THE QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IS YOURS UP TO STANDARD?

THE QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IS YOURS UP TO STANDARD? Nigel Anderson, Head of Global Service Delivery Group Corporate Facilities Management, EMEA 1. SETTING THE SCENE Customer service expectations in the workplace are varied and complex and most companies offering workplace solutions have some form of operating manual, which is intended to be a management tool for their delivery teams. But is the manual used? Does it represent the way you work? And is it a truly effective management tool? In the 1990 s, many organisations sought to increase their focus on these issues by developing and registering a company Quality Management System (QMS) to the requirements of ISO 9000. Across Europe in particular, this registration is also considered a must have, to pre-qualify for new client opportunities. However, the 1994 version of the Standard was seen as having evolved from the manufacturing and production industries and was quite difficult to effectively interpret in a customer service environment. The advent of the newer ISO 9001:2000 Standard fixes this problem. The updated process approach allows an organisation to establish a Quality Management System based on its activities in meeting customer needs, rather than on the needs of the Standard. As a direct result, the Quality Management Standard is very relevant to the service industry and is becoming globally recognised, with more than 300,000 businesses now certified worldwide. Based on direct experience in the delivery of global facilities management services, this paper will demonstrate how the registered Quality Management System approach can successfully meet client expectations, through improved management effectiveness, productivity and customer satisfaction. 1

2. INTRODUCTION TO THE ISO 9001:2000 STANDARD What is ISO? ISO is a word derived from the Greek isos, meaning equal. The full name In American English is the International Organisation for Standardization. However, in different languages this could be shortened into different acronyms, so ISO, the official short form of the organisation s name, is promoted, wherever the country, whatever the language. In the field of managing the workplace, ISO is well known as the source of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000, but it has also generated more than 14,000 other International Standards for businesses, governments and society in general. As a non-governmental organisation, ISO promotes itself as being able to act as a bridging organisation in which a consensus can be reached on solutions that meet both the requirements of business and the broader needs of society, such as the needs of stakeholder groups like consumers and users. Although ISO Standards are voluntary, the fact that they are developed in response to market demand, and are based on consensus among the interested parties, helps to ensure the Standards become widely applicable. This approach has certainly resulted in changes to the ISO 9000 Standard, which have made it much more beneficial for the service industry in general and management of the workplace in particular. What is ISO 9001? ISO 9001 is an evolving Quality Management System Standard that has already undergone two previous revisions. Introduced in 1987 and revised in 1994 it has stood the test of time as demonstrated by the enormous number of businesses now certified worldwide. What is ISO 9001:2000? Released in December of 2000 as a single Standard, ISO 9001:2000, replaces the old suite of Standards, ISO 9001, ISO 9002, and ISO 9003. The twenty clauses in the old Standard have been rationalised into eight new Quality Management Principles, as outlined in the following diagram: 2

1. Customer Focused Organisation 2. Leadership 3. Involvement of People 4. Process Approach 5. System Approach to Management 6. Continual Improvement 7. Factual Approach to Decision Making 8. Mutually Beneficial Supplier Relationships 1. Management Responsibility 2. Quality System 3. Contract Review 4. Design Control 5. Document and Data Control 6. Purchasing 7. Control of Customer Supplied Product 8. Product Identification and Traceability 9. Process Control 10. Inspection and Testing 11. Control of Inspection, Measuring and Test Equipment 12. Inspection and Test status 13. Control of Nonconforming Product 14. Corrective and Preventive Action 15. Handling, Storage, Packaging, Preservation and Delivery 16. Control of Quality Records 17. Internal Quality Audit 18. Training 19. Servicing 20. Statistical Techniques Many of the old headings, which were originally designed around the manufacturing and production environment, such as Control of Nonconforming Product and Handling, Storage, Packaging, Preservation and Delivery, have now disappeared. The new Standard fits more naturally with current philosophy for management in the workplace - a process approach. This process approach allows organisations to establish a quality management system based on its activities in meeting customer needs rather than on the needs of the Standard. Change of Scope Fundamental Change The fundamental change, in developing the old Standard into the new ISO 9001:2000 is summarised in the diagram below: ISO 9001:1994 Quality Assurance (QA) Fundamental Change Of Scope ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management (QM) Process Effective Based Management Conformance To Procedures Preventive and Risk Management Continual Improvement Conformance To Procedures 3

A colleague once illustrated this diagram by claiming that, under the old 1994 Standard, a company manufacturing concrete lifejackets could in theory gain accreditation, providing it documented its procedures and could show that it adhered to those procedures. Under the new Standard, the requirements for customer focus and satisfaction would present a few challenges for the choice of concrete as the manufacturing material. This is perhaps an exaggeration, but it makes the point that the new Standard places much more emphasis on customer satisfaction and risk management, familiar values in delivering services to the workplace. Why go for the ISO 9001:2000 Standard? Typically quoted good reasons for registering to ISO 9001 include: The Standard ensures that the Quality Management System is maintained, documented and accessible Consistent documented processes and procedures will create greater efficiency and value add Registration to the Standard encourages continual improvement In many cases, it is required by the market place It helps win new business However, registration can also be an extremely good motivator. The main objective here is to implement a Quality Management System, which adds value, improves management effectiveness and enables the delivery of cost effective customer satisfaction. In theory, developing, maintaining, implementing and continually improving the system could go a long way towards this objective, without necessarily going for the ISO accreditation. But, the real challenge is to make sure the system is well communicated and well accepted by its users, to the extent that it is implemented and used consistently by the whole company or group. It is quite common to find that, while part of the team will get it and will enthusiastically embrace the idea of becoming better organised, with an accessible set of appropriate tools for the job, others will see the Quality Management System as something which makes extra work for them. So, the setting of a clear company initiative to obtain and then maintain registration to ISO 9001:2000 can provide a real incentive to succeed. It also establishes a timeframe with milestones, which cannot be allowed to drift, particularly once a date for the external audit has been set. Nobody will want his or her section or department to be responsible for failing to achieve or maintain the certificate. 4

Mandatory Requirements The new Standard allows each organisation a fair degree of flexibility in choosing how to document its Quality Management System. However, there are some documents specifically mentioned in ISO 9001:2000 and these are: Quality Policy (clauses 4.2.1a and 5.3) Quality Objectives (clauses 4.2.1a and 5.4.1) Quality Manual (clause 4.2.1b) The Standard also specifically refers to certain documented procedures as follows: Control of documents (clause 4.2.3) Control of records (clause 4.2.4) Internal audit (clause 8.2.2) Control of nonconforming product (or service) (clause 8.3) Corrective action (clause 8.5.2) Preventive action (clause 8.5.3) Other formal required documentation is: Documents needed by the organisation to ensure the effective planning, operation and control of its processes (clause 4.2.1d) Records required by this International Standard (clause 4.2.1e) 5

3. DEVELOPING YOUR QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM The 2000 version of the Standard is much less prescriptive than the 1994 version. It allows an organisation more flexibility in the way it chooses to document its Quality Management System. It requires each individual organisation to develop the documentation needed in order to demonstrate the effective planning, operation and control of its processes and the implementation and continual improvement of the effectiveness of its Quality Management System. The Management Manual The starting point for a Quality Management System should be the development of a high level Management Manual, which sits at the top of the document structure as indicated by the following example structure diagram: MANAGEMENT MANUAL Quality Policy and Objectives Documentation Structure Management Structure & Organisation Business Planning and Reviewing Sales and Marketing Service Delivery Finance, Accounting and IT Customer Satisfaction and Complaints HR QMS Control and Development HEAD OFFICE OR CORPORATE PROCEDURES Procedures which apply without customisation, for example: Sales and Marketing Business Planning & Budgeting Administration Internal Auditing GENERIC FIELD/SITE PROCEDURES GENERIC TOOLKIT A Library of standard procedures, from which selections can be made for customisation to suit each client or field operation CLIENT SPECIFIC OR SITE SPECIFIC PROCEDURES CUSTOMISED PROCEDURES For example: Service Delivery Health & Safety Procurement Supplier Management Reporting OUTPUT Factual Approach To Decision Making Performance Customer Satisfaction Continual Improvement Compliance The Management Manual is viewed as the DNA of the firm and should state the aims and measurable objectives of the business. The best way to set this out is to establish a structured hierarchy, which should include, for example: Values Strategy Policies Management Organisation Key Business Processes Typical headings to include in the Management Manual are summarised in the above document structure diagram, but the manual will be much more relevant to the users of the system, if it tells 6

a story, from beginning to end, about how you run your business. This is much more effective than the old approach under ISO 9001:1994, when companies tended to produce a Quality Management Manual that was framed around the 20 clauses of the Standard. The resulting document appeared to have little direct relevance to the business, making it seem to the users like additional work for them. Far better to make the Management Manual and the Quality Management System as a whole reflect the way you work. Set the ISO Standard to one side, when writing the Management Manual and then, when the first draft is completed, cross check the Management Manual against the eight management principles and individual clauses of the ISO Standard, to make sure that all requirements of the Standard have been met. This way, you can market the Quality Management System internally within the organisation as a strictly relevant set of processes and tools, which will be valued by the users and help them to deliver effective results to the customer. Users of the system need not worry about complying with ISO 9001. Providing this is set up correctly then, by definition, if the users comply with the organisation s Quality Management System, they will comply with ISO 9001. To satisfy yourself and the external assessor that the Quality Management System covers all the ISO requirements, a cross referencing chart can be included at the back of the Management Manual as an appendix, which avoids unnecessary clutter within the text. Another technique well worth considering is to summarise the key business processes, as identified in the Management Manual into a Management Calendar, a typical example of which is illustrated below: 7

Example Management Calendar Management Reviews Global Management Meetings Regional Man't Meetings (inc. Man't Review) Business Planning Review Business Strategy Client Account Revenue Plans Business Development Revenue Plans Resource Plan & Organisation Budget Preparation Budget Review Budget Approval Global FM Objectives Regional FM Objectives Client Account Objectives Financial Performance Review actuals vs. budget Forecast Annual Performance Review Financial Accounts Submit Consolidated Group Figures Prepare for sign-off by Group Auditors Group sign-off & preliminary issue Statutory Audits (country specific) Publish Group Consolidated Accounts HR Review Job Descriptions Personal Appraisals Salary Reviews Prepare training plan Staff satisfaction survey QMS Auditing Internal Audit Plan External Audits Service Delivery Client Account Reviews Customer Satisfaction Surveys Supplier Reviews Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annually, dates vary by Region Annually, dates vary by Region Annually, dates vary by Region Having set out the organisation s key business processes at a reasonably high level in the Management Manual, this needs to be supported by detailed procedure documents, to explain exactly how each process should be delivered. A suggested structure for this part of the documentation is indicated in the earlier Example QMS Document Structure diagram and explained below. Head Office or Corporate Procedures In the example, this section of the Quality Management System contains the detailed business procedures, which are followed by the organisation s Head Office Teams (sometimes known as the Corporate Office or Regional Office depending on the management organisation of the company). The procedures are either pre-contract, that is they describe sales, marketing and business planning activities, or they are in support of the client account or site-based service delivery operations. The Head Office Procedures are therefore generic, as opposed to site specific. The generic Head Office Procedures generate output, in the form of data, analysis and reports, which enables a factual approach to decision making and drives performance, compliance, customer satisfaction and continual improvement. 8

Generic Field/Site Procedures The Toolkit This section of the example system provides the tools and guidance for the teams to manage and deliver service to their client accounts, under various procedure headings, depending on the organisation s delivery model. The Generic Toolkit as it stands, does not generate output. It acts like a library from which documents are drawn and customized, usually during the mobilisation or transition phase of a new client account, to meet the requirements, which are specific to that client or site. Customized Client Specific or Site Specific Procedures This section is generated from the Generic Toolkit, as described above, or from additional procedures required specifically for the client account. In some areas, whole sections or parts of the Site Specific Procedures may be installed and implemented unchanged and, in other areas, the generic procedures are customized to meet client account and/or site-specific requirements, where variances in business approach or service are agreed with the client. The Site Specific Procedures and Work Instructions also generate output, which enables a factual approach to decision making and drives performance, compliance, customer satisfaction and continual improvement. Creating Policies and Procedures When setting standards for all aspects of the business by drafting, approving and reviewing Quality Management System policies and procedures, the management team should take the following into consideration: The competence and experience of the user Risks involved in the service delivery and the measures required to manage these risks Roles and responsibilities Essential procedures Legislation, essential regulations or codes, case law and "Best Practice" Standard documents and templates Checks, approvals and measures of acceptable performance Outputs; the service, supporting data and analysis, records or information 9

4. MARKETING YOUR QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM It is important to start with senior management buy-in to the Quality Management System initiative. Fortunately, ISO 9001:2000 now recognises the essential role of Top Management. Senior managers are viewed as having primary accountability for implementing and then demonstrating compliance with the management policies, processes and procedures of the firm. The fact that senior managers will be interviewed at the external assessments will certainly help to provide focus on this accountability and sends a message to the rest of the organisation underlining the requirement for top management commitment and support. Having said that, the initiative will only succeed if representatives from all parts of the business are involved from the early stages, particularly in the identification of key processes and the drafting, updating and validation of the detailed procedures. One technique is to identify Quality Champions at an early stage, selected from each functional, regional or client account division of the company. The Quality Champion is likely to be chosen as someone who already has a positive attitude to the initiative and who can help to market the development and implementation. Effectively, the Quality Champion acts as a two-way conduit for disseminating ideas, information and progress between his or her division and the management center. It is also important to allow and spend a lot of time talking to people and to do this in their language. Not everyone will succeed in transitioning to the process way of thinking, as this is sometimes difficult to recognise. Using different words, such as activity, approach and practice can help. The organisation will have a number of communication tools in place, from the company intranet through to notices in wage packets and on toilet doors, so make good use of these. 10

5. IMPLEMENTATION AND REGISTRATION Having developed and marketed the Quality Management System, it needs to be implemented, although in practice these three activities will probably overlap. The best way is to approach the implementation as a project, using all of the project management skills and techniques available to you. Depending on the organisation, the project may be handled entirely with the use of internal company skills and resources, or with assistance from specialist outsourced consultants. The project needs both a sponsor and a steering group and then it needs to be managed, so it is important to consider: Appointment of the Project Manager Agreement on the scope of the implementation Agreement on the planning and timeframe for the implementation Allocation of resources and Mechanism for tracking progress All of these issues need to be clear before starting the implementation. Stakeholders in the implementation project should be identified (a stakeholder can be defined as someone who can spoil your day ) and kept involved in the process through executive briefings, allocation of process owners and appointment of Quality Representatives and Internal Auditors. It might also be worth considering a phased approach. Identify which areas of the business, for example particular client accounts, are most likely to succeed and implement those first as a pilot. Make sure that all lessons learned are captured and communicated, so that best use can be made of this experience in rolling out the implementation to the remainder of the company or group. Not all of the processes will be 100% successful first time, so each process should have at least one key performance indicator, to measure how it delivers versus the business objective. Part of the continual improvement process will be to gather this performance information, analyse it and decide whether any corrective action needs to be taken. Training is probably the one area that will give the best return on use of your resources, so this deserves a particularly high level of attention. This should also extend to encouraging employee involvement, confirming individual competencies and setting of personal objectives to fall in line with the overall company objectives. 11

A good way to test the effectiveness of the implementation is to establish a program of Internal Quality Management System Audits and it is better to start this at a reasonably early stage. Auditing is a subject in its own right, which extends beyond the scope of this paper, but there are a few key points worth highlighting here. Audits will be at their most frequent, when the system is new, or when new processes are added. The frequency and scope of audits should diminish, with sound and confirmed implementation and ongoing improvement. Audits are carried out only to a degree that can be commercially justified, based on the degree of risk involved with the matter concerned and also based on the outcome of previous audits. There are two main types of audit to consider: Compliance audits: Used to verify conformity to specified requirements Process audits: Used to ascertain the effectiveness of a business process Both techniques are effective management tools, which can be used to confirm and improve the management system. Only after positive feedback from the internal audit program, will the organisation be ready for formal registration to ISO 9001:2000. The registration process normally follows two key stages of external assessment by an independent accreditation body: The Stage 1 Assessment: A desktop review to establish whether the documented system meets the requirements of the Standard The Stage 2 Assessment: The formal registration assessment, which will test the effectiveness of the implementation. If successful, registration is granted for a 3-year period and is retained subject to performance at 6-monthly external surveillance visits, to verify compliance and continual improvement. 12

6. CONCLUSION One of the biggest challenges will be achieving a timeframe which, to minimise the pain will have to be aggressive and will almost certainly be set against a background of constant change. By embarking on a program towards ISO 9001:2000 registration, using some of the techniques outlined above, you can force through real and timely improvements to the Quality Management System, turning it into a well used and effective management tool, which truly reflects the way you work. 13

7. EXAMPLE OF THE QMS ADDING VALUE TO FM As part of an EMEA-wide appointment, CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) has recently taken on the provision of outsourced facilities management (FM) services for a major office and manufacturing premises covering more than 500,000 square feet in Scotland. Until recently, facilities services have been managed and delivered by the client s in-house team at the site, following traditional, local practices. Mindful of the unionised labour environment on this site, both the client and CBRE realised that transitioning the facilities services to an outsourced delivery model would have to be handled with extreme sensitivity to maintain continuity of service and to ensure the client s core business activities would experience a seamless transition. CBRE appointed a team of transition specialists to the project, under the control of a Transition Manager and the team followed the detailed procedures laid down in the FM Quality Management System (QMS) to plan, deliver, monitor and report on the transition. Some examples of where the CBRE QMS provided invaluable value for managing the process include: HR: step-by-step process for consulting with the clients FM staff, in accordance with employment transfer legislation, to ensure a smooth transfer of employment from the client to CBRE. Scope and Levels of Service: reference to CBRE s generic Scope of Service (SOS) and Service Level Agreement (SLA) documents and customisation of these documents to fully understand and document details of the services required for the site. Service contractors: systematic approach to the identification of service contract details, followed by the formal novation of these contracts from the client to CBRE, making full use of standard check lists and templates from the QMS Generic Toolkit. Financial Processes: analysis of invoices and FM-related costs for consolidation into a customised version of the standard budgeting template. Customisation of the generic financial processes for accounts payable, variance to budget reporting and identification of savings achieved for the client. Health and Safety: the development of a detailed understanding of responsibilities for health and safety issues, using CBRE s standard Memorandum of Understanding template from the QMS Generic Toolkit. The on-site management team, particularly those who transferred from the client to CBRE was impressed by this new approach and now appreciate working for a company with a specialised QMS, which supports their day-to-day tasks in facilities management, leading to better job satisfaction and a more defined career path for each member of the team. The on-site client representative recently complemented the team: Not sure if your staff get annual reviews but just wanted to let you know that the service we are receiving from them is excellent and even if they cannot fix our problems quickly they keep us updated at all times. 14