RE: ISO

[Richard Wilson <ARWilson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello everyone

On the ISO subject..

I was working in Goteborg for SKF when they were going thro' their ISO
program.  I was working for Group Sonitrol when we did the same thing.

The differences are instructive. 

First - realise that it has nothing to do with the quality of your work.
You 
can be ISO certified and produce submarines that dont float, and aeroplanes
with no wings.  - As long as all the forms are filled in.

At Group Sonitrol we grasped the opportunity - took a look at the
procedures,
threw out half, made what we kept simple and worthwhile, and re-trained
everyone in the ethic and the practice of quality. 

If the manual says that code is promoted with no testing, and that is what
you do, then fine.  If it says that you conduct a walk through with a peer,
then
that's fine - but someone should sign something to say it was done.  

The point is that existing good practices should be kept and adhered to,
and ISO is a way of ensuring the adherence in an auditable manner. 

At SKF, on the other hand, all existing procedures and handbooks were
adopted unchanged.  Loads of that stuff was obsolete, and applied to
'other' platforms.  Questions that couldn't be answered were on the 
checklists  

It cost a fortune, and demotivated everyone in the team, bringing down
productivity to zilch.  The fact that some of the stuff had to be ignored 
devalued all the good bits.

My advice is to document good practice, create simple procedures that 
will work, then work them.  Leave the ability for individuals to accept
reponsibility for testing with their signature 'Authorised for promotion 
by .... ' sort of thing.
ANd remeber that procedure 1 is 'How to change the ISO procedures'
because you can always add bits to fill in the holes later. 


Bon Chance

Richard Wilson
Technique Consultants Ltd
Worcestershire, UK
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