OPERATIONAL PLANNING AND CONTROL
INTRODUCTION TO OPERATIONAL PLANNING AND CONTROL
QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ISO 9001:2015 CLAUSE 8.1 OPERATIONAL PLANNING AND CONTROL – Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail
To achieve certification, you will have to implement the “DO” part of PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act). This section inputs how the business manages the internal processes used to supply clients’ products and services for operational planning and control.
Firstly, determine what benchmarks you are going to use to ensure control of your processes. ISO 9001 does not dictate which criteria you must use; however, ones that Quality Managers use regularly are:
- Appearance
- Dimensions
- Completeness
- Performance
- Customer satisfaction
The above vary on the requirements of each company. Two essential items that you need to consider are first, to make sure the client is first and foremost. Every record, measurement and analysis should be of advantage to the client. Secondly, the more information that you input, the stronger your system will be. In addition, examine the resources needed, for instance, what each employee does, what equipment they operate, what training to organize etc.
Finally, design and implement the documents to demonstrate that the processes happen and conform your products or services to your requirements. Don’t go over the top with the amount of documentation. As I have mentioned in the previous blog, you don’t want to be drowning in paper.
USE SHEQ SOFTWARE FOR OPERATIONAL PLANNING AND CONTROL
At SRM, we use Mango to design and implement our ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System documentation. In addition, Mango makes it so simple as opposed to using a hard copy system. Not only does SRM use Mango Compliance Software, but many of our clients as well – www.mangolive.com Mango makes it easier to get ISO 9001:2015 certification.
COMMON MISTAKES
It usually is at this stage of certification that companies start to fall apart.
“A common mistake is that companies capture what they wish they were doing, not what they actually do.”
So many companies design and implement documents showing what the process would look like in the perfect world. On the contrary, you need documents that show what the process would look like in real life. If you have the business’s interests at heart, be honest when documenting your processes, and you will do the business and client’s a big favour.
HOW WE DO OPERATIONAL PLANNING AND CONTROL
At Safety Risk Management, our quality team hash out the processes one by one, examining the benchmarks and resources. For example, let’s look at the SHEQ Consulting processes. A primary aim of the SHEQ Consulting department is effectively review customer requests for work, plan, execute and review the work. We have defined the methods used to deliver our SHEQ Consulting and what resources are used as follows:
- Appearance: Our Managing Director does the marketing for SHEQ Consulting, through our website, blogs and social media platforms.
- Dimensions: The scope of our SHEQ Consulting services are defined on our website and company brochures, but in most cases are tailor-made to suit each clients individual needs and budget.
- Firstly, we define the customer needs and compare them to our scope of services and ability/ availability
- Secondly, we provide a SHEQ Consulting quotation based on customer needs, risks, location, resources , management and duration (to name but a few)
- Thirdly, we plan to deliver the work
- Fourthly, we execute
- Lastly, we review and report
- Completeness: Work to project plan, customer deliverables, project reports
- Performance / Customer Satisfaction:
- SHEQ Consulting leads vs sales
- Work done vs project plan
- Customer feedback on satisfaction and perceptions
- Resources: SHEQ Consultants, Management, Admin Team, Mango Software, CRM Software, Budget, Finance Team
- Documentation: Customer RFQ’s, Proposals, PO’s , Project Plans, Project Deliverables, Project Reports, Management Reviews
Consequently, by recording the process and benchmarks, we validate what we are doing. We achieve clearness as well as pinpointing the beginning for making improvements.
IN SUMMARY
- Decide on the benchmarks for every process to be a victory.
- Decide on the resources for each process.
- We advise recording the processes ensuring that your staff understand them.
SRM is ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018 certified. Contact our consultants today. Let us know if we can help you with the development and implementation of your Quality Management System.
Associated Blogs:
https://srmc.co.za/iso-9001-clause-4-context-of-the-organisation/
Links to our services:
https://srmc.co.za/services/consulting/
https://srmc.co.za/iso-certifications/
