IQA Learning Session-Customer Communication

8/13/2019 IQA Learning Session-Customer Communication

1/30

Internal Quality Auditors

Learning Session 01

February 14, 2009

NTC Boardroom, 1:00-3:30 pm


2/30

Auditing Customer Communication

Learning Session 02


3/30

Importance of Customer Communication


4/30

Requirements

ISO 9001:2000 clause 7.2.3 : Customer communication

The organization shall determine and implementeffective arrangements for communicating withcustomers in relation to

a) product information,

b) enquiries, contracts or order handling, includingamendments, and

c) customer feedback, including customer complaints.


5/30


6/30

Guidance from ISO 9004:2000(clause 7.2)

Processes related to interested parties

Management should ensure that the organization has

defined mutually acceptable processes forcommunicating effectively and efficiently with itscustomers and other interested parties. Theorganization should implement and maintain suchprocesses to ensure adequate understanding of the

needs and expectations of its interested parties, andfor translation into requirements for theorganization


7/30

Verifying the effectiveness of customer

communications

Verifying the effectiveness of customer communication is therefore acritical component for achieving customer satisfaction. Although thereis no specific requirement in ISO 9001:2000 for a documentedprocedure, depending on the size, complexity and culture of theorganization it may be necessary to have one in order to ensureeffective implementation of the customer communication process.

ISO 9000 defines the term customer as the recipient of the product.It further gives examples of customers including the end user.

Many organizations sell their products / services through dealers andretailers and may not be receiving orders directly from the end users.It is important for the auditor to verify how the organization

communicates about the quality of its product / service to the endusers and also the mechanism for obtaining a feedback (besidescomplaints) from the end users. It should be recognized that the needsof the dealers / retailers may at times be different from those of theend users.


8/30

The auditors approach - 1

Customer communication falls in three generalcategories:

An organizations general communicationto existing

or potential customers such as advertisementsormarketing information,

Specific informationrelating to a customer enquiry,requirementor order, and

Communicationin response on customer feedbackandcomplaints


9/30


Some or all of the following means of an organizations generalcustomer communication may be observed by the auditor:

Product information, which includes

advertising material web sites product catalogues

Where the organization receives orders from dealers and notthe end users, the auditor should establish that the productinformation available to the end users (pamphlets, brochures,web sites etc) describes the product / service adequately andaccurately. The auditor should also try to establish how thecustomer needs have been identified and product specificationsarrived at.


10/30


Verify the product informationto confirm that it isreadily availableto customers or potential customersand provides information that is up-to-dateandaccurate.

Query/take a look into, for example, how oftenadvertising material, web sitesand productcataloguesare reviewedto reflect the organizations

current product offerings and services and whatmeasuresare taken if a particular product is modified,discontinuedor no longer available.


11/30


Some or all of the following means of an organizations specificcustomer communication may be observed by the auditor:

Enquiries, contracts or order handling, including amendments

quotations

order forms confirmation of order amendment to order delivery documentation invoices credit notes

e-mail & general correspondence visit reports or notes to/from customer

Customer feedback and complaints management process

Letters in response to complaints

Acknowledgments


12/30


There are also further instances where the auditorwill experience the organizations communication withthe customer:

During the ordering processwhere the customer provides no

documented statement of requirement, the organizationneeds to have a system in place to obtain or confirm thesecustomer requirements before the organization accepts theorder.

During the design/development processthere may beconsiderable communication between the organization andthe customer.

During the process of authorizing the use of non conformingproductby release or acceptance under concession by arelevant authority and, where applicable, by the customer


13/30


The auditor would use normal trace methodsto verify compliance with the customer

communications requirements of ISO 9001and whether the organization communicatedeffectively with the customer in theexecution of the enquiry, contract or order.


14/30

Audit Finding Evaluation


15/30

Scenario 1 :Customer property (intellectual property) controlled by a bank

Situation:

A bank provides a variety of services to its customers (i.e. personaland company bank accounts), but chooses to implement a QMS onlyfor its Internet banking services. For this service the bank hasclaimed conformity to ISO 9001:2008. The bank clearly states inits Quality Manual which services are covered by the QMS. Thebank applies all the requirements of ISO 9001:2008 for therealization of its Internet banking services, with the exception ofsub-clause 7.5.4 Customer property. The bank does not feel that ithas possession of any customer property as part of its Internetbanking services and has stated this in the justification for theexclusion of sub-clause 7.5.4 Customer propertyfrom its QMS.

Issue(s):

Can the bank exclude sub-clause7.5.4 Customer propertyfrom itsQMS and claim conformity to ISO 9001:2008?


16/30

Scenario 2 :Exclusion of design and development by a contract manufacturer

Situation:

XYZ Electronics is building a new factory to perform manufacturing ofmobile phones, as a subcontractor. It has only one customer and thiscustomer maintains responsibility and authority for product design.XYZ Electronics is responsible for purchasing of all components and forperforming the manufacturing activities. The customer provides XYZwith the manufacturing and parts specifications, and is also responsiblefor notifying XYZ of any design changes and providing the appropriatechange information.

XYZ Electronics, in the development of its QMS, has excluded therequirements of ISO 9001:2008 sub-clause 7.3 Design and development.

XYZ Electronics considers the customer specifications as a customersupplied product and therefore controls this according to ISO9001:2008 sub-clause 7.5.4 Customer property.

Issue(s):

Can the XYZ Electronics exclude sub-clause 7.3 Design and developmentfrom its QMS and claim conformity to ISO 9001:2008?


17/30

Scenario 3 :

Regulators permit the exclusion of design development

Situation:

KML designs and fabricates pressure vessels for electricitygenerating stations, in accordance with various mandatory pressurevessel regulations.

The regulatory authority has not yet revised its requirements totake ISO 9001:2008 into account, but has confirmed that it willcontinue not to require manufacturers QMSs to include design. Onthis basis KML decides to exclude sub-clause 7.3 Design anddevelopment from its QMS and to claim conformity to ISO9001:2008.

Issue(s):

Can KML exclude sub-clause 7.3 Design and developmentfrom itsQMS and claim conformity to ISO 9001:2008?


18/30

Scenario 4 :

Outsourced design and development activitiesSituation:

CDH Construction Ltd. provides engineering and construction services for variousdevelopers, but does not have in-house design capabilities. The company employsa project manager who is responsible for the management of design activities.These activities are outsourced to TPL Engineering Ltd, an engineering consultingcompany.

The activities of TPL Engineering Ltd. are managed through the application ofthe requirements of sub-clause 7.4 Purchasing. The project manager of CDHConstruction Ltd. oversees the design activities and is involved in design reviewmeetings and design verification and validation activities. In addition, theproject manager is responsible for ensuring that the design activities arecarried out in accordance with the requirements of ISO 9001:2008 sub-clause7.3 Design and development. However, CDH Construction Ltd. has excluded sub-

clause 7.3 Design and developmentfrom its QMS, since the design activitieshave been outsourced.

Issue(s):

Can CDH Construction Ltd. exclude sub-clause 7.3 Design and developmentfrom its QMSand claim conformity to ISO 9001:2008?


19/30

Scenario 5 : Traceability

Situation:

AKP Corp. is a company that manufactures electric motors for saleby licensed distributors. Traceability of the component parts of theproduct is not an internal or external requirement of this company.

The organization has excluded the traceability requirement of sub-clause 7.5.3 Identification and traceabilityfrom its QMS, whileclaiming conformity to ISO 9001:2008.

Issue(s):

Can AKP Corp. exclude the traceability requirement of sub-clause7.5.3 Identification and traceabilityfrom its QMS and claimconformity to ISO 9001:2008?


20/30

Scenario 6 : Design of services

Situation:

JWB is a consulting firm that performs internal audits for smallorganizations that have implemented quality management systemsthat conform to ISO 9001:2008. JWB developed its methodologyand tools for performing customers internal audits based on the

guidance of ISO 19011:2002. It delivers a customized service thathas as its output a written internal audit report and all thesupporting data from the audit. The organization wishes to excludeclause 7.3 Design and development with the justification that, as aservice provider, it cannot have any design and developmentactivities.

Issue(s):

Can JWB exclude sub-clause 7.3 Design and development from itsQMS and claim conformity to ISO 9001:2008?


21/30

Scenario 7 : Post delivery activities

Situation:

The ABC consultancy organization provides financial auditing services to largemanufacturing organizations. The product delivered to its customers is aninternal financial audit report. Contracts for internal financial audit servicesstate that a contract is completed when ABC has issued, clarified and reviewedits report with the customer, and that the customer has finally signed-off the

report as being fully agreed; any activity beyond that the sign-off would besubject to a supplementary contract. The consulting firm claims its QMSconforms to ISO 9001:2008 with the exclusion of post-delivery requirement (f)of sub-clause 7.5.1.Control of production and service provision.

Issue(s):

Can the ABC consultancy organization exclude the post-delivery requirement inbullet (f) of sub-clause 7.5.1.Control of production and service provisionfrom itsQMS and claim conformity to ISO 9001:2008?


22/30

Scenario 8 : Validation of processes

Situation:

A small garment manufacturer carries out cutting work on textilesthat are delivered to an internal sewing department for the nextphase of the process. The quality of the output of the cutting work

can be checked after finalization of the work. It has implemented aQMS and claims conformity to ISO 9001:2008 , with the exclusionof sub-clause 7.5.2 Validation of processes for production andservice provision.

Issue(s):

Can the small garment manufacturer exclude sub-clause 7.5.2Validation processes for production and service provisionfrom itsQMS and claim conformity to ISO 9001:2008?


23/30

Scenario 9 :Monitoring and measuring devices

Situation:

A small training organization provides training to people who are notcurrently working and would like to upgrade their skills. Theorganization carries out practical skills training. In this process theparticipants practice the use of simple measuring equipment such as

rulers, spirit levels and plumb lines. The organizations product isthe skills development, and not the crafted items produced by theparticipants. The training organization has implemented ISO 9001:2000 QMS and claims conformity to the standard with theexclusion of sub-clause 7.6 Control of monitoring and measuringdevices.

Issue(s):

Can the small training organization exclude sub-clause 7.6 Controlof monitoring and measuringdevices from its QMS and claimconformity to ISO 9001:2008.


24/30

Scenario 10 :Complex Organization (Global TV)

10.1 Introduction

This example illustrates some of the key issues a multinational organization withmultiple work centres faces when implementing ISO 9001:2008 throughout theentire organization.

Global TV (GTV) is an organization that designs, manufactures, sells, distributesand services televisions (TVs) worldwide. GTV sells its product to retail outlets,which in-turn sell the TVs to end-user customers. Headquarters provides globalsupport for quality management, all purchasing functions and sales anddistribution contracts for its operations worldwide. GTV consists of a designcentre, a sub-assembly plant, a manufacturing centre and a distribution centre,all of which are wholly owned by GTV.

GTV management has decided to implement ISO 9001:2008 in all its facilitiesworldwide, and expects all facilities of GTV to have their own qualitymanagement system (QMS). However, not all facilities are required to obtaincertification. In addition, all facilities have to comply with the contents of thecorporate quality policy, which is To provide customers of GTV with productsand services that meet their needs and expectations, and to continually improvethe QMS.


25/30


NOTE:

For the purpose of simplifying the example for a complex organization, thenumber of centres and plants has been reduced to one of each (design centre,sub-assembly plant, manufacturing centre and distribution centre).

ISO 9001:2008 allows for the exclusion of any requirement(s) within clause 7,where such exclusions do not affect the organizations ability orresponsibility to consistently provide product that meets customer andapplicable statutory and regulatory requirements.

When applying clause 1.2 Application to a complex organization (Global TV) wehave to take into consideration the organizations customer. Global TVs ultimatecustomer is the end user who purchases the product from a retail

distributor. The customer of the individual centres and plants is the centre orplant that receives its product (i.e., the design centres customers are the sub-assembly plant and the manufacturing centre).


26/30



27/30

Scenario 10.2:Manufacturing Centre (MC)

Situation:

MC receives orders from headquarters and delivers products to thedistribution centre. It has established its QMS guided by, and inconformity with, the quality policy of GTV. All aspects of qualitymanagement required by ISO 9001:2008 are performed within the MC,

with the sole exception of product design and development. The MCdecided to exclude Sub-Clause 7.3 Design and developmentfrom thescope of its QMS since it performs no design activities. The MC doesinclude a statement and justification in its quality manual that it isexcluding the product design and development process and furtherindicates that a) its customer is Global TV headquarters who provideorders to the manufacturing plant, and b) Global TV headquarters isresponsible for ensuring the Design Centre conforms to ISO 9001:2008.

Issue(s):

Can the MC exclude Sub-Clause 7.3 Design and development from itsQMS and claim conformity with ISO 9001:2008?


28/30

Scenario 10.3 : Global TV

Situation:

Global TV Headquarters distributes its products through retailoutlets to the end user customer. The organization has implementedISO 9001:2008 at it headquarters and has requested that all its

facilities implement a quality management system conforming toISO 9001:2008. To date the only facility that has not implementeda quality management system is the Design Centre. In its qualitymanagement system manual Global TV headquarters states that allof its facilities conform to ISO 9001:2008 and the organization hasnot taken any exceptions.

Issue(s):

Can Global TV claim conformity with ISO 9001:2008?


29/30

10.4 Summary

Any complex organization (such as Global TV) has to be carefulof its claim that its quality management system conforms toISO 9001:2008. The organization has responsibility for all ISO9001:2008 requirements that can affect the organizationsability to provide products that meet its customer and statutory

and regulatory requirements. Therefore, in order to claimconformity to ISO 9001:2008 at the corporate level, it has toensure that all its relevant facilities are conforming to ISO9001:2008. The organizations individual facilities may excluderequirements within Clause 7 based on a justification making itclear that their customer is another division of the corporation,

and not the end-user. The certificates of conformityreferencing internal customers are of no direct value to theexternal customers of the organization.


30/30

Mandatory records required byISO 9001:2008 standard

4.2.1 Records determined by theorganization to be necessary to ensureeffective planning, operation and controlof processes

5.6.1 Records of management review 6.2.2 Records of education, training, skills,

and experience 7.1 Records of evidence that realization

processes and product meet requirements 7.2.2 Records of review of customerrequirements and follow-up actions

7.3.2 Records of design and developmentinput

7.3.4 Records of design and developmentreview

7.3.5 Records of design verificationactions

7.3.6 Records of design validation actions 7.3.7 Records of design changes and

results 7.4.1 Records of the evaluation of

suppliers 7.5.2 Records of special process

validations 7.5.3 Records of the unique identification

of product (traceability)

7.5.4 Records of lost, damaged or unsuitablecustomer property

7.6 Records of the basis of calibration usedwhen no traceable standards exist

7.6 Records of the results of calibration 7.6 Records of assessment of product when

calibration is out of tolerance 8.2.2 Records of internal audits 8.2.4 Records of person(s) authorizing release of

product to the customer 8.3 Records of the nature of nonconformitiesand subsequent actions8.5.2 Records of the results of corrective actiontaken

8.5.3 Records of the results of preventive actiontaken

PLUS

records the organization may choose to keep

e.g. delivery notes and copies of purchase orders arenot mentioned in that list but most organizationswould want to keep them.

Documents

IQA Learning Session-Customer Communication