We specialize in coaching companies through Quality Systems development to meet international Quality standards like QS 9000, ISO 9000, Malcolm Baldrige and ISO Guide 25. Our process is cost effective, customized for your facility and includes implementation support, software and training.

"Our belief on every shared project is to transfer knowledge and the means to acquire new knowledge to equip our client to continuously improve their systems." - Roger Gareiss

Internal Auditing Services	ISO Sharepoint Database System
Implementation Services	Training Services
ISO Templates for Processes

TOP

Internal Auditing Services

Why use our services for your internal auditing services?

Many organizations cannot keep their internal auditing on schedule due to lack of knowledge, manpower and time. Your organization could benefit from outsourcing the maintenance of your ISO system to our auditing team. This could include pre-assessment audits, conducting internal audits, managing corrective and preventive actions, and consulting on the planning and monitoring of improvement objectives.

 

TOP

Implementation Services

5 Steps For a Proven and Successful ISO implementation

Smart Offices takes a leadership role in developing, training and initial implementation of system policies, procedures, working instructions and associated forms to meet ISO-9000 Quality Systems requirements. We use the following strategy in order to implement a comprehensive yet simple system to reach registration:

1. Develop an overall Gantt chart with upper management. This becomes the master schedule much like a typical program schedule. Commitments, checkpoints and responsibilities are defined for your company and Smart Offices with financial implications clearly identified. We chair the session and use previous successful implementation strategies for templates.

2) Education on the agreed upon plan (contract) takes place across all levels of the organization. This is not an exhaustive discussion of the plan with each and every employee but it provides an introduction to the process that has been selected, how each person ties into the system and allows plenty of time for discussions and questions. This training session is the ISO-9000 kick-off meeting.

3) Selection, meeting and negotiations with the registering body and the auditors to be used. Smart Offices meets with and queries the prospective registrar in detail to fully understand their expectations, background and nuances to conducting registration audits. (This step can be bypassed if we already have experience with your registrar!) We have found a significant improvement in the implementation when this step occurs up front.

4) Develop Quality Policies supporting procedures, work instructions, and records to fulfill all ISO-9000 elements and ISO-9000 "add-ons" including industry specific needs. We use your procedures and the starting point for this process. This process is completed by:

A) Generating Each Element (including industry specific) Quality Policy, flow chart and procedure.

Smart Offices generates each element’s quality policy, procedure, flow chart and audit checklist. We utilize the partial systems that are in place at your company to reduce the overall required system development costs and time.

Short interviews are conducted with the responsible person(s) for the element (as defined by you) to create a thorough understanding of your current or intended method to comply with the standard. Each "shall" in the standard is addressed specifically.

We have multiple, complete quality manuals, including examples that have passed ISO-9000 registration to use for resource material during this process.

B) Generate associated electronic / paper forms for quality records.

We generate supporting electronic / paper forms for the quality records to show evidence of compliance if they do not exist. No new electronic forms or storage of quality records are undertaken by Smart Offices unless you specifically request their development. This assumes that we will use paper to show compliance unless technical support is provided to create / purchase existing software.

C) Support in the development of work instructions as required to meet the procedures steps.

Smart Offices works with a core team of operators, technicians and team members to help develop required work instructions to support procedures. In general, work instructions are kept to a minimum with a higher reliance placed on correct training for making sure procedures are followed. Training related to internal work performed is conducted by your personnel (as required) to prepare for registration. Smart Offices reviews all work instructions for form, fit and functionality before release.

D) Documentation review and approval.

This review is the key to maintaining your schedule. Your company is responsible for having all personnel who will live with the policy, procedures, etc. to review in accepting the system. A "wish list" will be kept as we go through the review to capture thoughts for improvements, although adjustments to the documentation system are kept to a minimum in order to maintain the schedule.

Minor changes made on the draft and materials are completed for training. At this stage, the overall procedure flow and documentation that are acceptable to meet the standard will be essentially "frozen" until after registration.

Note: The President decides upon any issues raised at the review sessions that cannot be immediately agreed upon. We provide council regarding the impact on any changes for timing and costs as required.

E) Train on the elements (including industry specific ).

Your company coordinates (bringing together) the required associates for training on the element. Smart Offices conducts the training sessions for Level II and III documents and gather any issues for improvements to be made after registration. It will be made clear to the participants that due to the time schedule and importance of maintaining simplicity we will push forward with as few changes as possible. This training includes required Quality training for element 20 and Section II.

F) Release element / section through document control.

Smart Offices makes any required changes on the reviewed, trained Level II and III document and they will be released through document control. (Document control will be the first element completed!)

G) Audit element after 2-4 weeks.

Smart Offices audits the element after 2-4 weeks of formal use. An independent team member from your company will be requested to be part of this audit to ensure your ability to continue to conduct internal auditing. The President assigns the auditors as required. This will constitute auditor training for your personnel.

H) Corrective Action

Smart Offices takes corrective action (if required) for modifying any Level II and III documentation based on the audit findings. Your company is takes corrective action regarding executing the required procedure steps (if required).

5) Conduct Pre-assessment Audit

Smart Offices conducts a full pre-assessment review that has the following benefits:

A) Allow each area to be audited with the same level and intensity that the registration audit will have.

B) Allow Smart Offices to train personnel on how to handle an auditor.

C) Allow enough time to plug any gaps in the system prior to registration.

Your company’s commitment:

Your personnel will attend the meetings to fulfill the proposed schedules and provide feedback as the work progressed and Level II and III documents are implemented. Our intent is to remove the work that can be logically and efficiently offloaded from your personnel. It cannot be stressed enough that regardless of our confidence, and your intent, everyone's accountability and discipline to the requirements of the standard and additional requirements of your company earn your company the registration. We would therefore suggest the following check points and progress reviews be agreed upon up front.

1. Monthly summaries to the President (verbal or written) including updating the plan Gantt chart.

2. Bi-monthly reviews of all open corrective actions with upper management. Including Procedures and Work instruction progress made internally.

3. Monthly upper management reviews against the master time line, budget and accepted responsibilities.

 

 

TOP

ISO Templates for Processes

Smart Offices's approach to achieve the most efficient and complete ISO documentation is to use flow charts, use minimal verbiage and maximize communicating prodedures as a process.

Our flow charts answer the following ISO requirements:

- Scope (defined in the flow chart header)
- Responsibility (defined in the flow chart header and throughout the process steps)
- Procedures (defined by showing the process flow and related documents as links, as defined as inputs and outputs)
- Inputs (defined in red) and Ouputs (defined in green)
- Who, What, When, How (answers who, what they do, when they do it and links to how it is done as referencing to work instructions)

See flow chart examples below:

TOP

ISO 9001 Document Management Using Sharepoint

ISO 9001:2008 certification requires organizations to develop, document and maintain procedures and documents. Microsoft SharePoint is a platform that allows an organization to effectively implement the document management requirements of the ISO 9001 standard. The following list shows each of the requirements of the ISO standard and how Sharepoint can effectively manage that requirement:

ISO 9001 Requirement - Approve documents before they are distributed.
SharePoint Feature - Document libraries and workflow offer out of the box solutions for approving documents.

ISO 9001 Requirement - Update documents on a periodic basis.SharePoint Feature - Information Management Policies based on Content Types can automatically initiate workflows based on document-specific metadata.

ISO 9001 Requirement - Ensure correct version of document(s) available at point of use. SharePoint Feature - Enabling Version History on a document library causes SharePoint to maintain a version of the document each time the document is updated.

SO 9001 Requirement - Identify current revision status of document.
SharePoint Feature - Document Version History captures metadata properties associated with the document that might have changed from one version of the document to the next, along with the actual changes to the document itself.

ISO 9001 Requirement - Identify, control and monitor documents from external sources. SharePoint Feature - Documents that are received from external sources can be transferred to SharePoint and “tagged” with the appropriate metadata so that the same policies that are applied to internal documents can be applied to documents received from an external source.

ISO 9001 Requirement - Prevent the accidental/unintended use of obsolete documents. SharePoint Feature - Only the latest and approved version of documents can be made available for viewing by employees. Information Management Policies may be used to archive or destroy outdated documents.

ISO 9001 Requirement - Preserve the usability of documents.
SharePoint Feature - *The documents must remain legible (accomplished by storing the documents electronically) and easily identifiable (accomplished using the metadata properties associated with the document) which again are fundamental features of SharePoint.

 

 

TOP

Training Services

"Our training goal is to educate participants so they can apply the knowledge learned immediately and improve their performance." John Gilluly

Our workshops have been designed for any business that sees the value and need for professionally delivered in-house training. These workshops have been developed for up to 25 participants and are very affordable. They can be conducted on any shift, and customized to allow individual program design.

Methods used:
- Explain purpose of session, present content and general flow
- Introduce group to set workshop expectations
- Present workshop materials
- Monitor performance
- Complete exercises to develop and practice skills
- Discuss applicability and advantages / disadvantages of the presented concept in participants work environment

*Note: The content of all workshops is subject to modification based on client need, client feedback and continuous improvement.

Leadership Skills:
- Different Leadership Philosophies
- Different Organization Structures and Systems
- Effective Leadership - Creating Synergy from a Shared Vision
- Supervisor / Middle Management training
- Employeer of Choice
- Empowering Employees
- Effective Teams

Interpersonal Skills:
- Effective Communication
- Emotional Intelligence
- Handling and Conflicts

Technical Skills:
- Using Gantt Chart Planning Techniques
- Statistical Process Control (SPC)
- Advanced Statistical Techniques
- Short Run SPC Techniques
- Process Waste Analysis
- Design of Experiments (Taguchi Methods)
- SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Dies)
- APQP Training
- Creative Problem Solving and Corrective Action Techniques
- Internal Auditor training
- Microsoft Access Training (Basic, Advanced and VBA)

Personal Skills:
- Personal Vision and Mission Statements
- Managing Stress