Time for quality?
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Time for quality?
Implementing BS 5750 in small companies has its problems Anne Tomes
This article asks, "Does 5750 live up to its billing in
This article looks atthe pro b/ems encountered during the
implementation of the national quality management
practice?".
standard BS 5750 in six small manufacturing
organizations. lt could be subtitled "a cautionaiy tale for managers setting out on the road to 5750 certification".
QUALITY SYSTEM ELEMENTS OF BS 5750
The quest for quality has become one of the major management issues of the 1980s. In large companies words such as 'Kaizen' and 'TQM' flow from the lips of top management. But in many small UK companies, quality
Management responsibility Quality system principles Auditing the quality system (internal) Economics - quality-related cost considerations Quality in marketing (contract review)
is synonymous with BS 5750 - the national quality management standard introduced in 1979.
Briefly, 5750 is a far-reaching quality management system which embraces all procedures from supplier vetting to delivery to customers. Certification as a 5750 supplier provides quality assurance to customers that a product from that supplier is 'fit for the purpose'.
Quality in specification and design (design control) Quality in procurement (purchasing) Quality in production (process control) Control of production
Material control and traceability (product
lt is not a totally new concept. The Ministry of Defence,
CEGB, British Coal and Ford, for example, have all
identification and traceability) Control of verification status (inspection and test status) Product verification (inspection and testing) Control of measuring and test equipment (inspection, measuring and test equipment)
developed their own standards and certification schemes
for their suppliers. A multiplicity of schemes therefore existed, and 5750 was a belated recognition that some rationalization was needed. The sales pitch for 5750 argues that:
getting the procedures right means that companies are more likely to get their products right first time, leading to less reworking and less scrap;
Nonconformity (control of nonconforming
more inspectors are not necessary because quality is being built into the product; and
Handling and post-production functions (hand-
product) Corrective action
ling, storage, packaging and delivery) After-sales servicing
managers have more control and can trace problems much more easily and speedily.
Quality documentation and records (document control) Quality records Personnel (training) Product safety and liability Use of statistical methods (statistical techniques) Purchaser supplied product
The ideas behind 5750 are now being internationally
recognized and 5750 has an international standard
associated with it - ISO 9000. If a company is assessed by the British Standards Institute and meets 5750, then it automatically meets ISO 9000. This ISO standard is
recognized in France, Germany and the USA by the 'standards people', but it is not yet widely accepted by
companies.
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