QMS Conversion: A Process Approach

QMS Conversion: A Process Approach assists organizations in converting their existing quality management systems of documentation into systems of managed processes that deliver business benefits.

The 2000 version of ISO 9000 requires a different approach to be taken towards the achievement of quality, an approach that delivers customer satisfaction not simply compliance with documented procedures. By using a process approach to the development of a management system, the significant time and expense invested should be utilized in a way that will help an organization achieve real business benefits through the application of ISO 9000: 2000. The real value of the process approach is its focus on results thereby eliminating activities and procedures that do not add value in the organization's quest to satisfy its customers and other interested parties.

Written in a straightforward, non-technical manner, the approach is easily understood and followed by managers or engineers at any level. It allows readers to focus on results rather than functions, activities, procedures or standards. Applying this methodology to the management of quality will give you a distinctive competitive edge over the companies that end the certification process once the requirements have been met.

With this book, the reader will be able to:

• Recognize the difference between conformance to standard and system performance
• Distinguish between procedures and processes and understand what makes the two fundamentally different from one another
• Understand the large gap that exists between a procedural approach and a process approach
• Comprehend the importance and power of the eight quality management principles
• Understand the steps to be taken to convert element-based systems to process-based systems and identify the factors that affect success in the conversion process
• Construct a model of the business that identifies the key processes and their interfaces
• Establish performance indicators and measurements for each process and produce process flow charts that link together to form a coherent system description
• Understand the steps to take to construct a system that fulfills the design criteria
• Determine whether the conversion has been successful and identify where further improvement is required

Each chapter is structured with a set of learning outcomes that can be accomplished by covering its contents. The chapters follow the sequence of the conversion process and each addresses the change in direction brought about by the ISO 9000: 2000 family of standards.