Paul Harding SAQI MD
I am often asked how I became involved in the Quality profession and my immediate answer is that it was by accident. Of course quality should be all about planning and to quote John Ruskin’s famous words: “Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of intelligent effort”. So should people coming into the Quality profession follow some form of career path and study Quality as an academic subject?
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Paul Harding SAQI MD
In the previous 2008 edition of the ISO 9001 Quality management systems requirements standard there was a mandatory requirement for top management of an organization to appoint a management representative to perform certain tasks in establishing and maintaining the Quality Management System (QMS). In practice this position varied, depending on the understanding of the requirement by senior executives, from that of an administrative position to one of complete control of the QMS. In other words the Management Representative was either a Scribe or a Champion.
Paul Harding SAQI MD
I remember when our first Japanese CEO came to our plant in South Africa. He immediately gave up his fancy office and converted it to a training / meeting room. He then took up a desk alongside the production managers in an open plan office. This was not just a token move, it was a clear message that he needed to communicate directly with his managers and understand what was happening in the sharp end of the organization. This of course is not unusual in Japanese style management.
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SAQI would like to use this platform for all members to air their views on important issues of quality. Do you have something you would like to blog about within the quality fraternity? Leave your comments here or contact Vanessa on vanessa@saqi.co.za with your blogpost to load on this site.
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