Border Crisis needs "Systems Thinking."

Vice President Harris and Secretary Mayorkas need to apply “Systems Thinking” to their Border Crisis Strategy.

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) guidelines it is the Federal Government’s responsibility to protect the nation's borders—land, air, and sea—from the illegal entry of people, weapons, drugs, and contraband is vital to our homeland security, as well as economic prosperity. 

The USA Border Process continues to get worse, and everyone blames everyone else and like everything today it is mostly based on Partisan Political Agendas. Unfortunately, most people just want the problem solved and expect our political leaders to do their job. “The Border Process works within a System. The Federal Government owns the System.”

A system is a whole consisting of two or more parts, (1) each of which can affect the performance or properties of the whole, (2) none of which can have an independent effect on the whole, and (3) no subgroup of which can have independent effect on the whole. In short, then, a system is a whole that cannot be divided into independent parts or subgroups of parts.

Basically, this means you must look at the Broder System from an end-to-end perspective and involve all participating people, places and processes in order to make lasting and change and improvement.

As I have said in many posts, without using “systems thinking” and involving all groups (interdependencies) from beginning to end you will only continue to band aid (tamper) the system.

Think of the 1 as one dollar, the 10 as ten dollars and the 100 as one hundred dollars. The concept is simple when you realize that most problems originate at the beginning of a process/system and grow much larger and complex as they move through the process.

Below is a graphic example. Please note the measures and feedback points that must be established along the system. Remember when Automobile companies checked for defects after the car was built? It took years to figure out that we need to build quality in at the design stage way up front as well as all throughout the selling and manufacture processes that made up the system. The key is “UPFRONT” so you won’t experience the “UNKOWN.”

Click on PIC to Enlarge

I use dollars (you can also use "Degrees of Complexity") because that is what gets everyone's attention (Plus, it's true). If we practice prevention and institute requirements or standards at the beginning of the process (Diplomatic Reasoning/Power with the sending countries and continue to set and monitor them as we progress through the Border System, we can save many dollars and pain upfront in the system the cost (1$) will be minimal as opposed to downstream (more importantly people). When the people are in Mexico and we discover problems, it will cost 10 times as much to solve and correct the problem. In the United States it will be 100 times more costly and complex to identify the problems and to solve them.

By far the biggest problem is the unknown, those illegals that go undetected and are never accounted for will costs an unknow amount of dollars that result in system failures that will have devastating effects to our society and economic well-being. I don't have a problem with legal immigration to the United States, but illegals are not vetted for health diseases or past criminal activities so instead of remaining the problem of the foreign country they become the problem of the U.S.

A Tale of Two Customer Processes

 Over the past week I have experienced two types of customer processes that each in its own right was as equally bad as the other was good.

The first process was Dell Computers. I had a problem with a Screen Pop-Up that began showing up on all my screens when I attempted to get Map directions for my upcoming Cataract Surgery at an outpatient surgery center (The second Process).

My computer concern was that was I was hijacked from a website and that information was being taken from my PC or passed back to a third party through the internet.

Being a retired Quality and Process Improvement person for over 45 years I am always critical and very praiseful when I see good and bad processes.

What follows is the Email that I sent to a Dell Technician’s Supervisor after spending over seven hours on the phone with four different reps. Names are changes to initials…

I would like to commend G.G. for excellent customer Service. I spent over SEVEN hours on the phone with FOUR different Dell Reps before my problem hopefully is now resolved. 

The first rep J.W. took information (Suspicious Pop-Up on Google Chrome) from me and I sent him a screen shot of my problem while on hold. After a half hour of waiting for him to get back to me the phone was disconnected. I sent him an Email and he responded the problem was on his end and he would get back to me. I waited over an hour and sent 2 emails asking for response/status - Nothing happened, and he did not respond.

I called back and got N.M. who spent 3-4 hours on the phone trying to fix the problem. N.M. took remote access and uninstalled and reloaded Chrome which we thought fixed the problem. She then said I had updates that needed to be done (Windows and Dell). While she ran these updates a number of problems (Waiting hours to finish) and restarts began to happen. She had me restart using F2 Key and other problems started. a BIT LOCK Recovery screen showed up and then I had no idea what to do and the laptop kept shutting down. Our phone connection was disconnected, and I waited for a call back which never came.

I again called back and talked to a gentleman (Never did get his name). I was very frustrated and asked him to contact N.M. that I needed help. He said he chatted with her, and she was now on another call with a customer (UNBELIEVABLELY Frustrated now). He said she could call me back later but did not know when. He started to help and after 15 minutes later we are disconnected. NO CALL BACK AGAIN (Even though he had my number).

I called again and got G.G. She assured me (like the others) she would help me. We spent several hours going through the problems and trying to get a 46-digit BIT Lock Recovery Code from Microsoft using my cell phone. Once this was done, she was able to see the Pop-up (It returned). She determined it was a google map “extension” and removed it promptly. She then went through the PC with me (Remote Access). We waited a long time for the PC to recover and make sure the Bit Lock Recovery was fixed (I hope). My PC is now doing another update as I write, and she said this would take a long time (I hope all goes well). 

I wanted you to know I am a Senior Citizen, and the Dell Reps were patient (Especially G.G. and N.M. before she dropped me).

I am a retired Quality and Customer Service National Director from a major communications company and former adjunct instructor of business for Central Michigan University. 

 I wanted to take the time to commend GG for a job well done. Somewhere in your process there were numerous breakdowns which has caused me grief and an uncomfortable feeling that my PC is still compromised. 

It has been 4 days since I sent the Email, and I was expecting a response from the Dell supervisor – Nothing as of yet.

Dr. Deming and other quality and process gurus would be disappointed.

Update February 14th,

I received an Email from a Dell Supervisor today expressing his apologies for himself his people and his company for the way my call was handled over two weeks ago. In addition, he said my case would be used to enhance their training process. I responded promptly thanking him for his response.

Second Process -

One of the aging issues one gets is failing eyesight due to Cataracts. My Optometrist sent me to the Ophthalmic Specialists of Michigan (OSM). I was amazed the efficiency and effectiveness of their operation. From the moment I entered the door I was greeted by two receptionists with very outgoing and bubbly attitudes for welcoming patients. After taking my information I was seated in the waiting room and within 10 minutes I was called back to the first of three eye specialist technicians that each had a process (Check current glasses and prescription, Eye Drops, Measurements, Eye Tests) for me to follow before seeing the Eye Surgeon.

The Doctor was kind and brief and explained I needed new lens in both of my eyes and that I would see great again. After he left, I saw another technician and then a scheduler who went over all of the procedures and medical information. She also set up all of my visits for surgery and post-checks.

Today, I had my first surgery at a different location and again the process was smooth, timely and very professional. As soon as I entered the surgery room, I was met by two nurses who set me up for surgery and explained the process. Next a Medical Doctor came over to check my health and vitals. Then the Nurse Anesthetist set me up and the next thing I knew I was in recovery and put in a wheelchair and my wife pulled the car around and I was on my way home.

I have a follow-up appointment tomorrow and back in 2 weeks for my other new lens. OMS has already followed-up with me today to make sure I was all right.

Time and Motion experts - Frank B. and Lillian M. Gilbreth would be proud!

When I first pulled in to the two different locations parking lots, they were extremely busy, and it looked like it was going to be a mess. Instead, they operate like and Beehive and Ant Hill with structured and the good type of chaos that every company should strive for if they want excellent customer service and most importantly returning customers’ that tell other people of their experiences (Both good and Bad).

Start off a student with a greeting and a smile! And, What Makes a Great Teacher?

Updated August 2021,

School has already started in many school districts with the majority starting after Labor Day. I wanted to repost a few articles from the past that are so relevant now since the Covid Pandemic continues to affect our school aged children, especially the younger ones.

2015 - I work as an educational team leader for grades K-2. I chose those grade levels because it provides me the opportunity to help mold and create young students as they begin their educational journeys.  I have found how important and “simple” it is to start their day out with a smile/greeting. 

K-2 Educational Team Leader Credo

I believe it is very important to greet students with a smile and kind word first thing in the morning in the grade school cafeteria (This is where they get dropped off for school before the bell rings) as they start their school day. In many situations it might be the only greeting/smile they receive all day. Students appreciate and respond to settings where they feel welcome. Students who feel more welcome are more likely to seek out my help or others when needed (In today’s dysfunctional families this happens frequently). 

By greeting students (Added plus – learn their names) at the door, I can see and prevent potential problems. Correcting potential problems in the cafeteria before school starts may help a student enter their first class free of stress, or take out frustrated energy in the gym or even carry it all day to their home. Recognizing a potential problem and preventing it is critical to the overall success of the student, their teachers, fellow classmates and the school.

I'm very lucky to be working with some truly remarkable teachers. Their dedication and passion for what they do is outstanding. 

Note: To a “Systems Thinker” this is building/designing quality upfront in the process. It is where the potential for failure and defects are their most dangerous (If unchecked continue to grow) but they are almost always the easiest (Cheapest) way to prevent/fix problems.

Also...

Over the years I always try and observe and learn what makes a good teacher. One of the measures by which I make my conclusion is how well the class learns and just as important how well it behaves and respects all (Teacher, Students) within the room.

If I find that 95% of the students follow this conclusion I know there is a good teacher at the helm. I know when I have found a “Great” teacher when there is a substitute teacher and 90% of the students follow my conclusion because their regular teacher has instilled the pride and learning so that whoever is in the room they give their attention out of respect for their regular teacher.

I Just Don't Get it! IRS & Common Core Standards

I Just Don’t Get It! - IRS

Often times it becomes increasingly frustrating/confusing to understand social economic issues especially as it pertains to education. Our education system has and is in a constant state of disarray because of lack of leadership at the decision positions from the top posts in government to local school districts.

For the past seven years I have been directing a mentoring program (http://qualityg.blogspot.com/search/label/Dream%20Mentor ) that has been widely acclaimed. Over two years ago I made a decision (against the wishes of those who work with me) to create a non-profit business of this program.

My intentions were to go after scholarships and grants and then pass those dollars to students and teachers. I would not have charged parents and students but would accept donations. This is just a snippet of my intentions but I am in the process of dissolving this initiative (The IRS has a provision that will not return my application fee). Funny I should get into a for profit business that takes a business plan for a $1000.00 and sits on it and collects interest and then refuses to give money back for no services rendered.

You see my application (AND FEES I PAID) has been sitting in the IRS non-profit department without any activity or communication (Except to tell me I owed more money). The IRS has a website - http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Where-Is-My-Exemption-Application that informs you of the month and year they are processing applications (Currently May 2012).

We have all read and seen reports the problems this department has caused with the refusal and delays for any company that had ties to the Tea Party. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/10/us-usa-politics-irs-idUSBRE9490S720130510. As with most problems like this it is the little guy who suffers. This problem runs much deeper than just denying Tea Party businesses and no one cares.

Please understand I am not a Tea Party Member. I’m just a guy who wanted to make a difference create some jobs and change the PARADIGM of how we prepare our students for College and Career Readiness.


Updated 2/14/14

Finally received a letter from IRS now wanting additional information and to update my original documents after 18 months. The website I mention above now states April 2013. So in a matter of a month they jumped a year in processing applications. I had some questions and called the number in my letter 5 times and no one answers and no one has returned my call. Years ago it was the Post Office that came under fire for customer service - Go Figure!

I Just Don’t Get It! – Common Core Standards/Teacher Evaluations

I have always prided myself on making most of my decisions on Fact Based Data and Information (FBDandI). The much discussed and often misunderstood Common Core Standards (CCS) are still confusing the stakeholders (Teachers, Parents and STUDENTS) who must adhere to what the standards mean and how they should be implemented. OOPS! The CCS inform us what students should know and by what grade level but it DOES NOT provide the HOW the standards should be taught and that is a big problem assuming educators already know how to do this vital step in education. It did not happen with No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)  or the the other educational plans that have come and gone over the years. I should not say gone because they get implemented and then pile up on each other leaving teachers the task to try to be successful at all initiatives.

I am not going to go into the standards (see my write-up - http://qualityg.blogspot.com/2012/08/common-core-standards-by-what-method.html ) but I will tell you the stakeholders will be negatively impacted because the LEADERS (Superintendents, Principals, School Boards) have not planned and prepared  (training, tools, resources) the teachers to implement these standards. The Information technology (IT) requirements alone to administer the testing portion will drive schools to more budget deficits in both public and private schools.

A big question mark (?) that comes with this initiative is how they will grade teachers. I have written about this before (http://qualityg.blogspot.com/2012/03/i-have-heard-enough-about-teacher.html ). There are published reports by the State of Michigan that 99% of our teachers received high marks on their evaluations. Now is that Fact Based Data and Information or is that a result of the leaders (Principals) who are “supposed” to evaluate the teachers do this on a fair and consistent basis (Many parents don't know that CCS only covers Math and English Language - Does this mean Science, History and other teachers get a free pass). I’m here to tell you a big problem is the people in these positions for the most part are good educators but they are not equipped to be managers, supervisors and leaders when it comes to making these types of decisions. The main Root Cause is they don’t have the stomach to rate their friends and co-workers negatively. This was the same problem Union Leaders and Managers in the business world faced when downsizing and lay-offs took off in the 1980s. I have been involved in both of these scenarios.

This problem goes higher because who evaluates Principals and who evaluates Superintendents?  Too many articles complain and pretend to make issues of the common core standards. However, no one challenges the fact the standards are not standard in their roll-out (That is for another post) or in their implementation. Thus, as in most systems/processes the problems are found upstream with increasingly confusing complex negative issues in the downstream. The problem like in the past process quality initiatives is the leaders put all the money in band-aid fixes and symptoms.

"Not Invented Here Syndrome" - Goes for Education Too!

UPDATED 6/26/2011

Not Invented Here Syndrome or NIHS as we used to say back in the Quality Improvement days referred to those organizations or leaders who could not bring themselves to replicate/implement someone else's ideas because that would mean they are doing something wrong or mediocre.

That is the kiss of death in the business world. So the result is to just keep complaining about what is wrong in very good detail as if to further justify their ignorance for the sake of an ego. It's funny that a large group of educators like administrators, counselors and principles refuse to learn a new way of helping our students. That is right "Student Focus" is the optimum words that must be spoken at all times.

In the past two weeks (actually for years) I have read three articles about the sad state of affairs of our educational system. Each author elaborates on all the things wrong with the system and provides some lackluster and non-proven means for probable improvement.

How about taking some suggestions and giving credit for processes that are already implemented and working in a number of school systems. When we do find one we raise it so far up on a pedestal, and then leaders rather than replicate the process they ignore it because it won't work for them because there school system is unique. BS!!! Politicians won't endorse it unless there is something in it that relates back to them.

Get over yourselves educators and writers (many who are educational consultants) who think you have the answers. Get out and find some real processes that are tested and true to attack the failures of our system like not preparing our high school students for college and the working world. Below is a Link that identifies one of those processes others will not utilize because they did not invent it!

Each new administration whether it be governmental or educational sets forth a statement without a measurable "AIM" and convinces people for a short period of time they have the answers.

http://www.dreammentorprogram.com/

Even sadder is the Jesus Syndrome. That is where good processes exist and will not be recognized or implemented in the place of business or school system where they exist.

"Knowledge necessary for improvement comes from the outside" - Dr. W. Edwards Deming

I truly believe this  statement especially in my role in an educational environment. If you don't believe me re-red this post!

Governor Snyder of Michigan - "Dashboard Metrics" - HUH!

“The data collection process must be driven by the question that we formulate based on our needs. In short, know what the question is to be answered before collecting the data.” - Dr. J. M. Juran

Governor Snyder of Michigan is implementing "Dashboard Metrics" across the state of Michigan to measure progress. Great idea. However, do the people know what dashboard metrics are and what do they represent. Do the people collecting this data know what to collect.

Are the data being collected going to be shown as "Results" measures as opposed to also including Process Measures?

CRITICAL POINT 1: I suggest and hope the governor is aware of the difference between Common and Special Cause Variation. And, Dr. Deming's System of Profound Knowledge. If you really want to improve Governor Snyder please study and adopt the System of Profound Knowledge.

https://www.deming.org/theman/theories/profoundknowledge

Do any of you reading this know what I am talking about? Some of you will, the majority will not. We are all more concerned if the changes being introduced by the governor will affect us personally. Heck, we like change as long as it is not happening to us.

CRITICAL POINT 2: Before implementing these type of measure you must make sure you are using a systems thinking approach and by that I mean include all your principal people from each step of the process/system. By not including front-line/customer facing employees (Especially in the design stages) you are doomed to failure. Why? Because you will ultimately be a "Results Oriented" Leader which happens when you are surrounded by business/government bureaucratic who manage by the "Bottom Line" and do not take people in to consideration when making systemic changes be them small or large.

Dashboard Metrics
Perhaps the picture below will give the best example of what they are and what they look like if done correctly. The pictorial illustrates a company that needs to respond to a customer inquiry for service or repair. While the charts below show bar graphs I would also add control charts when the proper amount of data are collected to make sure the process is in control (Control can be good or bad).

Click on Pic to Enlarge

The following provides a method for setting up effective measures:
METHODOLOGY FOR DEFINING AND ESTABLISHING CUSTOMER

FOCUSED MEASUREMENTS

Measurements should track how well our processes are performing according to:
• Customer Expectations (including customer perception) and Organization Objectives
• Customer Satisfaction • Value Drivers
• Competitive Benchmarking • Employee Satisfaction The above stated types of measurements will help determine the overall quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of all processes.
The activities involved in defining and establishing measures include:
1. Determining effective measures
2. Reviewing and validating existing measures
3. Implementing new measurements
4. Install a measurement and reporting system
5. Establish a feedback and monitoring system
6. Monitor measurements

1. DETERMINING EFFECTIVE MEASURES
Purpose:

Effective measures provide an insightful means about the efficiency of a process. Measures of this type are meant to track and align performance (process) and results (quality) indicators of a business process.
Establishing Effective Measurements:

Create effective measurements based upon the following:
• Customer expectations/requirements
• Practical to implement
• Easy to comprehend
• Consensus of agreement by group
• Able to help drive culture change

What to Measure:

Establish measurements based upon customer expectations and business objectives. These measurements should measure what our customers care about and what will drive our Value Drivers toward exceeding Operational business objectives.

Develop objective measures of customer satisfaction. Without measures, we have no means by objectively assessing the magnitude by which our processes are performing to customer and business requirements, and whether or not our improvement efforts and newly implemented systems have improved the process.

These types of measurements should provide objective data that will drive decisions that will produce long-term customer preference.

If suppliers are included, be sure to measure input characteristics and services.

How to Measure:

Implement simple, easy to understand measurements whenever possible. Measurements that are complex will not be used.

It is vital that our measurements be easily defined, understood and communicated to assure common understanding.

A small amount of meaningful measures are worth 10 times more than a large amount of nice to know measures (non-value added).

It's OK to experiment with measures, if they don't tell you what you need, stop measuring and create new ones.

If at the beginning measured identification is difficult, start with customer satisfaction, every major process has a customer.

Don't just measure one aspect of a process. Your measurements should be balanced with variable, attribute and some subjective characteristics like time, cost, quantity and customer perception.

Evaluating Measures:

In the beginning it might be best to implement a few strategically based measurements. As stated before, it's best to experiment and monitor the effectiveness of few, rather than implementing a large amount and never monitor.

2. REVIEWING AND VALIDATING EXISTING MEASUREMENTS

Purpose:

Once we've identified and understood what makes effective measurement, it is necessary to assess measurements that are already in place. Effective measurements provide input data that drive motivation for continuous improvement. Those that do not measure up should be changed or eliminated.

Measurement Balance:

If current measurements are only measuring internal business objectives, move to measure the effectiveness of our processes or solutions from a customer perspective.

Measure Behavior:

Implement measures that level to desired behavioral results. Verify the measures do not drive undesired behavior by our workers or to your customers. For example, many companies have found that they speculated "speed of answer" as a desirable measurement for customer satisfaction. Customer survey and interviews found that quality of service provided was more important than speed of answer.

3. IMPLEMENTING NEW MEASUREMENTS
Purpose:

It is vital that any new measurements implemented are effective and efficient and that it is collected, analyzed, and used in a way that motivates positive behavior and not punitive threats to workers.

Data Collection:

Make sure those responsible for collecting or installing new measurements are familiar with data and are part of the implementation plan.

4. INSTALL A MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING SYSTEM
Purpose:

Installing a measurement and reporting system requires an action plan of implementation that identifies the roles and responsibilities of the Process Owner and Sub-Process Owners who will be accountable for the measures.

This also requires agreement on what measures will be reported and that method and system support is available. The Action Plan must include trend analysis and plans of who will respond to them in a timely basis.

Automation:

Whenever possible and cost effective, automate as many measurements as possible. The advantage is more accurate and timely data collection and analysis.
Share Measurements:

Post measurements data in visible places, so that results can be shared by workers in the process. It's also a good idea to keep everyone in the process informed from end-to-end.

5. ESTABLISH A FEEDBACK SYSTEM
Purpose:

By establishing a feedback system, employees will keep abreast of changing expectations and update the current process as required.

Sharing Feedback:

Corporate Quality, Marketing, Sales and Front Line customer facing employees must keep upper management aware of changing customer needs so that business objectives and measurements may be changed accordingly.
It's also important to share feedback with workers in the process as well as customers and suppliers.

6. MONITOR MEASUREMENTS

Purpose:

Employees identified as measurement owners must constantly evaluate their measurements, reassess customer needs, and continuously search for new ways to use data for continuous improvement.

Evaluate Measurements:

If your measurements are not accurately reflecting process performance or drive undesirable behavior, they should be removed. Update or install new measures as needed.

Benchmark Measures:

Benchmarking your process measurement performance relative to your competitors will be vital to competition. Benchmarking provides information to leaders that helps establish performance targets based on data from the marketplace. Benchmarking is a useful method to supply additional data and information but not to be used exclusively for changes or measurements. It's also important reminder that if you want ti use Benchmarking as a means to be the best please realize you will not obtain that goal by simply Benchmarking another company (They will always be better than you).

Does Homework Do More Harm Than Good?

I originally wrote this post a few years back.

This morning I read a very enlightening article that I hope you will read. It can be found at: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090519134711.htm



My Post from 2007,

For many years now I have often wondered if Homework added value to a student's learning.

I have never been an advocate for Homework that is given by teachers because of their poor planning and time management skills. Many classes and state testing requirements require that students be at a certain module in the year and that certain topics must be covered in time to show how much the student has learned (Ridiculous).

Because there is not enough time in a five day week to cram the students with knowledge they are required to do additional hours of work at home.

Here lays the problem for a large amount of students in our educational system today. I believe it can be safe to say that the students "labeled" as poor performers in school are not getting the understanding or instruction they need in school to master the subject, as educatorswhat makes us think their parents and the students themselves will conquer this problem at home.

So the student gets more frustrated, the parents see themselves as ignorant and the homework does not get done or it is incorrect. For those parents lucky enough to know the answers but do not relay this to their child in a way that he/she understands compounds the problem.

Next time you talk to your child's teacher ask them if it is not completed work or not turned in assignments that lowers the grade more than test results. I rest my case.

The education system needs to some good "Value Added Process Improvements" for Teaching Techniques.

Why do the kids have to continue to fail for the incompetence of Management who owns the system?

15 Questions for Process Improvements

Process Meeting Questions

1. What are the key steps in this process for a typical “Sunny Day” Scenario (The way the process should work)?

2. What are the current systems/tools used in the process/step?

3. How are the handoffs done between the activities and groups? (Email, system etc)

4. What dependencies/triggers are there in performing this/these task(s)?
· When can work begin?
· When do you have to wait to do work? and why?
· What conditions need to occur for the order to get to the next process?

5. What items are required to perform the work (Inputs)?

6. Who provides these inputs?

7. What do the participants of this process produce (Outputs)?

8. Who produces these outputs?

9. To whom (Customer) do the participants of this process deliver their outputs?

10. Describe some of the typical “Rainy Day” scenarios in this process

(Typical process break-downs).
· Why & When do they occur?

11. Where and Who has the Process Objectives, Goals and Documentation?

12. How long does each step in the process take, and why?

13. What type of performance (Process & Quality) measures are tracked on this process?

14. What controls are currently in place? (Visual controls, quality control, approvals, etc)

15. Who is the Process Owner?

Problem Solving - "DIMS" - 20 Years Later

20 years ago I created my own problem solving method with an acronym of "DIMS." I created it because when it comes to problem solving I needed some method by which I could quickly move through my analysis that did not get muddied by multiple checkpoints and quality consultant trained mumbo-jumbo.



I hope it helps you too - qualityg

Please click on the diagram to ENLARGE:

Common Sense Steps to Creating a Quality Controlled Document

DOCUMENT CONTROL

Following are some ideas and comments when managing a Document Control System:

1. It all boils down to this phrase – “ Document What You Do and Do What You Document.”

2. Without a document all you have is an opinion, or at best a good idea.

3. When a document does not have standardization, approval, definition, scope and agreement then no one is responsible, and worse yet workers are doing their best in a wide and varied way.

4. Within each Quality Management System (i.e., ISO Series) there is a procedure for designing a document control structure. ISO Series for example does not provide a method for controlling a document. Most companies follow the traditional style that includes numbered sections and broken down paragraphs.

5. Do not sweat the format; spend time on defining the purpose of a document and the content that needs to be included. Just remember once you have gathered the information required, go ahead and write the procedure. If your not sure just ask yourself if the documents you are creating fulfill customer requirements.

6. How can you tell if a documented procedure, instructions, forms, records, etc… need to be controlled? Answering the following questions will help:
- The process owner and user(s) understand what to do?
- The work task is standardized and performed the same across the department (all shifts)?
- The output fulfills the requirements as stated in the input?
- There is a chance that variation is widespread among workers and the risk for producing defects is warranted?
- A new employee/temp/replacement would be able to do learn a work task from notes, manuals or other workers if the experienced worker cannot perform the job?
If the answer is no or not sure to any of those questions then a controlled document should be produced.

7. Controlled vs. Uncontrolled – the following must be present in order for a document to be controlled:
- The revision status must be known
- The authorization & approval must be evident (not signed, not authorized)
- The document must be protected from destruction, damage or carry an unauthorized revision
- Electronic Media documents must also be protected from corruption, spyware & viruses
- It must be protected from unintended use.

8. The quality manual or policy states the company’s intent and goals. If you were going on vacation this would be the document that tells you where you are going. The manual serves as your map.

9. Difference between a Procedure and Work Instructions? A controlled documented procedure covers the major functions and accurately describes the process that it controls. Work Instructions (SOPs), Tasks, Forms, Job Descriptions, training Guides, Drawings, etc. requires more detail than a procedure and is usually found at the worker(s) location. A procedure creates an umbrella like scenario encompassing a whole range of work instructions or tasks. For example, the procedure for conducting system application testing may require a number of work instructions or methods needed to complete the process.

10. There is a direct relationship between documents and records. Documents provide the definition of requirements. Records provide evidence of fulfilling those requirements. Documents relate to inputs; Records relate to outputs. Together they show an excellent example of the concept of process. You cannot generate a record if you do not have an output, which is the outcome of a process. You cannot have an outcome if you did not do anything. You cannot do anything if you do not know what you are supposed to do. You cannot know what you are supposed to do if you do not have a requirement – the input to your process. Therefore, it is impossible to create a record if you do not have a requirement to match it up against.

10. Documents are living: Records are dead. Documents can be revised: A record can be added to, but it cannot be revised (to do so means fraud).

11. Forms – Utilizing Forms that are well defined and capture the correct amount of information can two purposes when controlling documents. First, having the appropriate information about a process is an excellent way for documenting requirements. Second, Forms capture the extra benefit of incorporating the record of fulfillment.

12. External Documents (international standards, statutory & regulatory requirements, product standards, operating procedures) – always debated as to if they need to be controlled. Documents of this type are not created by the organization but define requirements that are necessary for fulfilling customer requirements. The accepted thought is that because the organization does not have control over the revisions (exists with the originator) nor can they be approved internally they do not need to be controlled. However, companies that use these type of documents must ensure their people understand and control the following:
- Access
- Preservation (including disposal)
- Status of Revisions
- Process that details how to obtain the latest revisions
- Making sure requirements from external documents flow seamlessly with requirements of internal created documents.

13. The most efficient way to ensure control of external documents is to create a matrix that identifies responsibility (i.e., ownership) and the location where the document can be found by all those who need to know (location also goes for internal documents.

14. Electronic Media (i.e., Software) – tracking changes, revisions and new versions is very important. The company must ensure sufficient control of electronic media. IT Managers must make sure IT documents integrate properly into the company‘s documentation if the process it relates to is being controlled.

15. The interdependency of your controlled documents should emulate the interdependency of your processes. The employees involved in these interrelations must set up modes of communication with one another. The responsibility of these documents is shared and should be noted in the approval process.

16. Users (technicians, service reps, operators, line workers, sales folks) – play a vital role in controlling documents. Users play an important part in creating and revising documents that need to be controlled, as well as sharing ownership for the documents contents.

17. Flowcharts – In the quality and information technology field a number of people use flowcharts to describe their processes. Know your user before settling on using just flowcharts, if not you will be needing to have associated (added cost) training. Flowcharts (also illustrations) can be stand-alone documents or integrated into work instructions.

18. Acronyms & Abbreviations - like flowcharts, do not use them if your audience does not understand their meanings. Some departments seem to talk in a foreign language when communicating with one another.

To see an example of a quality controlled document template go to my sky drive folder at:

http://cid-090c5d67b1fe2b43.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Public