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Our newsletters provide guidance on ISO 9001,
AS9100, ISO 13485, ISO/TS 16949, TL 9000, ISO
14001,
ISO 27001, ISO 20000, ISO 22000, and related ISO
standards, as well as, Six Sigma.
If you have any questions about the articles
appearing in this issue, or you want to suggest
topics for future issues, please let us
know.
Code of Ethics for Consultants
In the June 2008 newsletter, I proposed an
Internal Auditor Code of Conduct. My article
began by stating that ethical behavior is the
foundation of professionalism.
Since many of us in the quality field have
become self-employed consultants, I'm adding
in this issue a proposed Consultant Code of
Ethics.
A client engages the consultant in the belief
that
the consultant is capable of performing the
services, in a timely manner, and at an
agreed to price.
If you are a consultant, you
should adopt a Code of Ethics similar to the
one below to communicate your intentions and
guide your actions.
Purpose
To communicate the integrity, objectivity,
confidentiality, trust, and professionalism
expected of consultants, as well as, to
provide a means for consultants to pledge
their commitment to these principles.
Clients
1. I will serve my clients with integrity,
competence, and objectivity; And, I will use
a professional approach at all times, placing
the client's best interests above all
others.
2. I will treat client information that is
not public knowledge as confidential and take
reasonable steps to prevent its access by
unauthorized persons.
3. I will keep the client informed of the
project status and not knowingly misrepresent
the facts; And, I will share this information
even if it is unfavorable and may jeopardize
the assignment.
Engagements
4. I will only accept assignments for which I
am qualified by my competence and experience;
And, I will only assign staff or engage
colleagues with the requisite knowledge and
expertise.
5. I will ensure the objectives, scope, work
plan, and fee arrangements have been
established and agreed to by the client
before accepting an assignment.
6. I will avoid conflicts of interest and
disclose any situations that may influence my
objectivity; And, I will offer to withdraw
from an assignment if my objectivity should
become impaired.
Fees
7. I will agree in advance with a client on
the basis for my fees and expenses; And, I
will charge fees and expenses that are
reasonable, legitimate, and commensurate with
the responsibilities accepted and the
services delivered.
8. I will disclose to clients any fees or
commissions that I may receive for
recommended goods or services, as well as,
any financial interests in those goods or
services.
Profession
9. I will respect the intellectual property
rights of my clients and other consultants;
And, I will not take advantage of proprietary
or privileged information, either for use by
myself or others, without permission.
10. I will not advertise or promote my
consulting services in a deceptive manner;
And, I will not misrepresent or denigrate
other consultants or consulting firms.
11. I will use properly licensed software on
my computer and distribute documents that
comply with copyright laws; And, I will not
knowingly participate in activities that are
in violation of legal statutes or
regulations.
I agree to adhere to this Code of Ethics and
pledge my commitment to uphold its
principles.
Signed by: __________________________
Printed Name: _______________________
Date: ______________________________
Although this Code of Ethics addresses
specific areas, its fundamental spirit can be
expressed very simply:
"If the client knew
what I did, and why I did it, would I
still take the same action?"
I based the proposed Consultant Code of
Ethics on models from:
If your internal audit program is difficult
to manage, and you wonder about its
effectiveness, maybe it's time to consider
outsourcing it.
We can maintain your audit schedule and
assign experienced auditors to perform your
internal audits. If an area needs to be
audited more often based on the results, we
adjust the audit schedule, but stay within
the agreed to number of audit days.
By using our independent auditors, you may
end up with more impartial and objective
audits. And, you can keep your "volunteer"
auditors at their regular jobs. Plus, our
auditors focus on more than just conformity,
they examine the effectiveness of the audited
areas and identify opportunities for
improvement.
We follow your current audit procedure and
use its related forms. And, we'll verify any
corrective actions have been satisfactorily
completed when we conduct your next audit.
Our goal will be to find any process
nonconformities before they are identified by
your certification body, or worse yet, cause
product or service nonconformities. Of
course, all audits are limited in their
coverage due to the sampling involved.
Our auditors will arrange to review the
appropriate documents in advance and be well
prepared to carry out an efficient audit. We
treat your employees with respect and focus
on the business process being performed, not
just the clauses of the standard. Our
nonconformity reports identify the applicable
requirements, as well as, clearly and
completely state the objective evidence.
If you're tired of pleading for internal
auditors to be made available, or weary of
coaxing people to be trained as auditors, or
question the value of your audit program,
then request a quote for our services. And,
you may like it so much, you'll decide to
have us also perform your second-party
supplier audits.
To receive a quote, send me a note with your
name, company, mailing address, telephone
number, and email address.
FMEA 4th Edition
The new Potential Failure Mode and Effect
Analysis (FMEA) Reference Manual, Fourth
Edition, can improve the management of risks
associated with product and process failure
modes.
FMEA is one of the Automotive Quality Core
Tools developed by representatives of
Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors.
Methods described in the new reference manual
include those applicable to the DFMEA
(product design at the system, subsystem,
interface and component level) and to the
PFMEA (process control at manufacturing and
assembly operations).
Improvements incorporated in the FMEA
Reference Manual, Fourth Edition, include:
New format for improved readability,
including an index, visual cues, and icons to
indicate key paragraphs
Additional examples and text to provide a
clearer explanation of the steps to develop a
robust failure mode analysis
Reinforcement of the need for management
participation in, and support of, the FMEA
process
Clarification of the linkage between DFMEA
and PFMEA, as well as, linkages to the other
core tools
Improved clarity in definition of the
Severity, Occurrence, and Detection ranking
tables
An introduction to the alternative methods
currently being applied in
industry
Additional appendices include example forms
and special case applications of FMEA
"Standard form" focus replaced with options
representative of current applications of
FMEA
Clarifications are provided in the use of
RPN, including alternative methodologies
An emphasis on problem prevention is included to
eliminate the sources of failures.
This has many advantages:
Improved quality, reliability, and safety
of a product/process
Early identification and elimination of
potential failure modes
Reduced system development timing and
cost
Reduced potential for warranty concerns
Increased customer satisfaction and
competitiveness
Reduced need for inspection
You can order the new FMEA manual at the AIAG web site.
ISO 9001:2008 Status
The ISO/DIS 9001:2008 has been approved and
the proposed standard is being submitted for
voting as a Final Draft International
Standard. If the FDIS is approved, the new
edition should be published in the
October-November 2008 time frame. The
proposed ISO 9001:2008 does not introduce any
additional requirements beyond the current
ISO 9001:2000.
Although certification is not compulsory, it
is estimated that over one million ISO 9001
certificates have been issued to
organizations in private and public sectors,
in manufacturing and services, and in 170
countries. The new edition, however, will not
require any specific reassessment for
certification.
ISO 9001:2008 will be the fourth edition of
the standard which was first published in
1987. The third edition, published in 2000,
represented a thorough revision, including
new requirements and a sharpened customer
focus, reflecting developments in quality
management and experience gained since the
publication of the initial version.
Compared to the current 2000 edition, ISO
9001:2008 represents fine-tuning. It
introduces clarifications to the requirements
in ISO 9001:2000, based on user experience
over the last eight years, and changes that
are intended to improve further compatibility
with the ISO 14001:2004 environmental
standard.
To accompany the publication of this new
edition, ISO is working on implementation
guidance for ISO 9001:2008, a reference table
comparing and contrasting ISO 9001:2000 and
ISO 9001:2008, and answers to Frequently
Asked Questions.
ISO 38500 for IT Corporate Governance
An inadequate information technology (IT)
system can hinder the performance and
competitiveness of your organization or
expose it to the risk of not complying with
legislation. The new ISO 38500 standard
provides broad guidance on the role of top
management in regards to the corporate
governance of IT.
Most organizations use IT as a fundamental
business tool and few can function without
it. IT is also a significant enabler in the
future business plans of many organizations.
ISO 38500 will help the governing body to
evaluate, direct, and monitor the use of IT.
ISO 38500:2008, Corporate Governance of
Information Technology, is applicable to
organizations of all sizes, including public
and private companies, government entities,
and not-for-profit organizations. This
standard provides a framework for effective
governance of IT to assist those at the
highest level of organizations to understand
and fulfill their legal, regulatory, and
ethical obligations in their use of IT.
The framework is comprised of definitions,
principles, and a model. It sets out six
principles for good corporate governance of
IT that express preferred behavior to guide
decision making:
responsibility
strategy
acquisition
performance
conformance
human behavior
The purpose of the standard is to promote
effective, efficient, and acceptable use of
IT in all organizations by:
assuring stakeholders that, if the
standard is followed, they can have
confidence in the corporate governance of IT
informing and guiding directors in
governing the use of IT in their
organization
providing a basis for objective
evaluation of the corporate governance of IT
This standard is targeted at the Board of an
organization, to assist the Board in
delivering the maximum value from IT and
information assets across the organization.
Whittington & Associates provides training, consulting and auditing services for
management systems based on
ISO 9001, ISO/TS16949, ISO/TS 29001, TL 9000, AS9100, ASS9110, AS9120, ISO 13485,
ISO 27001, ISO 20000, and ISO 14001.
