What is Risk Management?

Risk management is activity directed towards the assessing, mitigating (to an acceptable level) and monitoring of risk. In some cases the acceptable risk may be near zero. Risks can come from accidents, natural causes and disasters as well as deliberate attacks from an enemy. Risk is a concept that signifies the precise probability of specific eventualities. Technically, the notion of risk is independent from the notion of value and, as such, possible occurrences may have both good and bad consequences.


Establishing where risk resides

1. Identification of risk in a selected area of interest

2. Planning the process. Process Flow Diagrams

3. Mapping out the following:

o the social scope of risk management

o the identity and objectives of stakeholders

o the basis upon which risks will be evaluated, constraints.

4. Defining a framework for the activity and an agenda for identification.

5. Developing an analysis of risks involved in the process.

6. Mitigation of risks using available technological, human and organizational resources.

Identification

After establishing the areas in your process were risk may reside, the next step in the process of managing risk is to identify potential risks. Risks are about events that, when triggered, cause problems. Hence, risk identification can start with the source of problems, or with the problem itself.

• Source analysis Risk sources may be internal or external to the system that is the target of risk management. Examples of risk sources are: stakeholders of a project, employees of a company or the weather over an airport.

• Problem analysis Risks are related to identified threats. For example: the threat of losing money, the threat of abuse of privacy information or the threat of accidents and casualties. The threats may exist with various entities, most important with shareholders, customers and legislative bodies such as the government.

The chosen method of identifying risks may depend on culture, industry practice and compliance.

Ms. Deborah Leary - Business Management Consultant, Quality Improvement Consulting LLC - Fountain Hills, Arizona - United States

Ms. Deborah Leary - Business Management Consultant, Quality Improvement Consulting LLC - Fountain Hills, Arizona - United States

The key to success in the aerospace or any industry for that matter lies in its ability to learn on a continuous basis, new and more efficient ways to achieve cost and quality objectives. Only the most advance quality management tools along with the AS9100 standard can get aerospace organizations ready to compete in global marketplace. Our generation must concern itself with bench marking best practices in order to continuously move forward and compete in this market. There are many new software and educational tools available today that can aid in this objective. These tools range in cost from hundreds of thousands which many large companies employ, to products that cost only a few thousand dollars to satisfy the small business entity.


What is most important to the small business organization is time, overall cost and resources to implement and maintain their AS9100 quality management system. If the organization chooses the right AS9100 software package all of these concerns can be met and resolved. CIS Software for instance is easy to implement, requiring only a few days to fully install and begin using.

There are also many AS9100 consultants who offer fully documented AS9100 templates to help kick start your quality management system implementation or streamline that system, if the system you have is way too complicated to maintain.

ISO 9001 Is It Just Another Expense?

When I hear a manager say ISO 9001 is just another expense, I immediately know that this organization doesn’t have a clue what ISO 9001 is. Lip service is just that, if you put nothing into your quality management system, you will get exactly nothing in return. ISO 9001 is a quality standard which aims to guide an organization to understand its own business better so that it can meet or exceed its customer needs. By implementing a “successful” quality management system the organization will see tangible improvements that lead to reduced costs and increases in market share.


How does this happen, the reduced costs and increased market share? Well if you think just because you plop a system in, you will instantly see the money, think again. This is a process, a process that develops and matures over time which is spurred on by increased awareness and understanding throughout the organization. As you learn more about your internal processes and link them to your customer needs, you will begin to reap the rewords of your efforts.

So get serious about your companies goals and how you will achieve them, (plan) your processes, work your system (Do), (Check) your progress toward achieving your objectives, and make the necessary changes along the way to keep on track (Act). If you are like so many other companies out there, you could use a little help getting started. There are plenty of quality consultants and classes that can do just that. But once you finally “GET IT; your system should become an effortless process that runs like a Swiss watch. This process should not add work or drain resources; rather it should run itself because it is how you do business every day.

Don’t get involved in ISO 9001 with the belief that it is just another expense. Make the process pay for itself by understanding, believing and promoting, and driving your goals and expectations to completion. Lead and you will succeed, or don’t and throw your money and future expectations away. One thing is for sure at the end of the day, if you don’t put your best foot forward, somebody else will.

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My Customer Wants Us Certified to AS9100, HELP!

You are a small business owner who has just been told you must become certified to AS9100 in order to continue to receive business from your largest customer. You have been putting this off for some time, hoping you would be able to wait until the economy gets better. Now what, you have a deadline and you haven’t got a clue how to get there from here? The best advice, find a competent consultant and get some training to the standard.

Those organizations who recruit good consultants get the job done roughly twice as fast. By helping you avoid mistakes, a good consultant can help you get the job done faster. But only a good consultant can do this. Not all consultants are created equally, and it is important to select a consultant that is right for you. A reputable consultant works hard to ensure that you fully own your quality management system at the time of registration.

Key services you will require, if you have no idea what you are doing or how you will do it are as follows:

1. Required documentation development and implementation
2. Training: Quality policy and objectives, Management review, Corrective and Preventive action, Internal auditing, AS9100 Overview, Risk analysis, Overview of the Complete QMS, Collecting and analyzing data.
3. If software is being used to facilitate and run your quality system, you will also need training and implementation services for this.
4. Implementation of a competency, awareness and training program, internal audit, corrective and preventive action programs, management review and overall continual improvement programs.
5. Conduct internal audits for entire system (all processes), one high level internal audit to the AS9101C checklist in preparation for registration audit.
This is just a short list of services that you may need to accomplish your goal of certification to AS9100. Depending on the size and complexity of your organization and processes more may be needed. A good consultant can help you determine your individual needs.

The Templated Quality System: Mistakes Made

Time and time again I walk into an organization to audit their quality management system and I find that the overall processes and controls are well understood and executed, but the documentation just doesn’t match actual practices. Templates are great tools to help an organization meet the documentation requirements of ISO 9001, AS9100, or any standard. The problem is, most companies buy the templates and insert the name but never modify the templates to their particular processes. The results from such miss use of this tool are non-conformances found during a surveillance or registration audit.

Templates can help save time and help an organization cover all of the requirements of the standard, but they can hurt and organization if they are not used properly. Plan your processes and understand the standard that you have chosen to become certified to. Knowing what is required and what is not can help you to modify the templates to reflect your organizations actual practices. Most non-conformances, about 90% to be exact, are written against what the organization has required of itself or documentation that does not match the processes, not the standard. So if you are thinking of buying a template system, know what you are getting into and spend the time to modify them to match your processes.

ISO 9001 Don’t Survive, Thrive!

Why is it that when times get tough most companies invest most of their time and money in short term short sited goals? The ultimate goal of any company should be more than just survival; it should be forward thinking total sustained success. How can a company reach for and attain sustained success with the economy in such distress? The best way is to invest in continuous process improvements that result in cost reductions and increased market share.

Becoming certified to the industry standards that your industry leaders are requiring is the surest way to stand out and get noticed. If your competition is already certified to ISO 9001, AS 9100, RC 1400, ISO 1400 or some other industry standard, they have a decided advantage over you and how much more business they will receive as a result of this certification. If you are certified, how well you manage your business processes can help or hurt your progress toward sustained success.

Many companies go after certification to satisfy a customer request or simply because they believe it the right thing to do. However, the majority of the organizations that embark on the road to certification, go into the process ill equip and ill informed. The result of such endeavors usually produces a business management system which may ultimately result in certification, but offers no advantages and becomes just another expense to absorb.

My advice, get educated, hire a competent business management consultant if you fell you need one, and make your business management system your own. Every business is different and so each business management system should be unique as well. Don’t waste hundreds of thousands of dollars and years of consulting fees to reach you goals. Take ownership of your system and make it a transparent part of your everyday work experience. When a well designed business management system is implemented, it is effortless and provides real tangible benefits that result in sustained success. Don’t survive, thrive.