Methods of Quality Management, 2024, June

V.V. Kukanov, A.Yu. Serov

PROCESS AUDIT AND PRODUCT AUDIT: THE INTERNAL TOOL FOR JUSTIFICATION OF MANAGEMENT DECISION

A key element of management that allows an organization to achieve its objectives more efficiently is making bold management decisions. However, the existing uncertainty does not give managers confidence in their validity. The reason is the lack of complete and independent information, which does not allow the principle of decision-making based on evidences to be fully implemented. What to do? Resign yourself and wait for unpredictable consequences? Or look for opportunities to reduce uncertainty? And if so, is there a tool with which a manager could receive complete and objective information about processes within the organization? Yes, and this tool is the audit!

Keywords: process audit, product audit, VDA 6.3, VDA 6.5, risk minimization, efficient solutions.

N.V. Vashchenko, A.A. Lyatifov

FORMALIZED METHOD OF CONDUCTING INTERNAL AUDIT OF THE QMS

Internal audits of the QMS allow an enterprise to verify whether it is functioning effectively, as well as to what extent it complies with the requirements of applicable standards and the organization’s own requirements. Identifying possible nonconformities gives it the opportunity to improve production processes and the quality of products and services, optimize production costs, and also reduce risks associated, among other things, with violations of industrial and environmental safety. A formalized method of conducting allows you to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of internal audit. In this article, it's discussed using the example of a metrology laboratory of an petroleum and gas industry enterprise

Keywords: QMS, internal audit, remote audit, checklist, metrology laboratory

Yu.V. Ershova

VALUE ADDING INTERNAL AUDIT: FOUR PRACTICAL CASES

Guidance on Adding Value, developed by the ISO 9001 Auditing Practices Group (APG), states: «In principle, all audits should add value, but this is not always the case… Adding value therefore means to make something more useful… The approach to adding value is likely to be a function of the level of maturity of the organization’s quality culture and the maturity of its QMS, with respect to the requirements of ISO 9001». In the presented article, using four practical cases as examples, are considered the benefits that effective internal audits can bring in terms of improving processes, improving internal communications, minimizing risks and identifying new opportunities for business development.

Keywords: internal audit, system of processes, risk-based approach, improvement, work environment.

N.A. Gudz, E.V. Kondratyev

ORGANIZATION OF PULL FLOW USING PRODUCTION SUPERMARKETS

Let’s take a tour of a large plant owned by one of the country’s leading oil companies. Founded in 1954, it manufactures specialized equipment used in oil production, refining and transportation, such as pipes, air-cooling units, heat exchangers, tube bundles, chain drives, gas blocks, gas metering units, tanks and others. At the same time, the plant not only serves the needs of the company, but also sells equipment to direct competitors. As we can see, this enterprise is a full-fledged player in the Russian industrial products market.

Keywords: pull flow, production supermarket, safety stock, buffer stock, visual management.

W.A. Levinson

WHEN SPECIAL CAUSE OF VARIABILITY MASQUERADES AS COMMON CAUSE

The difference between common (or random) and special (or assignable) causes of variation is the foundation of statistical process control (SPC). An control chart prevents tampering or overadjustment by assuming that the process is in control, i.e., special causes are absent unless a point goes outside the control limits. An out-of-control signal is strong evidence that there has been a change in the process mean or variability. Similarly, an out-of-control signal on an attribute control chart is similarly evidence of an increase in the defect or nonconformance rate.

Keywords: variability, root cause analysis, common cause, special cause, control chart.

V.A. Kachalov

EFFECTIVENESS OR EFFICIENCY: WHAT IS THE SUBJECT OF ANALYSIS BY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AUDITING? PART 1. CONCEPTS OF EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY

As practical experience shows, for some users of ISO international standards for management systems, it is difficult to understand the differences between two key concepts: effectiveness and efficiency. Apparently, such complexity did not arise out of nowhere: in many dictionaries these concepts are given similar, and in some cases identical, definitions. In the first part of the article, the author gives a reasoned answer to the question of what organizations should set themselves up for when undergoing certification of management systems: effectiveness or efficiency?.

Keywords: effectiveness, efficiency, certification of management systems.

V.I. Shkrobova

TERNAL AUDIT OF MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS: FROM FORMAL TO EFFECTIVE

Conducting internal audits is the common requirement of ISO management system standards, and successful companies implements it effectively. However, not all organizations fully use the results of internal audits to prepare for future improvements. At some enterprises, internal audits are simply carried out «for a tick», and reports on them turn into useless «records» that are not needed in management practice. Let’s consider the typical mistakes of such a formal approach, as well as the direction in which the internal audit procedure should be developed in order to increase its effectiveness.

Keywords: process audit, product audit, authenticity of information, risk minimization, efficient solutions.

Yu.I. Tarasiev

ON DEPENDABILITY: 65 YEARS OF RELATIONSHIP

In 2024, the journal «Methods of Quality Management » turns 55 years old. Created in 1969, for the first 30 years it was published under the name «Dependability and Quality Control». Yuri I. Tarasiev, one of the patriarchs of this scientific and practical direction, shared his personal impressions about the history of the development of reliability and its role in ensuring product quality with the readers of the journal.

Keywords: quality, dependability, probability of failure-free operation, established indicators, valves design.