ISO Spells Out SPCE ven with the advent of the 2000 revision to ISO 9001, some claim
the quality management system standard is still lacking in that it directs organizations what to do, just not how to do it. A newly proposed standard, however, will be much more prescriptive, at
least for one type of QMS requirement. Statistical process control standard-in-the-making ISO 11462-1 recently completed its Final Draft International Standard phase following a unanimous 14-0
vote by participating member bodies--including the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to ISO Technical Committee 69--in favor of the draft becoming an full-fledged international standard.
While SPC is an accepted and established toll in a number of industries, no body has yet attempted to standardize SPC practices and procedures. In the absence of such a standard, some
sectors have had to create their own. In the automotive field, for example, the QS-9000 SPC reference manual is nearly a decade old. "Yet, despite the existence of the ISO 9000 series since
1987, ISO hasn't had a good SPC guidance standard to support this critical QMS activity as well as the requirements of ISO 9001/2," says John E. West, chair of the U.S. Technical Advisory
Group to ISO/TC 176.
ISO 11462-1's Operational
Elements of SPC
- Planning the SPC system
- Understanding processes
- Defining targets
- Evaluating the measurement system
- Execution
- Measurement, monitoring and control
- Collecting/recording data
- Monitoring outputs
- Controlling the process
- Assessment and communication
- Assessing short-term variability
- Assessing long-term variability
- Communicating results
- Use of analysis results
- Prioritizing
- Improving, optimizing and troubleshooting
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While on one hand, the newly revised ISO 9001 moves away from its previous manufacturing-centered language, it also requires the use of statistical methods
much more specifically then did previous versions. ISO 11462-1 has been specifically designed to help organizations achieve these requirements.
For a specific illustration of the several ISO 9001 subclauses that address the statistical process control requirement, read "Do You Know Your SPC?"
beginning on page 51 of this issue. Once ratified as an ISO standard, ISO 11462-1 should prove useful for
developing processes to comply with the requirements of both ISO 9001:2000 and other standards aimed at process improvement. Until formally published as an
international ISO standard, copies of the final draft standard, BSR/ISO/ASQ S11462-1-2001, are available from the American Society for Quality by calling (800) 248-1946. ISO Delivers ISO 9000:2000 Help T
he International Organization for Standardization has published two new brochures to assist organizations in understanding and implementing the recently revised ISO 9000:2000 standards series. "Quality management principles" and "ISO 9000--Selection and use" are hard-copy versions of the electronic documents already available on ISO's Web site
(www.iso.ch). The new brochures can be obtained from the ISO Central Secretariat by e-mailing sales@iso.ch or from ISO's U.S. member body, ANSI.
Requests to ISO for small quantities will be met free of charge. Authored by experts from ISO technical committee ISO/TC 176, which produced
the ISO 9000:2000 revision, "Quality management principles" gives the standardized descriptions of the principles as they appear in ISO 9000:2000 and ISO 9004:2000.
In addition, it provides examples of the benefits derived from their use and of actions that managers typically take in implementing the principles.
"ISO 9000--Selection and use" is the second edition of this brochure, which has been updated to address the 2000 revision. It presents the main features of the
revised standards, such as the merging of the familiar ISO 9001, ISO 9002 and ISO 9003 into the new ISO 9001:2000. The principal aim of the brochure, however, is
to emphasize that organizations stand to obtain the greatest value when the standards in the new core series are used in an integrated manner, both with each
other and with the other standards making up the ISO 9000 family as a whole. The brochure includes:  A list of the ISO 9000 quality management system standards and guidelines
Examples of typical applications of the documents A step-by-step process to implement a quality management system A brief view of the future evolution of the ISO 9000 series
Motorola Head Receives First Juran Medal
| Pictured (left to right): James F. Buckman (Juran Center for Leadership in Quality), Robert Galvin,
Joseph M. Juran and Gregory H. Watson (ASQ president) |
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When the American Society for Quality recently launched its new Juran Medal program, the most difficult step may have been finding candidates worthy of the prize
named for, and in honor of, one of quality's most deservedly respected forefathers, Joseph M. Juran. To fill the slot for the first Juran Medal, ASQ honored one of modern
business's most renowned chief executives, Motorola Inc.'s Robert W. Galvin. At ASQ's annual business meeting
held May 6--in conjunction with the 55th Annual Quality Congress and Exposition in Charlotte, North Carolina--the organization presented Galvin the Juran Medal to
recognize his distinguished performance in quality leadership. Galvin, now chairman of Motorola's executive committee, was the company's
senior officer from 1959 until January 1990, when he moved to his current position. Motorola was the first large companywide winner of the Malcolm Baldrige National
Quality Award in 1988 and the developer of the Six Sigma methodology for quality improvement. Galvin has been awarded the National Medal of Technology and elected to the
National Business Hall of Fame. He has chaired technology studies for the National Science Foundation, the United States Navy and a study for the Secretary of the 10
major Department of Energy laboratories in 1994 known as the Galvin Report. Galvin is a member of the board of trustees for both the Illinois Institute of Technology and the Santa Fe Institute. Champion of ideas, leadership and faith in unlimited possibilities, Galvin once wrote: "We can and should apply consciously, confidently, purposely and frequently, the
simpler, satisfying, appropriate steps to create more and then better ideas... breakthrough thinking comes from those who understand how various disciplines relate."
The Juran Medal recognizes organizational leaders who exhibit distinguished performance in a sustained role, personally practicing the key principles of quality
and demonstrating breakthrough management. For more information, visit ASQ's Web site at www.asq.org or call (800) 248-1946.
Preparations for Customer Service Week 2001 Begin A
growing event year after year, Customer Service Week 2001 already has companies planning their special activities. This year's theme, "Celebrate Service!"
draws on the three elements of every Customer Service Week: people, service and celebration. In 1992, the federal government essentially endorsed the concept and objective of
customer service when Congress proclaimed Customer Service Week a nationally recognized event. Now approaching a decade in existence, the affair gets thousands
of North American companies to participate in focusing on that old quality tenet of meeting customer expectations.
A longtime supporter of CSW, New York-based Customer Service Group has created a yearly theme and logo for the event and provided companies with
information resources, planning tools and celebration materials. Customer Service Week, which occurs during the first full week in October, will
take place this year Oct. 1–5. For more resources and information about the event, visit CSG's Customer Service Week Web site at www.csweek.com .
Metrology Association Aims at Interface Standardization J
ust as standards (e.g., ISO 9001) foster international commerce by regulating products and processes that may interface with one another, many metrology
professionals can't wait until some such body gets around to standardizing the equipment relied upon daily in their field. Luckily, help may be on the way.
"Millions of dollars are spent annually to build and rebuild redundant measurement programs that do not agree," argues Robert Waite, vehicle engineering operations
manager of DaimlerChrysler Corp.'s Advanced Metrology Group. "The most significant improvement industry could accomplish is to begin to specify neutral
data exchange protocols as a function of their purchasing systems." In hopes of saving companies millions of dollars in metrology-related costs, the
Metrology Automation Association has begun developing a new software protocol, the Common Machine Interface, that facilitates communication between inspection software and machine controllers. "The need is inescapable," declares Donald A. Vincent, MAA's executive vice president. "MAA experts cite some $1 billion in losses due to incompatibility
between different makes of dimensional measurement equipment. The CMI protocol will help plug that hole and give the entire North American marketplace a renewed
advantage on a global playing field that values quality as a major factor for corporate success." On April 25, DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Co. and NIST hosted a meeting
(coincident with Quality Expo International) attended by 30 representatives of major metrology system users, vendors and technology providers to propose the
formation of a new consortium to address interoperability among the software and hardware components used in automated metrology. Establishment of such an
umbrella organization to coordinate standards development and testing activities was one of the primary action items that came out of a NIST-Metrology Automation
Association (MAA) workshop on Open Architecture for Metrology Automation held in May. "We're coordinating with NIST and the Metrology Interoperability Consortium to
ensure the CMI protocol meets the test of users and suppliers," reports CMI coordinating committee Chairman Dr. Neal Laurance, a retired Ford senior staff
scientist. "Our efforts also extend to the European 'I++' Consortium, with which we seek coordination. The goal is a specification that offers global savings."
For more information about the Common Machine Interface, visit the Web sites of NIST, at www.nist.gov , and the MAA, at www.metrologyautomation.org . Industry News AS9100 Accreditation
Det Norske Veritas Certification Inc., a leader in quality and environmental systems certification, has been awarded accreditation by the Registrar Accreditation Board to
issue certificates to the aerospace standard AS9100. DNV is a leading accredited registrar for ISO 9000, QS-9000, ISO 14001 and TL 9000. For more information, visit www.dnv.com .
ISO Guide 17025
General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories,
ISO/IEC 17025, is now available from ASTM. ISO/IEC 17025 contains all of the requirements that testing and calibration laboratories have to meet to demonstrate
that they operate a quality system, are technically competent and are able to generate technically valid results. ISO/IEC 17025 replaces ISO/IEC Guide 25:1990. Further information is available at www.iso.ch . ISO/IEC 17025 Accreditation
Entela Inc. Engineering and Testing Laboratories has announced its accreditation to ISO/IEC Guide 17025. One of the first labs in the world to comply with the new
standard, Entela received its accreditation from the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation. To learn more about Entela, visit www.entela.com . Online Six Sigma Forum
The American Society for Quality recently launched the ASQ Six Sigma Forum, a
multi-faceted, interactive membership that focuses entirely on Six Sigma practices. Created by a design group of practicing Six Sigma practitioners, the Six Sigma
Forum is designed to enable the growing community of Six Sigma professionals to share knowledge and solutions. It provides world-class training, conferences,
roundtables, current Six Sigma news and opportunities to exchange knowledge and information by means of its Interactivity Center. Access the Six Sigma Forum site at www.sixsigmaforum.com . Electronic Career Resource
The ASTM Web site now offers two services that link professionals with advanced skills to career openings in niche areas. ResumeMatch offers members the ability to
upload their resumes to an exclusive ASTM database, placing themselves in front of recruiters seeking specific skills. JobMatch is a job listing service that allows ASTM
members to view new job openings posted by top employers in the field. Membership in ASTM is open to all interested parties. For more information, visit www.astm.org .
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