2010 May » IMS International LLP Blog | IMS International LLP Blog

AS9100 Rev C Implementation

May 222010

A number of organisations are either introducing AS9100 (Aerospace Quality Management System) or working on transitioning their current AS9100 system to meet the requirements of Rev C.

Please be aware that no UKAS Accredited Certification Body is permitted to audit to the new revision as yet. We are aware that the new standard was released over 12 months ago but the transition requirements have not yet been fully determined. UKAS are hoping that the transition process will begin for Certification Bodies in the first few months of 2011 and we can then start auditing to rev C by the middle of 2011.

A number of you have already started to introduce the requirements, this is fine and it is in fact encouraged to start the planning process as early as possible. However, if you do introduce new requirements you need to ensure that the old revision requirements (rev B) are still being met and contained within your system. IMS and other Certification Bodies will still audit to Rev B for the time being so ensure these requirements are still being met.

IMS will update on the progress of auditing to Rev C at a later date.

If you have any further questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact our head office.

Below is the current IAQG Published Timeline for implementation of Revision C, please note this is subject to change.

Integrating ISO 9001 and ISO 14001

ISO 14001, ISO 9001, Tools of the Trade 1 Response »

May 152010

More and more organisations are beginning to introduce ISO 14001:2004 (Environmental Management Systems) into their business and are never quite sure if they should integrate the requirements with their already existing ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System. In our experience this is a suitable option for most organisations and is relatively easy to carry out.

Due to a number of the clauses being almost identical but essentially following the same process it makes sense to combine these procedures to streamline the system and make it more manageable for users.

For example, both standards require control of Non-conformance’s, Corrective Actions and Preventive Actions and although the standards are different the process for controlling these will be the same. You can have a non-conformance against a product or process requirement within ISO 9001 but then a non-conformance against an environmental incident such as a spillage in ISO 14001. Although the non-conformance is different, the process for identifying the root cause and introducing correction and corrective actions will be the same. In both cases you need to establish how the non-conformance occurred and how you are going to correct the root cause to ensure that the same issue does not reoccur.

The management review can follow the same process. Both standards require you to perform a management review, they may have different input and output requirements but there is no need to hold tow meetings as the process of going through the inputs and reviewing data will be the same. As long as your system captures the requirements of both standards auditors will be happy for you to combine the review process.

Internal Audits is another process that can be integrated fairly easily. Again, the process of performing the audits will be the same, you will just be looking at different specific areas at various points. You will however notice that the auditor will only need to audit some of the processes once; ensuring that the requirements of both standards are covered (training etc).

There are a number of consultants who are experienced with both standards and the process of integrating these. A list of possible consultants can be found on the IMS main website but others are available.

Difference Between Corrective and Preventive Actions

AS9100, ISO 14001, ISO 9001, Tools of the Trade 2 Responses »

May 132010

Introduction

There are two clauses within the ISO 9001 standard that appear to cause many people confusion as to their difference and how to approach each of them; 8.5.2-Corrective Actions & 8.5.3-Preventive Actions.

Within the standard the wording within each of the clauses is very similar which is probably where most of the confusion stems from.

8.5.2 Corrective Actions:

“The organization shall take action to eliminate the causes of nonconformities in order to prevent recurrence.”

8.5.3 Preventive Actions:

“The organization shall determine action to eliminate the causes of potential nonconformities in order to prevent their occurrence.”

Main Difference

You can clearly see from the excerpts taken from the ISO 9001 standard that Corrective Actions are taken as a result of non-conformances whilst Preventive Actions are taken against potential non-conformances to prevent them from ever occurring.

You should not be raising Preventive Actions after a non-conformance has occurred, you should only be raising Corrective Actions.

Corrective Actions

To address the Corrective Action clause you should be identifying the root cause of non-conformances that have already taken place and implementing immediate corrective actions to contain the situation and long term corrective actions to prevent their re-occurrence.

Detailed information on root cause analysis and techniques can be found within other guidance notes available on the IMS website.

Preventive Actions

This is usually where people take a step in the wrong direction, it is often seen that organisations are raising preventive actions as a result of a non-conformance and after they have identified corrective actions. Because they see the word “Preventive” within the clause they believe this means to prevent the non-conformance from re-occurring.

Types of Preventive Actions can include processes such as performing risk assessments against product, processes and health and safety activities. You are aiming to prevent a non-conformance from ever occurring by taking preventative measures.

Most organisations take Preventive Actions without knowing they are. Within the construction industry you will commonly see kick off and progress meetings throughout projects, these are preventive actions as the members present at the meeting will be discussing potential problems which may hold back the progress of the project.

Observations raising during internal audits could be classed as Preventive Actions as they can suggest improvements within the system to prevent non-conformances from occurring in the future.

Customer feedback is another method that can be used as Preventive Action evidence as customer suggestions may prevent any issues from being raised in future with regards to the service or product you provide.

Hopefully now the above information has helped clarify any missunderstandings over the difference between Corrective and Preventive Actions. you can download this guide by clicking here. If you need some further clarification please do not hesitate to contact one of our auditors.

Consent to Discharge

ISO 14001, Legislation, News No Responses »

May 092010

Many activities within your organisation may require a consent to discharge, these activities can include metal finishing processes such as Anodising, Powder Coating, De-greasing and Cleaning. Other industries can be effected such as Construction when performing groundwork activities and any vehicle washing processes including your own transportation.

If you are applying for ISO 14001:2004 certification through IMS you need to ensure that you have all of the correct permits and consents in place, if you are performing any activities that requires trade effluent to be discharged into the water system then an Environmental Permit or Exemption will be required before certification can be granted.

On the 6th April 2010 Environmental permits replaced discharge consents and groundwater authorisations and permits on. If you already had a consent, authorisation or permit before this date it will have become an Environmental Permit automatically.

England and Wales

You must have an environmental permit or a registered exemption from the Environment Agency if you carry out any water discharge activity or groundwater activity.

Water discharge activities include:

discharge of poisonous or polluting matter or waste matter, trade effluent or sewage effluent into inland freshwaters, coastal waters and estuaries
discharging trade effluent or sewage effluent from land by a pipe into the sea
removal of material from the bottom, bed or channel of inland freshwaters that has built up at a dam, weir or sluice, by causing any of that material to be carried away in the water
cutting or uprooting large amounts of vegetation in or nearby any inland freshwaters if you do not try to remove the vegetation from the water.

Groundwater activities include:

discharging a pollutant directly into groundwater
discharging a pollutant that might indirectly enter groundwater
any other discharge that might cause a pollutant to enter groundwater directly or indirectly.

Groundwater is all water below the surface of the ground, in the saturation zone, ie below the water table.

Northern Ireland

If you discharge anything other than clean, uncontaminated surface water you must have a:

discharge consent for discharges to surface water
groundwater authorisation for discharges to groundwater.

Scotland

If you discharge anything other than clean, uncontaminated surface water to surface water or groundwater you must have:

an authorisation under the Controlled Activity Regulations (CAR)
an integrated pollution control (IPC) authorisation or pollution prevention and control (PPC) permit.

For further information or to apply for an Environmental Permit or consent to discharge please visit www.netregs.gov.uk.

5 Whys Technique

AS9100, ISO 14001, ISO 9001, Tools of the Trade No Responses »

May 082010

Many organisations struggle to identify the underlying problem with regards to non-conformance’s and find that what they have introduced to address any issues often doesn’t solve the problem and the same issues reoccur.

There are numerous techniques that can applied to identifying the root cause of non-conformance’s, probably the simplest of these being the 5 whys technique. Within IMS International we use this technique ourselves when non-conformance’s have been identified and have found this problem solving tool to be very effective.

The system is straightforward to implement, and once you get the hang of the process you can generally work through most issues within a matter of minutes.

By asking the question “Why” you can separate the symptoms from the causes of a problem. This is critical as symptoms often mask the causes of problems.

How to Use the 5 Whys
1. Assemble a team of people knowledgeable about the area of non-conformance. Include
as many personnel as possible.
2. Have the team members ask “Why” the Problem as described could occur, and write the
answer down underneath the Problem description.
3. If the answer provided from 2 (above) does not solve the Problem, you must repeat the question “why” until you do.
4. If the answer provided from 2 (above) seems likely to solve the Problem, make sure the
team agrees and attempt a resolution using the answer. You may find that there are
more than one root causes to the problem.

Example

Non-conformance:
The CNC Machine keeps failing.
• Why 1
Why did the equipment fail? Because the circuit board burnt out.
• Why 2
Why did the circuit board burn out? Because it overheated.
• Why 3
Why did it overheat? Because it wasn’t getting enough air.
• Why 4
Why was it not getting enough air? Because the filter wasn’t changed.
• Why 5 and Root Cause
Why was the filter not changed? Because there was no preventive maintenance schedule in
place informing the operator to do so.

Using the above example, you can change the circuit board and you can change the filter but it would not necessarily prevent the same thing happening again. Those two items would form the basis of immediate correction action but not effective long term corrective action. To ensure effective long term corrective actions you would introduce a preventive maintenance programme for the machine, at this point you should also review preventive maintenance plans with other machinery within the organisation as you could have the same issue elsewhere.

Although the technique is called 5 whys, you may ask the question more than 5 times so do not stop just because you get to the 5th why, continue until you are satisfied that you have identified the true root cause.

As you can see from the example, the 5 whys technique is very simple to use and if performed correctly it can be very effective in identifying and addressing root causes for non-conformance’s.

If you have any questions regarding the technique then please speak to one of our auditors, all of which are trained in the use of the technique and will follow the process when reviewing submitted corrective action plans by clients.

For further information you can download the IMS guidance note on the 5 Whys Technique .

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
« Apr				Jun »
					1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31