Step 8: Quality Assurance

Making The Grade

Quality, ISO 9000, Continuous Improvement, Customer Service, Benchmarking, and Measurement are terms that companies are hearing more and more often, yet many have still to discover what these terms mean and how they can be applied to particular business practices. The term "Quality Assurance" can be defined in very broad terms and consequently is often misused, creating confusion and resistance.

This module of Steps to Competitiveness has been created to help alleviate some of that confusion, and provide some answers to the many questions that small and medium size businesses have about Quality and Continuous Improvement. Also provided in this module are checklists, diagnostics and other tools that will assist companies in implementing the basic concepts of Quality Assurance.

Initiatives related to improved quality cannot successfully be mandated or forced upon a corporate structure. For successful implementation of these strategies, there must exist a strong will to make the necessary changes and there must be exceptional communication between management and employees. Successful implementation requires the involvement of all employees and will endow a company with a Quality Culture, as opposed to a series of Quality Directives.

The following three sections have been developed specifically for small and medium size Canadian service companies.

• The Quality Journey - The "how to" of implementing key quality practices within an SME. This section is complete with diagnostics, definitions, and helpful hints.
• ISO 9000 for Service Companies - What it is, and everything else you need to know about ISO 9000. Includes examples of service sector applications.
• ISO 9000 Self-Assessment Checklist (DOWNLOADABLE) - Compare your company's procedures and policies against the ISO 9000 standard. This checklist provides concrete ideas of where to start your internal quality initiatives.