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HOW TO DO IT

SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM PREPARATION

How to do it » Small business management system preparation

Preparation of Quality Management System for small company (ISO)

Preparation of the system is easy for anybody who has ever worked with a system and – better still – was there when the system came into existence. A quality consultant, however, should master this procedure brilliantly. Here we are introducing one of a number of possible procedures that delivers results really fast and without any needless drawbacks.

1. Requirements for the system – decide on which requirements your system is supposed to meet. Will it be the quality management system requirement pursuant to ISO 9001, or the environmental management system requirement pursuant to ISO 14001, or the occupational safety and health management system requirement pursuant to OHSAS 18001, or the information security management system requirement pursuant to ISO 27000, or will there be more than one requirement thus forming an integrated system?

2. Modelling and descriptive method – select what outputs and system description would suit your company and its workers best. A modelling method of choice has a strong effect on the subsequent changes in the system. The Microsoft VISIO, for instance, appears to be a suitable tool for this purpose. In this stage, it is also appropriate to determine the system´s structure.

3. Information system support – the resultant system is strongly influenced by your current information system, for example, where you file your orders, where you do stock holding, and the like. Description of the system´s operation is, then, referred to the information system you are using, and everything is going to be markedly simplified. In most cases, neverthless, the company does not possess any information system, and the system description prepared is later to become a setting for implementation of an information system.

4. System implementation deadline date – establish in advance when you need to have the system ready, and direct all activities in respect of this date. It is hard to complete the system without the final deadline date. The best way here is to have the responsible people interested in keeping the deadline financially or otherwise.

5. Process map – it first defines principal processes and subprocesses you need to manufacture your products or to provide your services.

6. Preparation flow chart – count the number of days from the set deadline date backwards to establish the length of time available for the preparation of the system. Include in the flow chart each defined process, sub-process, approval, record, data bases, inspections, audits, trainings, reporting and, also, the period of time for checking on the cohesion of the individual processes. Keep in mind you need to have qualified and trained internal auditors, if you want to have an ISO certificate. Your auditing work may also be outsourced, yet it is not recommended to do at the beginning.

7. Process setting – define a definite form in which each process is to be described, while utilizing flow charts or just texts or the like. In this stage, working with the person responsible, or the process possessor, each process is already defined in the process map. In simple processes, count around 2 to 3 hours per process. The processing time increases with increasing complexity up to 15–30 hours.

8. Training in processes and the system – each worker who will use a process should be trained in that process. The most appropriate arrangement is training your workers continuously as the processes are being prepared. Towards the traning´s end, it is also good to show the system as one functioning whole, highlighting how interconnected the individual processes are, and what benefits it is going to bring the company.

9. Test operation – having prepared the system, let it run and watch how the workers stick to the established rules, whether there are non-compliances occurring and how they are being resolved.

10. Internal audits – eventually, get internal audits started and verify each individual process and its functioning. Following the audits, make good all non-conformities and faults found.

11. Functioning evaluation – evaluate all things functioning. Take advantage of the process metrics and the reporting established. Prepare the system´s review by the management.

12. Certification audit – if your system works, invite a certification auditor (it is advisable to choose a good certification company right at the preparation beginning) who, as an independent auditor, will examine your company.

The above are the most important steps to take for preparation and implementation of the company´s management system. Each step would indeed make a separate article, but it is sometimes better to invite a consultant who will navigate your way through the preparation.

Period of the system´s preparation

Surely you are interested in how long the preparation of a quality management system will take. Based on experience, the preparation period ranges as described in the table below. The times can vary up and down depending on the workers´ resolve and interest.

Entrepreneurs tend to save most time on training, test operation and audits. That approach will, inevitably, affect further functioning of the system.
Note: It is not that so much has been going on in Czech Republic really, for a cerfication company will invariably issue the desired certificate, if you pay for it. Such certification companies that would decline, if they found the system being insufficiently prepared, are rare indeed.

Stages/Company size by the number of workers	5–10	10–20	20–50	50–200
1. Requirements for system	1,5 days	3 days	5 days	10 days
2. Modelling and descriptive method
3. Information system support
4. System implementation deadline date
5. Process map
6. Preparation flow chart
7. Process setting	5 days	10 days	15 days	30 days
8. Training in processes and the system	1 day	2 days	3 days	5 days
9. Test operation	30 days	45 days	60 days	90 days
10. Internal audits	2 days	3 days	5 days	20 days
11. Functioning evaluation	1 day	2 days	3 days	5 days
12. Certification audit	1,5 days	3 days	4 days	9 days
Total	42 days	68 days	95 days	169 days

The period of preparation is strongly influenced by the following factors:

Industrial branch and line of business
Range of the system the entrepreneur opts to create
Integration of systems – quality (ISO 9001), environment (ISO 140001), safety (OHSAS 18001), IT services (ISO 20000)
Entrepreneur´s interest in having a functioning system of quality
Financial and time resources

If an entrepreneur who opearates a 5 to 10-strong company decides to prepare the system swiftly and, working with an experienced consultant, shuts themselves off from the company´s daily operations, they will be able to prepare almost the entire system.

The „How to do it“ procedure has been prepared by consultant Jiří Střelec on the basis of his own experience.

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