So you have been in the Quality world for many years. Admit it, you are the underdog. No matter if the whole company revolves around you, you are not the Operations Manager nor are you the Sales Leader. You are the underdog. They like you when they need you and they spit you when they don’t. You are the hero when a fire breaks out, but they throw you to the trenches when everything is running good. Luckily things have change quite a bit since the early Dilbert days of Quality, so let’s have some good old fun remembering the good, the bad and the ugly side of quality.

Have you ever wondered why the last Internal Audit or External Audit uncovered so many issues even though you thought everything was great? Are most of your nonconformities or corrective actions pointed out by external parties? If the answer to any of these questions is yes then what you may need in order to pass an audit with flying colors is an assessment, a really good assessment done in a very informal way.

About the Author

Miriam Boudreaux is the President of Mireaux Management Solutions, a consulting firm headquartered in Houston, TX. Mireaux's products and services encompass ISO consulting, ISO Training, Internal Auditing, implementation of Web QMS platform and electronic QMS hosting.

To get in touch with Miriam Boudreaux please contact her at info@mireauxms.com.

So you’ve heard about measuring training effectiveness but are unsure about how to do this. You have been filling training attendance sheets for as long as you can recall and so far they have served the purpose. So what is this new question all of the sudden a topic of discussion and what exactly is required to demonstrate training effectiveness?

This article was published by Quality Digest on 06/29/2011.

Ok, so you issued a nonconformity to your auditee or vendor and you are hoping that they will review the problem in such a manner that the current problem will be solved and similar problems will be prevented from happening again. You ask for a formal response and to your surprise, when you see the response, it is nothing more than a reinstatement of the problem and a promise that they will do better. You know they are working on a solution, but the response is truly lousy and looks as if mickey mouse wrote it. How do you tell your client or vendor politely that the response is not acceptable!

This article was published by Quality Digest on 04/7/2011.

Have you ever been audited and felt like the findings the auditor was bringing up were minutia and almost irrelevant in the context of the major challenges and goals setup in your organization? Did you almost feel like they were mickey-mouse or minutia issues compared to the big tidal waves your organization is going through. But what is one to do, when maintaining certification such as ISO is necessary; and therefore complying with the appointed auditor's findings is part of the process? Well let me explain your options and provide some insights that may help you turn an audit into a win-win situation.

This article was published by Quality Digest on 03/24/2011.

There is not a bigger vicious cycle in this world than that of problems which constantly re-occur because there is no time to stop and solve them correctly. Although we all would like for this cycle to stop, Managers can't afford letting employees waste time with too much researching and employees don't have the time because they are constantly fighting fires. As long as this cycle continues, problems will reoccur and everyone will have to spend more time in what should not have occurred on the first place. How do we get out of this vicious cycle? Through training, dedication and appropriate problem solving techniques.

This article was published by Quality Digest on 03/09/2011.

Most of us set new resolutions at the onset of every new year. Whether it is losing weight, exercising more (always the top resolutions!) or finishing a degree, we all recognize that a new year and the chance of a fresh start is a powerful combination to motivate us to achieve those goals. So why not apply the same factors to Top Management by setting new year resolutions that will drive fundamental and needed improvements in your organization? If you agree, then let's look at five resolutions that should be at the top of the list for any manager who seeks to finally move their organization a little closer to world class quality.
The resolutions I propose in this article go a step further from the average "we all need to improve" type of goals. These resolutions seek a fundamental change in your behavior as part of the management team and leader of your organization, in order for deep seated improvement to actually happen. Just like a person who wants to lose weight needs to change their behavior towards food, top management needs to implement these resolutions in order for world class quality to be achieved. So let's get started!

This article was published by Quality Digest on 03/24/2011.