My Favorite Quotes on Writing
The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do. Thomas Jefferson (1743 – 1826) 3rd U. S. President and Drafter of Declaration of Independence Either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing. Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790) Statesman and Inventor I have made this letter longer than usual, because I lack the time to make it short. Blaise Pascal (1623 – 1662) Mathematician and Philosopher If written directions alone would suffice, libraries wouldn’t need to have...
Read MoreAvoid Common Decision-Making Mistakes
ISO 9001:2000, clause 5.6.3, states the output of a management review must include any “decisions” made to improve the results of the system, its processes, and the product, as well as, any “decisions” made on resource needs. However, management often makes mistakes when faced with decisions. Caruth and Handlogten, in their “Decisions, Decisions” article in the December 2003 issue of Quality Digest, identified 12 common decision-making mistakes. I have summarized these mistakes below: 1. Failure to...
Read MoreGuidance on ISO 9001:2000 Auditing Practices
The ISO 9001 Auditing Practices Group is an informal group of quality management system (QMS) experts, auditors, and practitioners drawn from ISO Technical Committee 176 and the International Accreditation Forum. It has developed a number of guidance papers and presentations that contain ideas, examples, and explanations about auditing. These documents reflect the process-based approach that is essential for auditing the requirements of ISO 9001:2000. The guidance is primarily aimed at QMS auditors, consultants, and quality practitioners, but...
Read MoreISO/TS 29001 for Oil and Natural Gas Industries
A successful partnership between ISO and the international oil and natural gas industry has resulted in the publication of a new technical specification for implementing ISO 9001-based quality management systems. ISO/TS 29001:2003, Petroleum, Petrochemical, and Natural Gas Industries: Sector-Specific Quality Management Systems – Requirements for Product and Service Supply Organizations, is expected to become the common and unique basis for the industry’s quality management system requirements worldwide, thereby helping to avoid...
Read MoreANSI/ASQ Z1.4-2003 and ANSI/ASQ Z1.9-2003
ANSI/ASQ Z1.4-2003 (Sampling Procedures and Tables for Inspection by Attributes) and ANSI/ASQ Z1.9-2003 (Sampling Procedures and Tables for Inspection by Variables for Percent Nonconforming) have been published. ANSI/ASQ Z1.4-2003 is an acceptance sampling system to be used with switching rules on a continuing stream of lots for a specified Acceptance Quality Limit .It provides tightened, normal, and reduced plans to be applied for attributes inspection for percent nonconforming or nonconformities per 100 units. ANSI/ASQ Z1.4-2003 replaces...
Read MoreStrict New ISO Guidelines for Publicizing Registration
Your organization should be proud of achieving ISO 9001:2000 or ISO 14001 registration and may want to communicate this success to the market place. ISO has issued strict new guidelines for publicizing, communicating, and promoting your registration to employees, customers, business partners, and the general public. These guidelines will be useful in preparing promotional and communication material, such as, press releases, advertisements, marketing brochures, videos, staff announcements, logos, and slogans. In brief, the guidelines...
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