Career Advice- Taking Changes In Stride

By Craig Calvin

Change is always a little scary. When it comes to jobs and careers, it can be even scarier because your financial security will depend on the changes that are taking place. Take the time to learn how to deal with change one step at a time and it might be a little more tolerable.

The workplace is constantly changing and growing. Taking on these changes even in the most ideal conditions can prove to be stressful. However, when those changes become negative and include things like layoffs, downsizing, and struggling to keep the company afloat, even the most peaceful person can easily become overwhelmed and stressed out. In these tumultuous times, the last thing that you need is more stress, which is why you need to learn how to take career changes in stride, no matter how big or small they may be. Focus on getting through today, and then worry about tomorrow when it comes.

When you work for a company where your co workers are constantly being terminated or laid off due the the state of the economy, it's difficult not to be fearful of your own job security. However, trust in the reality that you're still employed, and begin devising your options and plans in case the loss of your employment does come. Stress to yourself that the last thing you should to do is panic. Simply try to stay steady, head home and organize your resume and begin accumulating your resources for job hunting, while you continue to carry on with your daily assignments at work. Do not believe that it can't happen to you, simply do not allow yourself to become engulfed with concern because it might.

Numerous people who thought that they were irreplaceable at their place of employment have quickly learned things are much different then they original expected. As a matter of fact, it is commonly not that they can be replaced simply that there is no monetary room for their services the current downward economy. Many are laid off from companies that they thought they'd spend all their working years at, and left to go on with their lives outside of that company. When changing jobs, and finding new employment pertains to the current economic situation, you will most likely not be searching for your dream job. Instead you will be searching for any job that is available and will monetary provide for you and/or your family.

Whether the changes that you're going through are related to company changes or losing your job, you need to be prepared. That is the only way to be able to take things in stride and avoid going into panic mode unnecessarily. Panic does you no good, so you should try to avoid it when you can. Instead, focus on the positive and figure out what you can do to improve your own situation and move on to the next thing in life, whether that's a new job or a new role within your company. Six Sigma Online is a leading online resource for information on careers and employment. Learn more today at http://www.sixsigmaonline.org. - 32538

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Documentation Structure for ISO 9001 QMS

By Mark Kaganov

A guideline for Developing Quality Manuals, ISO 10013 Standard, suggests a documentation structure for ISO 9001 QMS. This model in the standard proposes use of a three-level arrangement. Most companies I worked with utilize four-level structures instead to include records, A typical four-level documentation structure consists of:

Quality Manual - level 1

Procedures - level 2

Instructions - level 3

Records - level 4

Actually, the documentation structure starts from the policy. The policy defines, among others, commitments with what standard a company intends to comply with. If you choose to use this approach, your quality management system will have five levels, similar to the structure below:

Quality Policy - level 1

Quality Manual - level 2

Procedures - level 3

Instructions - level 4

Records - level 5

ISO 9001 - Naming your documents

Companies use various approaches to titling their manuals, procedures, instructions, etc. For example, one of my customers titled their quality manual as "Quality Management System Quality Manual." This very descriptive title does define the document, but does not appear to be efficient.

This tendency to use long titles and document identifiers like "Standard Operating Procedure" most likely comes from regulated industries. Even though I could not find a requirement for such title formats, many companies still use these apparently outdated and ineffective conventions. If a short name sufficiently describes a document, let's use it. I suggest streamlining all elements of management systems. Consider this and do not make your system more complicated than it can be.

Numbering your documents

No standard prescribes to give a part or a document its number. It is an industry standard to give a document or a component its name, number and a revision level. Similar to part titles that we discussed above, document numbering conventions are often also may be optimized and simplified.

A company had some 130 employees. They had two part number formats: one for procedures, another for drawings. Procedures used XX-XXX number format. Drawings were numbered as XXXXXXX-XXX. One of the drawings had a number 000022-003. Assemblers simplified the system and called it "twenty two."

Do these long numbers identify documents? Yes, they do! Are they economical? No, they are not! My customer's system above allowed seven digits and therefore could deal with ten million documents or part numbers. When I worked with this business, they used some 300 documents. If one plans to grow from 200 - 300 documents to a million, one has a long way to go! It is not only how many documents your QMS uses, reading these long strings with five sequential zeros gave everybody headache. Even though this example looks too complicated, "The Worst Part Number" Grand Prize won my other client. They used 14-digit alphanumeric part numbers!

If you are designing and building a Trident-class submarine, a MIG-27 jet fighter or an international space station, you, most likely, will need millions of parts, so a long part number format would be needed and will make sense. Otherwise, save yourself the trouble of reading all those zeros and make your numbering system practical. One of my customers, who won my "The Best Part Number" Grand Prize, numbered their documents as 101, 102, 103, and so on. Short and sweet!

There is another opportunity for improvement of many QMS - part number designation. Many companies relate a document number to a document type. For example, 20-xxxx indicates a procedure, 30-xxxx indicates a drawing, SOP-xxxx indicates a standard operating procedure, etc. My practice with a few QMS that used designation approaches showed that "no designation" systems are more practical. Several QMS that used designation I have worked with have failed. Not long ago, one of my clients mentioned that they ran out of range in their document numbering format. The QMS initially permitted for identifying suppliers through a two-digit identifier within the part number. While the company grew, the number of supplier increased beyond expectations and eventually the company needed more than 99 suppliers. This resulted in the document number format to being able to support new needs.

An alternative approach to part numbering is a "no designation" system, where parts are given sequential unique numbers within a specified format, regardless of their type, material, application or other attributes. After all, isn't the part title the best designator? Seriously, through my entire professional career, I worked only with one company that did not use even document numbers. Their documents were simply identified by titles and a two-digit revision level, like The Prefect Manual 01. - 32538

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Six Sigma Projects in Small Business- A Worthy Endeavor or Big Boys Only?

By Craig Calvin

When a business commits to starting a Six Sigma project, it is a commitment of time, money and resources. Depending on the size of the project, the size of this comment may vary. Here are some steps you can take to see if Six Sigma is right for your small business.

The first thing you should do when you are considering starting a Six Sigma project is to try to identify where the problem is, and try to estimate how much you think it would cost to fix the problem. You should also try to estimate how long it would take to fix the problem. A Six Sigma project may not be the quickest or cheapest solution, and if you do not have the time then you may be better off with a Lean Six Sigma project, or not using Six Sigma at all.

So, can small businesses benefit from Six Sigma Projects? Yes, they can, but only with the right planning, preparation, and execution. Wait a minute, though. This doesn't only apply to small businesses. The principles of Six Sigma and how to effectively use it can apply to any business of any size, regardless of how big or little the problem might be. In the end, if it is affecting profits or customer satisfaction, it's always a big problem even when it is minor.

If you do not think your business is ready for a Six Sigma Project, then there are other things you can do to prepare for a Six Sigma Project. You can provide additional Six Sigma training for you and your staff, if it is necessary, which will help everyone be better prepared for a Six Sigma Project.

Larger organizations face turf battles and fears of change within the hierarchy of their businesses, but this is something that smaller organizations won't have as much of a problem with. This just shows that Six Sigma Projects can be good for smaller businesses, and actually might prove to be more advantageous than they are for large organizations depending on how well they are planned and executed. If you think this is the right choice, give it a shot. With a little know-how it can be a great solution. - 32538

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Improvement Plan Using Six Sigma

By Craig Calvin

Six Sigma Projects are great tools that businesses can use to improve processes and products throughout the duration of their operation. However, when they utilize this, it should be with an emphasis on developing long term solutions and making sure that the procedures that they put in place are going to last for many years to come. Six Sigma Projects won't carry on by themselves, but with the right framework they can be passed on to the process owner, who will ensure that the project remains effective for the future by maintaining the process to continuous improvement standards. Here are five reasons to develop a continuous improvement plan with your Six Sigma Projects:

1. Finding long term solutions to problems is much better than having to make changes and then fix the problems again and again. It doesn't make sense for you to keep revisiting over and over.

2. Over time things change so a solution that works now may not work in a few months or years. This means that there really is no solution will be 100% foolproof or last forever in any organization or industry. If you keep current with changes though, you can make sure to keep up.

3. CIPs (Continuous Improvement Plans) are implemented and made so that people can effectively keep things working without redoing an entire process. If you were to redo everything then you would be taking steps backwards.

4. Making improvements in a business is more about what will happen in the future than right now. It needs to be made sure that a company will be able to stand on its own after the six sigma team leaves and can take on the problems from then on. - 32538

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