CBG Inc. - Management System Professionals Support

When I started as a new Quality Assurance Manager for a well-respected manufacturing company couple of years ago, the Manufacturing Manager approached me one day and asked me to write a CA (corrective action) to certain employee who made a half a shift worth of scrap (even though both set-up technician and his supervisor were in the area, and “in-process” checks were done and, ironically, recorded). QA or Police Department? I was surprised, to say the least, that Corrective action system was being used to discipline employees (and thus, the CA’s issued to employees stored by HR in employee’s files together with the disciplinary notes- warnings). Also, I was told that my function will be to POLICE the quality and to make sure no bad products leave the plant. In general, in my many years in different quality functions with various industries, the impression I had from other departments about quality folks is one that quality only knows about complaining, rejecting a lot, about issui...

General words are minefields when it comes to professional writing in quality management. Examples of such words are: always,  never,  all,  none,  lack,  almost, alike.  If we used the word "never” and a single occurrence compromised this word, it has also compromised the reader’s trust to the whole message. Words that express opinions should be used very carefully.Examples of such words are comprehensive,  clear,  consistent,  unambiguous.  What is clear to one person may not be clear to someone else. If we decide to use such words, we need to agree on their definitions as a first step.

It is an important stylistic rule of non-technical writing to avoid repetitions in consecutive sentences. For example, if we talk about “Maria’s accomplishments” in one sentence, it is better to use “her achievements” in the second one. In technical correspondence it can lead to confusion because “accomplishments” and “achievements” may have some differences in meaning. Here is a real example from quality audit report: “Process XYZ Suggestions: the Process XYZ was very good, but the following issues were discussed afterwards”. In this example a quality auditor used words “issue” and “suggestions” interchangeably. However, from the users’ perspectives an issue must be addressed while a suggestion can be considered. To add more confusion, the overall mark was “very good”.

A quote often attributed to Mark Twain states, “Sorry about the long letter, I didn't have time to write a short one”. We value the reader’s time and try to be as concise as possible. We try to use descriptive words instead of descriptive paragraphs. E x amples: More practical tips in our best selling training course Audit Interview: Learn Journalists' Secrets . 10% off Registration Fees in July 2013.

It is said that “a goal well set is half way achieved”. There is no better way to set up a goal than to describe it in details. It can be a picture of what we want or conversely, what we don’t want to achieve as an outcome. Using an example from risk management practices, it is not as important to describe what can go wrong, but what our Plan B is. In other words, keep focus on solutions but not on problems and on expectations but not on precautions.  E x amples:

Faults and obstacles are not necessarily negative: constraints spur creativity, problems lead to new solutions, and faults are key components of learning and making progress. Amazingly enough, the previous years of recessions are known as years when top numbers of top companies were created, such as FedEx, Microsoft, Apple, Genentech, Oracle or the SAS Institute. By their nature, quality departments are accumulators of information about faults, defects, and problems. This information becomes highly valued to improve, innovate and be ahead of competition, but is effective only when the language of the quality professional is focused of the bright side of things. E x amples: 

Words have incredible power. Words can hurt and words can help. They can build trust, inspire, and promote a sense of shared goals. Words can steer attention to the areas of commonality or vice versa, keep focus on elements that divide. Words can confuse or they can clarify. A single word can trigger a very powerful emotion and turn the conversation or even an entire business relationship in a different direction. Words should be carefully selected and only used deliberately. This month on our blog we will concentrate on the wording, substance and style of messages communicated by quality professionals. It can serve as a practical guide to help quality auditors, managers, engineers, and other professionals clarify their written messages and inspire their readers to constructive actions. Materials presented here are based on many years of practical experience and analysis of what worked and what didn’t, in written communication related to auditing, consulting, and training in the ...

Accounting for more than 95% of the world’s businesses, small and medium size companies play an important role in the modern day economy. To satisfy the needs of small and medium businesses, ISO published a guide ‘ ISO 9001 for Small Businesses What to do ’. The document follows the structure of the Standard and is focused on practical tips and advice form the experts. You can preview the publication here . There are many ways how small businesses can benefit from using a quality management system from increased efficiency of operations to the opening up of export markets and increase of customers confidence. Looking to develop the Quality Management System beyond the ISO 9001:2008? Learn about  ISO 9004:2009, Managing for the sustained success of an organization – A quality management approach in our updated training course Fundamentals of Business Sustainability . Check out our fully customizable quality manual templates and procedures: ISO 9001:2008 Quality Syste...