TOO MUCH emphasis on procedure, not enough on people.
That's one way Veni Andrew, c.e. of El Shaddai Freight, views ISO - as she hopes that the November change to ISO 9000:2000 will focus more on people-based industries.
In the manufacturing industry, it would do a whole lot of good, she said. But people form the strings of our companies - and it's such an adrenalin-driven industry.
ISO, she feels, cramps people into what she describes as a very religious regard for procedure. The very opposite of allowing for change, she said.
In practice, middle and line management are very tied in to procedure. Not the flexibility needed to bend to the customers needs.
This, Andrew added, is a criticism in the service industries - where functions are delegated. You are asking people to make certain decisions, she said, but within strict procedure parameters.
I have developed a
system in which we train people-efficiency - but allow for a freedom not in the ISO.
The model Andrew has set is a much-adapted
version of a Post Office quality study - where people and culture are two of the measures against which the system is designed.
Another factor in Andrew's ISO thinking
is the need for ISO
standards to be applied to a company's whole information technology (IT) network.
In an ISO-related organisation, she said, if it's not in-line with the IT, you're running a major risk problem.
As much as your
preventative situation is in place, you must also fuse your standards into the IT network.
Without that, your quality management efforts might fail.
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