Tuesday, July 28, 2009

To live a better life

To live better is the desire of all human beings. The desire is not followed by action in that direction. Shortcuts are preferred to hard work.
The choice of living contentedly with what one has is rare nowadays, and the social evils and negativism we see around us are results of that. We see fear, jealousy, greed and selfishness all around us. The media creates consumerism by activating these triggers. Alcoholism and suicidal tendencies are on the rise.
Ultimately how many people are happy? But, if there is a better way, what is it?
1. Limit your desires for materialistic requirements, satisfy your minor desires.
2. Try to help others who are less fortunate than you.
3. Live within your means of income.
4. Avoid reading sensational news in the news paper.
5. For every rupee you are paid, try to provide the maximum value to the one who pays you. Save at least 10% of your income. Avoid easy loans and misuse of credit card.
6. Do not look for perfect people, look for people with more goodness, (they will also have their warts.
7. Do not carry tales of scandals, instead find something good to share with people you meet.
8. Watch T V for less than ½ hr a day.
9. Set goals for self improvement and have a plan of action for achieving it. Regularly check your progress on the plan.
10. Learn to keep a balance between your life and work. Mr. Jack Welch was a great manager of General Electric, but his wife left him due to his negligence of family life.
11. Read at least 1 hour a day about new ideas/ self improvement/biographies of great people etc.
12. Guard your reputation scrupulously, there is no way to repairs it.
13. Everyday live fully as if it is your last day in the world.
14. Be considerate to others in all your activities, do not create pain & anguish around you due to your actions. Already there is enough pain in the world.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Good executives 21 action points

21 Action Points For Good Executives.

1.Never say ‘I forgot’. Have a system to note down things. Be a walking database.
2. Never say “I thought it was not important”. Nothing is unimportant. Never give excuses.
3. Be fully committed to whatever you do that makes you a reliable person.
4. Pay attention to details. Leave out nothing .God is in the details.
5. Follow-up immediately on the instructions you receive. Do not postpone things endlessly.
6. Give prompt feedback to your boss regularly on progress of your work.
7. Find out how to make things happen, rather than wait for things to happen. Be proactive.
8. Never go to your boss with only problems. Have 2-3 solutions ready with you as suggestions. Don’t be a cry baby.
9. Never assume .Ask questions and clarify matters.
10. If there is bad news, do not hide it from your boss. Be upfront.
11. Do not blame others for any problem, try to help to identify and implement solutions. Especially do not let down your subordinates to your boss.
12.Anticipate what your boss and colleagues require, and act swiftly to fulfill those requirements. Do not wait.
13.Analyse, Improve & update yourself every day and make yourself more valuable to your organization and yourself. You will always be in demand.
14.Be punctual. Do not waste other people’s time (waiting for you)
15. Keep an accurate journal to note down and keep track of what you are doing every day. Somebody is likely to ask.
16. Never lie. Always be honest. Habitual liars are hated by everybody.
17. If you don’t know about something ,do not bluff. Say you will find out and reply.
18. Plan your day in advance. Do not allow routine matters to detract you from the day’s purpose.
19. Be prepared for emergencies. They do not give advance notice when they come.
20. Develop your subordinates. Do not solve problems for them, allow them to grow by finding solutions and implementing themselves.
21. Be a master in at least one subject in your field of activity. You should be approached as an expert by others for answers.


If you allot 10 marks to each point the maximum mark is 210.
How many marks would your executives score?
If 140 is the pass mark, How many will PASS?
Please give me your feedback.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

ISO 9001:2008

i am starting with a brief on the iso9001:2008 version. pl give your views

ISO 9001:2008 IN A NUTSHELL

Sl. No.

ISO 9001 Clause

ISO 9001 Clause Title

Stipulation in simple words

1.

4.1

QMS (Quality Management System)

Define your working system as a series of processes and identify the criteria to measure the effectiveness of each process. (E.g Timely delivery etc)

2.

4.1

QMS (Quality Management System)

Proper controls like supervision, inspection, training, documentation etc. should be exercised on outsourced (Subcontracted) processes to ensure acceptable results.

3.

4.2

Documentation Requirements

Say what you do – in your documents. (E.g. methodology, Procedures, Drawings, Specifications)

4.

4.2

Documentation requirements

Document your working system as quality manual, procedures and work instructions.

5.

4.2.3

Document Control

Only approved current documents should be made available for work. (Eg. Drawings, Specification, Procedures etc.)This includes external standards also. The organisation will need to control other external origin documents necessary for planning and operation of QMS. This can even include excise regulations.

6.

4.2.4

Control of records

Prove that you are following the system by maintaining appropriate records.

7.

5.2

Customer Focus

Set targets to enhance customer satisfaction. (E.g. better products, better delivery)

Ensure that everyone focuses on satisfying customer needs (both internal and external).

8.

5.3

Quality Policy

Express your overall intention and direction towards Quality Improvement and customer satisfaction.

9.

5.4.1

Quality Objectives

Set measurable objectives & targets for improvement. (E.g. reduce complaints, reduce inventory) It should cover relevant functions

10.

5.4.1

Quality Objectives

Targets for improvement should be time bound. (That is “before 31.03.200--)

11.

5.4.2

QMS planning

Prepare your system so as to meet the requirements of 4.1 and also your quality objectives.

In case you make changes in your system also ensure the above. Do not change your actual practise in ad hoc basis.

12.

5.5.1

Responsibility & Authority

Communicate limits of responsibility and authority what is expected from each post in your organisation.

13.

5.5.2

Management Representative

Appoint an internal co-ordinator for implementing & following up ISO 9001 QMS. MR shall be a member of the organisation’s own management

14.

5.5.3

Internal communication

Activate top down and bottom up communication. Discuss about effectiveness of the organisation.

15.

5.6

Management Review

How is your organisation performing as per your declared system? – Check. Make decisions for improvement

16.

6

Resource Management

Identify and provide necessary resources. (Manpower equipment & other facilities)

17.

6.2.2

Competence awareness & training

Identify the education skill training and experience needed for each job. Put the right person on the right job. Ensure that everyone is aware of improvement targets. Competence requirements shall be relevant for any personal who are included in implementation of QMS.

18.

6.2.2

Competence awareness & training

Identify training needs based on skill gap, carry out training, verify effectiveness of training

19.

6.3

Infrastructure

Give necessary building, work space, utilities transport, information system and communication facilities and maintain them properly

20.

6.4

Work Environment

physical, environmental and other factors such as noise, temperature, lighting or weather Sanitation, dust free conditions, ventilation, humidity control, safety etc as needed for the work to be done properly

21.

7.1

Planning of product realisation

Define your SPECIFICATION, MANUFACTURING METHODS, And TESTING METHODS.

22.

7.2.2

Customer requirement review

Query your customer at your threshold. Do not accept impossible orders.

23.

7.3

Design control

Plan, review, verify and validate your product design.

24.

7.4

Purchasing

Select suitable suppliers and subcontractors.

Carry out rating of subcontractors /suppliers.

Ensure that they are informed about the controls they are expected to follow while executing your requirements.

25.

7.5.1

Control of production

Do what you say – follow your documents while doing your work

26.

7.5.2

Validation of processes

Carry out special processes (whose results are difficult to verify immediately) under controlled conditions.

27.

7.5.3

Identification & Traceability

A place for everything and everything in its place. Allot batch number for traceability

28.

7.5.3

Identification & Traceability

Templates, Jigs & fixtures should bear proper identification. Use tags labels and boards to show inspection status of the material

29.

7.5.4

Customer property

Take care of customer’s belongings. (E.g. tools, packing material, labels, personal data (for BPOs & IT companies) etc.) servicing items also

30.

7.5.5

Preservation of product

Ensure conformity to requirements, Proper handling and storage practices otherwise defects will arise.

31.

7.6

Control of monitoring & measuring equipments

Are your instruments telling the truth? (Proper Instrument Selection & Calibration). Calibrate your instruments against gauges that are traceable to national and international standards.

32.

8.2.1

Customer satisfaction

What does the customer think / feel about us? Does the customer feel satisfied?

Listen to your customer’s voice. What are the changes in customer needs?

33.

8.2.2

Internal audit

Are procedures / defined processes followed and objectives achieved? Report lapses in audit report.

34.

8.2.3

Monitoring & Measurement of process

Monitor and control your processes to achieve desired results.

In case results are not ok, take action for improvement

35.

8.2.4

Monitoring & Measurement of product

Is the material / product acceptable? (As per our own specifications or as agreed with the customer) Check against the quality plan and record it. Do not allow non-conforming product to the next stage.

36.

8.2.4

Monitoring & Measurement of product

Product / service delivery should be carried out only after ensuring that all specifications are met.

37.

8.2.4

Monitoring & Measurement of product

Only authorised persons should inspect and certify product’s / service acceptance.

38.

8.3

Control of non conforming product

Segregate & REGRADE, SCRAP, ACCEPT CONCESSIONALLY OR REWORK defects where practicable. Market returns are also to be treated in the same way

39.

8.4

Analysis of data

How well (or how badly) are we doing? Measure your performance (timely delivery, productivity, customer complaints etc), as an aid for improvement Is the level of defects increasing? Monitor supplier and subcontractor performance trends.

40.

8.5

Improvement

Improve your performance through systematic analysis and action. Make improvement time-bound

41.

8.5.2

Corrective action

Find out why you have failed and ensure that it is not repeated. Take action on the root cause of nonconformities, which have occurred. ... .Verify effectiveness of corrective action.

42.

8.5.3

Preventive action

Find out how you may fail and ensure that failure is avoided. Take action on the root cause of probable nonconformities. ... .Verify effectiveness of preventive action.

Note:

  1. Remember the PDCA (PLAN ,DO CHECK,ACT) cycle in whatever you do on the above steps .
  2. The ISO9001 standard is not a replacement of the code of practice and industry standards to be followed by the industry
  3. It is an enabler to do things in a systematic manner in a better way.
  4. The process approach is to be followed