Reflections on the Future of Quality
The ASQ Quality Progress, January 2006, feature article is “Reflections on the Future of Quality", by David Watkins, Executive Vice President and Director of International Operations for Omnex, Inc.
This excellent article shows the advantages and rationale of expanding your quality management system into a business management system. My favorite quote is:
"Quality, as a management system objective, is really excellence and must characterize the enterprise as a whole, not just its products or services. It must extend to meeting the requirements and wants of commercial customers as well as investors, employees and their families, the community and legal and regulatory entities."
The business management system includes:
- Staffing and competency management processes—as opposed to training.
- Supply chain management and procurement processes—as opposed to purchasing.
- Sales and business development processes— as opposed to contract review.
- Integrated program management, product development and launch processes—as opposed to quality planning
Adding:
- Financial processes – as opposed to cost of quality collections
facilitates compliance to Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) that is both achievable and sustainable using existing company personnel.
Comments
I agree John. In 2006, after many years of deepening our thinking in quality, systems, excellence models, sustainable development, after the release of so many new standards or new versions of existing standards, and the enactment of many new regulations, such as SOX, a point has been reached by the concerned people world-wide where the different management systems used by any organization should be well articulated to be consistent, create synergies. What is at stake now is to find out the best practices in integrating these systems.
Combining ISO 9000, ISO 14000 with SOX was a good start and a genial initiative. SOX will become routine but the need for integration won't go away.
Posted by: Alain Gaumier | March 3, 2006 10:43 AM