, Spring, 16-27. 

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