Every cycle (which we should add seems to come round faster and faster) we have an external audit.
This isn’t for any one thing, but rather for the BS5750 standard (ISO 9000) which GRS Sign Company Ltd. signed up for (excuse the pun) in 1993. It is a system of quality assurance that we believe needs living up to. All of our internal systems, our processes, our production, all live up to this standard, and follows the system to the letter.
The auditor picks areas to take a look at each year, never the same each time, and examines them for our compliancy to the standard. From a personal perspective, these are some factors that I encounter daily, that are highlighted in the ISO 9000 standards, which I will add pieces to show how it affects my daily work. These are just some of the requirements:
- a set of procedures that cover all key processes in the business; we have procedures laid out in manuals for us to follow and refer to, for both small and large jobs;
- monitoring processes to ensure they are effective; we have been asked to write out processes to make sure we know what they are, and are also encouraged to suggest improvements;
- keeping adequate records; each step of the work we do has an area to tick and mark that we have done it, our signature, any extra info etc.,
- checking output for defects, with appropriate and corrective action where necessary; we have a procedure for marking mistakes we find or make;
- regularly reviewing individual processes and the quality system itself for effectiveness;
- facilitating continual improvement; again, we are encouraged to suggest improvements to any procedure;
Going back those many years to 1993, the BS5750 standard, or what is now known as the ISO 9000 standard, wasn’t as well appreciated as it is now. It was quite a leap for a small company such as GRS to embrace the standards, and quite difficult to justify doing so, but ultimately it can be said that the standards have had visible tangible dividends for us.
Back to current days, GRS Sign Company Ltd., passed the audit with flying colours and while we are happy to say our standards are high and the employees are well trained in following them, it is wise to also say that like any standards they could be higher and we will aim for that.
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