Any quality/productivity-oriented system installed by an organization should always be questioned as to the value it will bring to the organization. ISO 9001:2000, Six Sigma, and Lean Manufacturing are all designed to bring value to an organization. None of these disciplines is exclusive to the others.
Typical Example of How the Value-Added Activity Occurs
ISO 9001:2000 requires that an organization measure and monitor both process and product. Value is added as the monitoring and measurement of both processes and products provide the organization valuable information on how the processes and products are conforming to specifications and in-turn reflecting how effective the process and product controls are. This information then can be used to make appropriate adjustments to the production process.
To further demonstrate how the ISO 9001:2000 requirements complement other manufacturing improvement disciplines and add value, ask the following questions:
A. What value would a Six Sigma project accomplish if the measuring equipment was not under a calibration
control process?
B. How effective would a Lean Manufacturing project be if the production workers involved in the project did
not have the latest relevant product and processing information?
Sam Schaadt has over thirty years experience in vendor quality and implementing quality management systems. Mr. Schaadt has provided training and consulting in ISO 9000 and QS 9000 quality systems for over a decade to over a hundred different firms in such areas as management basics, internal auditing, documentation, measurement systems, and implementation. He is a registered ISO 9001:2000 Lead Auditor and a Fellow of ASQ.