Volume 8 · Issue 6 · May 2003

Contents

Page 1…
Have You Overcome Two Challenges to "QMS Thinking"?

Why have organizations been slow in transitioning? There are two challenges with ISO 9001:2000’s use that may be holding them back: less than effective communication about, and promotion of, the value and benefits to Top Management of transitioning to ISO 9001:2000; the inability of those responsible for a QMS to design, sustain and improve that system so it is elegant—that is, simple but useful—to those who need to use it to gain that value and benefits. As a result, it is difficult to revise those QMSs to make them elegant without expending a great deal of resources. The goal must therefore be to overcome these challenges and obtain elegant QMSs. Included in this report are facts about the two challenges and their impact, an examination of 8 reasons why organizations register to ISO 9001 and why they should, some questions you need to ask yourself about QMS registration and maintenance and excerpts from some discussions about transition issues.