Total Quality Is About Getting Your Act Together

To have control over quality in your company, start doing the following:

• Set quality standards at the level you really want for all jobs in the organization. Don’t settle for second best quality anywhere, just because some employees object to doing their jobs correctly or to being held accountable for their performance. Everyone can do his or her job the correct way if you make it clear that’s how the job has to be done! Extensive research has shown that employees in all industries perform much better when they know what’s really expected of them. So don’t hesitate being precise and demanding.

• Enforce “quality” through a general quality management system which makes “quality” a condition of work and an integral|important [/spin] part of all jobs. Your profits will improve dramatically if you prevent quality problems from happening through consistent adherence to quality standards, rather than trying to fix up quality mistakes after they’ve happened. Ensuring quality does not mean adding a few more quality inspectors!

• See that all your managers are themselves managed, from the top executives to the shop floor supervisors. If you don’t, your attempt to implement a total quality focus will fail. In particular, make sure that all your managers are, in fact, mentoring to their employees the way you want it done.

The How’s and Why’s of ISO 14000 Self-Auditing

Monitoring compliance with environmental management regulations through a self audit can provide several benefits. Firstly, management of the risks associated with non-compliance is of great value, both from an environmental standpoint and a health safety perspective. Secondly, self-audits can identify where additional pollution prevention activities are needed. Implementation of appropriate pollution prevention measures results in waste minimization, which can provide significant cost savings associated with waste management. Thirdly, companies that are proactive in ensuring compliance with regulations may develop a competitive advantage, as consumers, customers and investors nowadays look for products from companies that are committed to minimizing their impact on the environment.

Functions At Work

Functions at the workplace are no different to any other occupational health and safety issue. A risk management approach needs to be taken. Employers are liable if an incident or injury occurs and can also be potentially liable for a worker’s compensation claim if an employee is seriously hurt or killed while driving home from a work party even if they are under the influence of alcohol. Employers have a duty of care under the Occupational Health and Safety Act for their employees and that includes at Christmas or at other functions whether or not they are held off-site or on-site. As an employer, to minimise the risk of injury you need to perform a risk assessment. You must identify the hazards, assess the risks and implement controls.