NOTE 1: This is a CONTROLLED Document as are all quality system files on
this server. Any documents appearing in paper form are not controlled
and should be checked against the server file version prior to use.
NOTE 2: The document below is a high level sample. For a comprehensive
MS-Word based template, we would suggest the one included within the ISO 9000 Management Kit (commercial site).
Net Work Systems Service was formed in 1984 to satisfy customer
requirements for data networking products. This business has developed
well and is expanding successfully.
Additional capabilities have been added to the organization to
include technical assistance and support, installation, maintenance
of products and systems, and design of systems.
The company is now engaged in including design, engineering, stocking
and distribution, installation, commissioning and maintenance
of equipment and systems.
This Quality System relates to the full range of company activities.
Net Work Systems' quality policy is to achieve sustained, profitable
growth by providing services which consistently satisfy the needs
and expectations of its customers.
This level of quality is achieved through adoption of a system
of procedures that reflect the competence of the Company to existing
customers, potential customers, and independent auditing authorities.
Achievement of this policy involves all staff, who are individually
responsible for the quality of their work, resulting in a continually
improving working environment for all. This policy is provided
and explained to each employee by the Managing Director or Quality
Manager.
To achieve and maintain the required level of assurance the Managing
Director retains responsibility for the Quality System with routine
operation controlled by the Quality Manager.
The objectives of the Quality Assurance System are:
a) To maintain an effective Quality Assurance System complying
with International Standard ISO9001 (Quality Systems).
b) To achieve and maintain a level of quality which enhances the
Company's reputation with customers.
c) To ensure compliance with relevant statutory and safety requirements.
d) To endeavor, at all times, to maximize customer satisfaction
with the services provided by Net Work Systems
H Bridge - Managing Director
October 1995
The terms and descriptions used in this Manual are generally defined
within ISO9001 - Quality Systems.
Additional definitions apply for items not covered by the documents:
Site Any location, other than the Company's established premises,
where work is undertaken as part of a formal contract
The Quality Assurance System applies to all activities of the
Company, and has been developed in accordance with ISO9001. The
Quality Assurance System is fully documented and structured in
3 levels:
Level 1 : Quality Manual
This document details the corporate quality policy and structure
of the Company and references appropriate Operating Procedures.
Level 2 : Operating Procedures
These documents describe the actual process, and controls applied,
to all activities concerned with the attainment of a quality assured
contracting service.
A list of Operating Procedures is given in the Index Section of
this Quality Assurance Manual.
Quality Planning
As the Company operates a standard type and range of services,
customer satisfaction and quality are achieved by operation in
accordance with the documented quality system. Specific customer
requirements are identified and documented during the contract
review process, allowing these requirements to be communicated
and achieved, ensuring satisfaction of all customer declared needs.
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6.1 Authority
6.1.1 All staff are allocated with authority to perform their
allocated responsibilities. The following provides a summary of
the principal responsibilities of each job role, and these are
clarified in greater detail within the Operating Procedures.
6.1.2 All staff share the authority and responsibility of identifying
noncompliances or possible improvements, and recording these instances
such that corrective action can be taken, both to rectify the
immediate situation and to prevent recurrence.
6.1.3 The Managing Director continually reviews the company's
resources to ensure that adequate staff, equipment and materials
are available to meet customer requirements.
6.2 Responsibilities
6.2.1 Managing Director
- Approval of the Quality Assurance System
- Management Review
- Design Control
- Supplier Selection & Purchasing
- Contract Management & Control
- Training
6.2.2 Quality Manager (ISO9001 Management Representative)
- Internal Audit
- Resolution of Quality Assurance System Discrepancies
- Control & Maintenance of the Quality Assurance System
- Documentation & Change Control (Quality System Documents)
6.2.3 Sales Director
- Management & Co-ordination of Sales and Support Functions
- Contract Review
- Sales Order Processing
- Design Control
- Estimating
- Project Management
- Control of Contract Documentation
- Planning & organization
- Supplier Selection & Purchasing
- Definition of Installation, Inspection, Test & Maintenance Requirements
- Training
6.2.4 Sales Managers
- Quotations
- Contract Review and Order Processing
6.2.5 Support Manager
- Planning and Co-ordination
- Control of Production and Measuring Equipment
- Maintenance of Support Stores
- Processing of Sales Orders
- Purchasing
6.2.6 Support Engineers
- Planning & Performance of Installation, Technical Assistance,
- Repairs, Testing and Maintenance Activities
- Control of Equipment and Materials Allocated
6.2.7 Financial Director
- Control of Finance, Accounts and Warehouse Operations
- Training
- Supplier Selection and Purchasing
6.2.8 Warehouse
- Control of Stock
- Replenishment Recommendation
- Protection and Preservation of Stock
- Receiving Inspection
- Packaging and Despatch
6.2.9 Business Development Manager
- Sales
- Estimating
- New Product Identification & Evaluation
- System Design
6.2.10 Administration Order Processing Clerk
- Sales Database Administration
- Checking of Sales Orders
- Allocation of Order Reference Numbers
This Quality System is structured with policy statements relating
to each area of activity being within the relevant Operating Procedure.
However, the following items of ISO9001 are not addressed within
the operating procedures as they are not applicable to this Company:
Management review of the suitability and effectiveness of the
Quality System take place at least twice per year. During the
management meetings actions are allocated and minuted to record
the development of the Company's management system.
The objectives of Management Review are:
a) To establish that the Quality (Management) System is achieving
the expected results and meeting the Company's requirements, continuing
to conform to the Standard, continuing to satisfy the customers
needs and expectations, and functioning in accordance with the
established Operating Procedures.
b) To expose irregularities or defects in the System, identify
weaknesses and evaluate possible improvements.
c) To review the effectiveness of previous corrective actions,
and to review the adequacy and suitability of the management system
for current and future operations of the Company.
d) To review any complaints received, identify the cause and recommend
corrective action if required.
e) To review the finding of internal/ external audits and identify
any areas of recurring problems or potential improvements.
f) To review the reports of nonconforming items and trend information
to identify possible improvements.
Internal audits of the Quality System are undertaken at least
once per annum to confirm that the function concerned is adhering
to the Company's Procedures. A comprehensive Audit Programme is
compiled at least a year in advance however, should particular
needs be identified, the frequency of audit may be increased at
the discretion of the Quality Manager.
Audits are undertaken by auditors who are trained in auditing
and not directly responsible for the functions being audited within
that Company. Nonconformance observed is brought to the attention
of the person responsible, and is recorded, documented and subject
to timely corrective action to ensure full rectification.
The Company offers both standard products and specialist services
to meet each customer's needs. Standard products are displayed
in a catalogue for customer selection. Specialist service requirements
differ from one customer to another (and from one contract to
another), therefore each tends to be quoted for the specific contract.
Once a proposal is accepted by the customer, or an order is placed,
it is recorded and reviewed to establish that the requirements
of the order are adequately defined and documented, any differences
from the proposal are resolved, and the Company is capable of
fully satisfying the customers requirements.
In addition to the original order/ contract specification the
customer may also request addition/ variation work to be undertaken
by the Company. In these circumstances the work content is documented
and agreed with the customer prior to execution to ensure that
no ambiguity exists.
The Company operates on a computerized order processing system
to ensure rapid fulfillment of customer orders.
All Design activities are strictly controlled to ensure that the
design output information complies with customer/ contract requirements,
and all design input data.
Design activities are planned and normally executed by specialists
and are subject to regular management, review and verification
by the Sales Director, and where relevant, agreement with the
Customer.
The design input and output items are documented, and where ambiguity
exists, will be clarified and documented. All items of design
documentation and notes are recorded in a design project file.
Design output documentation is produced and reviewed to ensure
that it:
- meets the design input,
- references the design input or appropriate criteria,
- and identifies all of the characteristics which are critical to the safe and effective operation of the system(s).
Design output is reviewed and approved by the Sales Director,
and is also provided to the Customer for approval prior to use.
Validation of the design is achieved during commissioning of the
system to confirm compliance to the customer's requirements.
The designer is required to specify any inspections or tests which
may verify the design, by practical means, at the earliest possible
stage of development.
All changes to the design criteria, input or output are subject
to strict review and documentation control procedures.
All documentation utilized within the Company related to the management
system itself, or to the execution of individual customer contracts
is controlled to ensure that it is issued to the appropriate personnel,
under the correct level of authority, is revised and reissued
as necessary, and all obsolete versions are removed from the point
of use.
Such documentation typically includes:
Specifications, Customer Orders, Plans/ Drawings,
Quality Assurance Manual/ Operating Procedures,
National/ International Standards and Codes of Practice.
The Quality Assurance Manual, Procedures and Quality Plans are
maintained by the Quality Manager who ensures that the appropriate
items, at the correct revision levels, are issued to all who need
them within the Company.
National/ International Standards, Codes of Practice are maintained
by the Support Engineers who ensure that appropriate documents
are available within the Company, and are issued at the correct
revision levels. External suppliers of documentation are contacted
regularly to ascertain that the documents held remain current.
The distribution of standard documents is controlled and recorded
on Distribution Lists, which also show the current issue status.
The Distribution Lists are reviewed and updated as changes occur.
All changes to documents are reviewed and approved by the person
responsible for the original issue and, where appropriate, the
nature of the change is indicated on the document. Master copies
of the revised documents are retained as records of the changes
and renewed as necessary to ensure clarity.
Each contract has a File which contains all relevant information.
Information is also held on the company's computer system for
ease of access and manipulation.
Suppliers of products, materials and services, where unspecified
by a customer contract, are selected on their ability to meet
the company's requirements given due consideration to the quality,
statutory obligations, timescale and cost. A list of approved
suppliers and sub-contractors is maintained which is compiled
on the following criteria:-
a) Previous performance in supplying to similar specifications
and requirements.
b) Stocking of high volume standard items conforming to a relevant
British Standard, or supplied with a statement of conformity.
c) Compliance with an approved third party product/ quality registration
scheme.
d) Recommendation by other similar purchasers or manufacturers
of equipment.
e) A trial order and evaluation of performance.
All supplies and sub-contracts are subject to an authorized Purchase
Order providing full clarification of the type and extent of supply.
Should a supplier, not appearing on the Approved Suppliers List
be proposed, they will be analysed by capability and subject to
acceptance on the authority of a Director.
Goods received from customers (i.e. free issue items or equipment
being serviced) are always visually inspected at the receipt stage,
with any un-declared non-conformance being immediately reported
to the customer.
All productive work is planned and undertaken in accordance with
the company's procedures, and any specific documents agreed for
individual contracts (e.g. contract specifications).
Work instructions are provided by the agreed contract specification
and any documents referenced therein, alternatively work is performed
in accordance with nationally accepted codes of practice (e.g.
BS6701).
All stores areas are maintained as secure as practical. All items
received by the Company are identified and verified in accordance
with the requirements of the Delivery Note and Purchase Order,
and are inspected for correct identity, quantity and any signs
of damage.
All goods received are documented and, in the event of non-conformance,
the items are placed in a reject area or labelled to ensure identification.
The extent of the non-conformance is noted and subject to disposition
review by nominated personnel.
Inspection and testing is carried out on completion of installation
and maintenance activities, with results being documented. Should
items not be acceptable against the agreed contract criteria they
will either be repaired, replaced or identified for a subsequent
evaluation and decision. All repaired items are subject to a re-inspection
to ensure acceptability.
On completion of installation and maintenance works, the customer
is also invited to check the work performed to ensure full acceptability.
Production and measuring equipment held is maintained in good
condition, and capable of safe and effective operation within
a specified tolerance of accuracy. Test and measuring equipment
is regularly inspected or calibrated to ensure that it is capable
of accurate operation, by comparison with external sources traceable
back to National Standards.
Electrostatic protection equipment is utilized when handling sensitive
components, and this equipment is regularly checked to ensure
that it remains fully functional.
As goods are inspected, the status is defined by location in stores,
with all non-conforming items being placed in a reject area or
marked as reject for review. The status of work in progress is
established by markings or associated documentation recording
the inspections undertaken and their acceptability.
Once non-conforming items have been noticed they are identified
by location, associated documents, or specific markings to prevent
their inadvertent use. All non-conforming items and customer complaints
are subject to review and rectification by nominated personnel.
The type and extent of non-conformity is documented in order to
establish trends and identify possible areas for improvement.
The corrective action required to prevent recurrence is evaluated,
documented, and its effective implementation is monitored. All
rectification is subsequently re-inspected to ensure complete
customer satisfaction.
All employees are encouraged to suggest improvements in methods,
materials, suppliers,
and sub-contractors. The Company has established procedures for
review of all activities in order to identify and evaluate all
possible improvements in methods/ materials and its procedures.
The identification of materials/ equipment, where it is not obvious,
is confirmed by the presence of a manufacturers/ suppliers part
number or description label, or other marking for each item. The
identification of the item may be on the packaging or on the item
itself, and this identification remains in place for as long as
possible, provided it does not hamper effective use of the item.
Materials and consumables are not identified by the company where
they are obvious to a trained/ experienced employee, however,
should a risk of misinterpretation exist between two or more types
of material these will be marked in a suitable manner to ensure
that no ambiguity exists.
All items with serial numbers are recorded individually.
Materials and goods received, whether the property of the company
or others, will, as far as practicable, be protected and their
quality preserved until such time as they are transferred to a
customer, or disposed of to a third party. The objective is to
prevent deterioration and damage whilst in storage, or in the
process of transportation, installation, commissioning or maintenance.
Storage facilities are allocated which ensure that all stored
records are identifiable and retrievable, and the storage areas
are free from damp and other agents which could cause premature
deterioration.
Where records are maintained on computer magnetic media, and these
are subject to "back-up" at regular intervals, with
the "back-up" information being stored in a protected
location to ensure security from loss/ damage of active data.
All records are retained for a minimum of 2 years.
The policy of the company is to ensure that all personnel are
trained and experienced to the extent necessary to undertake their
assigned activities and responsibilities effectively. The company
generally procures and recruits employees capable of meeting the
technical, skill, experience and educational requirements of the
company's activities.
All staff and senior employees are responsible for recommending
the training needs of others, and for ensuring that all employees
allocated specific tasks are suitably qualified and experienced
to execute those tasks. Once training needs are identified these
are provided under the responsibility of the Directors.
Full records are maintained of all training undertaken by employees.
Service and maintenance contracts are offered to all customers,
and these activities are controlled in the same manner as Process
Control.
