Some examples of how The Quality Department has implemented ISO 9001, reduced complaints, cut waste, improved customer satisfaction and improved operating profit

ISO 9001

Challenge:  A factory needed its paper-based Quality Management System (QMS) updated in order to retain their ISO certificate and, due to reorganisation aimed at profit improvement, had lost most of its trained auditors.

Solution:  The first step was to interview key members of staff, to find out what they did & why. Processes were rewritten as simple flow charts and documented procedures retained only where necessary. The system was installed on the site intranet, making extensive use of hyperlinks and tested by key workers before launch. The workforce were trained to navigate the site and internal auditing was outsourced, to release key staff. Shortly after launching the new system, BSI used the site to demonstrate best practise to their new US Regional Manager.

Reduction of re-work

Challenge:  A manufacturer was producing high margin product on old machinery that had almost no process control, but relied exclusively on the experience of its operators. Each operator had a unique way of setting the machine and rework was running at 50%.

Solution:  A multi-functional team was assembled that identified critical issues from their customers back to the process, with likely causes and priorities for corrective action. The team met regularly to review their current top five corrective action projects and progress in the market. Operators were involved in the development of Standard Operating Procedures and the reduction of other process variables. Over a period of 18 months, rework was reduced to 25% and customer complaints showed a marked improvement.

Setting up a Quality Department

Challenge:  A paper pulp company, based in Portugal, had a $350m project to install a new papermaking operation. The workforce had already been recruited and the laboratory building was under construction, but no other plans had been made.

Solution:  A Quality Department^TM Associate worked with the contractor to lay out and service the laboratory. Following this the Associate, purchased, installed and commissioned test equipment, defined the quality management and production reporting systems with the project IT contractor, trained staff and contributed to the commissioning of the paper machine.

Complaints investigation

Challenge:  A producer of artists' watercolour papers experienced an explosion in complaints for poor water resistance but could find no likely cause in their historical test data.

Solution:  A questionnaire was produced for the sales people to use when talking to customers. An analysis of data from questionnaires and complaints identified that the producer had two separate issues, one of them, which was unique to a key distributor, couldn't be reproduced in samples returned by their customers. Further analysis of the data showed that one brand of paper was in the market, on average, for 18 months before being used and a second for up to three years. This discovery allowed the producer to identify a change in the characteristics of one of their raw materials and solved this problem by changing their supplier. The distributor's problem was more difficult to resolve, but a programme of experiments proved it to have been caused by the inks used to print covers for their paper pads.

If you would like to discuss any of the case studies, or for an informal discussion of your individual needs, please contact us.