Dan Nelson

Principal

T. D. (“Dan”) Nelson is a quality management consultant and trainer specializing in the process approach of ISO 9001 and related sector schemes. Nelson has 20 years of experience with ISO 9000 and years of experience as an IRCA QMS lead or principal auditor. He has also trained lead auditors in accredited course. Nelson also holds an MA in Business Administration from the University of Iowa. He is the author of The Process Approach of ISO 9001 (Create Space, 2014, updated for ISO 9001:2015).

Sun, 12/08/2013 - 13:01

Untangling the Gordian Knot of ISO 9001 It’s all in how you look at it

Thu, 02/11/2016 - 15:22

Have you ever noticed someone struggling with a problem because he didn’t know the “trick” to solving it? Have you ever wrestled with a problem, only to discover that it actually wasn’t a problem; you were simply approaching it improperly? In these…

Everything I Needed to Know About Risk-Based Thinking I Learned From Playing Billiards And scratching on the break

Thu, 02/19/2015 - 10:52

The game of billiards offers a useful analogy to explain risk-based thinking and “risk to quality” (i.e., the risk to achieving quality objectives). Like any game, billiards involves navigating risk. Survival in an open global marketplace, like…

A Driver’s License for the Global Supply Chain Highway Think of ISO 9001 as the test rather than driver’s ed

Mon, 11/10/2014 - 09:38

ISO 9001 certification is like a driver’s license test. To prepare for a driver’s license test, a new, unlicensed driver requests a booklet from the state. This booklet explains the laws and conventions of driving in that state. From ISO, a new,…

A System for Satisfying Customers, Part 2 Output matters

Tue, 07/15/2014 - 14:16

Editor's note: This is part two of a series about customer-centric quality management systems. Read part one here. Bob’s Machine Shop has been satisfying customers with good parts delivered on time for more than 20 years. Bob has satisfying…

A System for Satisfying Customers, Part 1 What does ‘complete and correct’ mean to an auditor?

Mon, 06/16/2014 - 15:48

Editor's note: This is part one of a serios about customer-centric quality management systems. Read part two here. A document review is supposed to be conducted as part of stage one of the ISO certification process. For the uninitiated looking…

Misunderstanding ISO 9001 You can shoot yourself in the foot trying to achieve customer satisfaction

Mon, 04/21/2014 - 12:08

The process approach is a concept crucial to proper quality management. This concept is not new. In fact, it’s how ISO 9001 was designed to work from the very beginning. A process approach allows businesses to realize the full benefit of a…

What Galileo Gave Shewhart The science behind PDCA

Thu, 04/17/2014 - 10:40

When we think of plan-do-check-act (PDCA), W. Edwards Deming might spring to mind… and Walter Shewhart, maybe Kaoru Ishikawa as well. But the thinking that results from PDCA today can most always be traced to Shewhart’s 1939 book, Statistical…

The Value of Internal Quality Audits Avoiding the pitfalls of fictitious documentation

Tue, 04/08/2014 - 11:47

Why is internal auditing important to your quality management system (QMS)? To ensure that processes conform to ISO 9001 requirements, or to ensure that the company conforms to management’s own defined plans? Although audits can be done for both…

Does ISO 9001 Certification Remind You of Spoiled Milk? Misunderstanding its purpose sours the whole thing

Tue, 03/11/2014 - 12:42

Editor's note: Dan Nelson will be a guest on Quality Digest LIVE Friday March 14, 2014, at 11 a.m. Pacific. Bill Cosby once did a routine about a funny aspect of human nature: How we all seem to have a hard time believing the obvious. So Cosby…

A Quality Problem in Quality Auditing In no country in the world does management speak ‘ISOese’

Wed, 02/26/2014 - 11:53

On June 23, 2013, Simon Feary, executive director of the Chartered Quality Institute, delivered the welcome speech at the International Register of Certificated Auditors’ (IRCA) 12th annual forum held in Japan. Feary made several bold statements,…