Mastering Process Approach with ISO 9001 – PART 02

Now that we’ve covered the ‘why’ of the process approach, let’s roll up our sleeves and dive into the ‘how’. The first step? Mapping out your processes. This isn’t about creating pretty diagrams to hang on the wall (though that can be a nice side effect). It’s about understanding how work really gets done in your organization.

Think of it like being a detective in your own company. You’re not looking for criminals; you’re searching for the hidden paths that products, services, and information take as they flow through your organization. And like any good detective, you need to be prepared for surprises.

I once worked with a mining company that thought they had their equipment maintenance process down pat. But when we mapped it out, we discovered a critical gap: there was no clear handoff between the night and day shifts. This led to duplicated work, missed tasks, and ultimately, equipment failures. By simply adding a structured shift handover process, they reduced downtime by 15% in the first month.

Once you’ve mapped your processes, it’s time to set some goals. But beware the trap of vanity metrics – numbers that look good on paper but don’t actually drive improvement. I’ve seen too many companies chase arbitrary targets that end up doing more harm than good.

For instance, a chemical manufacturing plant I audited was proud of their “zero customer complaints” record. Sounds great, right? But digging deeper, we found that they had made their complaint process so cumbersome that customers had given up on providing feedback altogether. The real issues were festering beneath the surface, unaddressed.

Instead, focus on KPIs that align with your overall business objectives and provide actionable insights. If you’re in the automotive industry, maybe it’s first-time quality rate or on-time delivery percentage. For a construction company, it might be project completion time or safety incident frequency. The key is to choose metrics that drive behavior that actually improves your processes, not just makes the numbers look good.

Here’s a truth bomb: no process is perfect, and the world has a nasty habit of throwing curveballs. That’s where risk-based thinking comes in. It’s not about becoming a pessimist; it’s about being a realist and a strategist.

I remember working with a medical device manufacturer who initially saw risk assessment as a box-ticking exercise. But when we reframed it as “preemptive problem-solving,” something clicked. They started considering not just what could go wrong in their production process, but also how changes in regulations or technology could impact them.

This shift in thinking led them to diversify their supplier base and invest in more flexible manufacturing equipment. When a key supplier unexpectedly went bankrupt the following year, they were able to adapt quickly, avoiding a potential disaster.

The trick is to make risk-based thinking a natural part of your process management. Every time you review a process, ask yourself: What could go wrong? What could change? How can we be prepared?

Here’s where many organizations stumble. They’ve mapped their processes, set their KPIs, considered their risks… but they treat each process as an island. In reality, your processes are more like a web of interconnected streams, each flowing into and influencing the others.

I once audited an oil and gas company that was struggling with consistent delays in their project deliveries. Each individual process – from initial surveying to final construction – looked solid on paper. But when we mapped out the interactions, we uncovered a critical issue: information wasn’t flowing smoothly between processes. Survey data was being “translated” multiple times as it moved through different departments, leading to errors and rework.

The solution? They created standardized handoff procedures and implemented a central data repository accessible to all relevant processes. It was like replacing a game of telephone with a direct conference call. The result? Project delays dropped by 30%, and the accuracy of their project estimates improved dramatically.

To master process interactions:

1. Map the inputs and outputs of each process clearly.
2. Identify critical handoff points between processes.
3. Standardize communication and data sharing across process boundaries.
4. Regularly review these interactions – they’re often where the biggest improvements hide.

Remember, the goal isn’t to create a perfect, unchanging system. It’s to build an adaptable, interconnected network of processes that can evolve with your business needs.

In our next section, we’ll explore how to leverage technology to supercharge your process approach. But don’t worry – we’re not talking about replacing human insight with algorithms. It’s about finding the sweet spot where human expertise and digital tools work in harmony to drive continuous improvement.