I realized that many people are confused about the companies that typically get involved when a factory wants to get its quality management system (QMS) certified to ISO 9001 or ISO 13485. Let's break it down into the logical steps to … [Read more...]
What Causes A Bad QMS/ISO 9001 Implementation (Reason 2)
This is a follow-up on What Causes A Bad Factory QMS Implementation? [Reason 1], as I expose a few common issues that make a factory's work much harder than it should be. If you are starting to work on a program to raise product quality … [Read more...]
ISO 9001 QMS Features, Benefits, & Implementation Tips [Podcast]
In This Episode... Phil Brown, owner of Phil Brown Consultancy, who is an ISO 9001 and 14001 consultant in the UK joins us in this episode of the China manufacturing decoded podcast. Phil talks us through the ISO 9001 QMS, the … [Read more...]
What Causes A Bad Factory QMS Implementation? [Reason 1]
When we look at the root causes of many quality issues in China or Vietnam, we find "there is no quality system at the factory" or "they supposedly have one, but it was a really bad QMS implementation". I thought about it and I can point … [Read more...]
Quality Manager Interview Questions To Test Knowledge Of ISO 9001
Next time you're hiring, here are some quality manager interview questions you should ask to make sure that they know and understand the ISO 9001:2015 standard. … [Read more...]
Does ISO 9001 Actually Prevent Process Improvements?
As I wrote before, I believe that a good implementation of ISO 9001 does help a manufacturer quite a bit, while a bad one will only create issues. And the reason is simple. ISO 9001 allows an organization to set any system it wants, as … [Read more...]
Traceability in Manufacturing: Do your Chinese Suppliers Do it Right?
I see buyers who spend a lot of time pushing their suppliers to do QC inspections on incoming components, to keep the production area clean, to give clear instructions to operators, and other basics. But I seldom hear them push for … [Read more...]
Benefits of ISO 9001 for a Chinese manufacturing organization
I wrote recently about ISO 9001: What are the standard and the certification process 10 ways it can get poorly implemented in a factory To summarize my view on this topic: It is a good standard, keeping in mind that it was … [Read more...]
Factory Audit Tips: 10 Signs of a Bad ISO 9001 Implementation
A few days ago, I wrote about the basics of ISO 9001 -- both the standard and the certification/registration process. I got some comments on Linkedin about how useless ISO 9001 is. It is useless indeed in many manufacturing facilities I … [Read more...]
How a Factory Can (and Should) Go Beyond ISO 9001
I wrote a few articles about ISO 9001 recently: The standard itself pushes companies in the right direction, but the auditing & certification process has many flaws: Basics about ISO 9001: The Standard and the Certification … [Read more...]