Quality Systems
One of the cornerstones of every Quality system is continuous improvement. This can be achieved in two ways – one is by the monitoring and trending of your own product or service to identify inherent weaknesses; the other is by keeping abreast of the current state of the art, both in your industry and in the world at large. Learn by other peoples mistakes and not your own!
There are many examples of practices and procedures developed to great effect in one industry that are not “discovered” by another industry for years.
There are numerous ways of maintaining up to date knowledge of the quality issues affecting your specific industry. These include membership of relevant organizations and professional bodies, but as with most things in the 21st century the internet is one of the easiest starting points.
Quality Management & Your Company
The general principles of ISO9001 can be and are applied across all types of industry to enhance performance, customer satisfaction and profitability. The degree of application is dependent on the quality goals of the industry and the economic advantage that can be derived, but in all cases some form of documented quality system is essential if any benefit is to be achieved. Some companies will be surprised how compliant their existing activities may be; others will be amazed at how long they have managed to exist without the commonsense principles of ISO9001. In either case a documented quality system is the key to survival and future success.
Professional Organizations
In North America the leading professional organization promoting all fields of Quality and providing professional education and certification is the American Society for Quality (ASQ). ASQ has its headquarters in Milwaukee, WI, and offers numerous local sections throughout Canada and the US, as well as divisions representing specific parts of industry.
The following link will take you to the ASQ website and their weekly newsletter:
The Regulatory Affairs Professional Society (RAPS) is the leading worldwide member organization devoted to the health product regulatory profession. Compliance with FDA regulations and those of other health authorities worldwide can require significant resources for any company in the industry, depending on the stage of product development, and an effective Quality System will ease this load. Many quality professionals also have membership of RAPS in order to benefit from the education and information available.
Follow this link to the RAPS website and newspage: