Couple of weeks ago I was very fortunate to host one of the roundtables during the FERMA risk seminar in Malta. I am very thankful for the opportunity because the experience of brainstorming for 45 mins with the representatives from various small and medium enterprises (SMEs) really highlighted some major problems with modern day risk management and risk managers.
ISO 31000 is going to be used more often as more ISO certified companies adopt Risk Based Thinking. However, ISO 31000 can be challenging. Why?
Interestingly, the descriptive nature of the ISO 31000 standard may well be its strength, but may also be its weakness. The standard without the proper guidance of a risk practitioner maybe come discretionary and even arbitrary.
ISO 9001:2015 has Risk Based Thinking requirements. Note ISO 31000 was developed in 2009 and is not harmonized with the new annex SL standards and ISO 9001:2015. Continue reading
Old industries are dying and new ones are rising. We have seen Amazon destroy the book stores, Uber transform the transport industry and Netflix make a video store a fond memory.
Today’s technological disruption is fast and ruthless and it is transforming most of the industries. But I think we are behind supply chain if you compare the disruption happening in other functions like marketing and finance and it is time to focus on key supply chain trends. Continue reading
If you buy more than one of an item used in your product, you will have to deal with variability. In general, the variability from part to part is minimal and expected. Occasionally, the variability is large and causes reliability problems.
According to O’Connor and Kleyner, “The main cause of production-induced unreliability, as well as rework and scrap, is the variability inherent in production processes.” O’Connor, Patrick D. T. and Andre Kleyner. 2012. Practical Reliability Engineering. Chicester: John Wiley and Sons. Web. Continue reading
It is not uncommon for laboratories to be saddled with maintaining both ISO 17025 and ISO 9001 certification. Although it is simpler to create and implement two QMS – and to “merge” those activities which can be merged – this approach is arduous, inefficient, and prone to mistakes.
ISO 17025 is an “Accreditation” standard which means the laboratory is authorised to issue “Certifications” i.e. they have the qualifications and capabilities to issue certificates of authentication from the tests they carry out. ISO 9001 relates to the quality and reliability of service a customer can expect from the testing company. Continue reading