This paper presents the results of the implementation of the quality management system in a company that offers the Engineering Projects Service.
As a result, in the stage, training in the ISO 9000 standards quality management system has been achieved for the leaders, technicians and workers of the same, the Process Manual is prepared with 13 identified processes, 13 procedures have been developed and a version of the Quality Manual.
Comparing these results with the diagnosis carried out at the beginning of 2008, it can be stated that progress has been made in the management of knowledge and in the effectiveness of the organization, all key processes have been reviewed and opportunities for improvement identified for future improvement projects.
Keywords: Quality Management, Process Management and Engineering Project.
INTRODUCTION
Quality management is part of business management as is financial management, human resource management, environmental management, etc. and it should not be considered as an isolated system.
Its objective is to carry out actions to apply the policy and achieve the objectives of the organization related to quality, with a strategy capable of converting the mission, vision and values into policies, as well as achieving the objectives and effective actions for continuous improvement..
From the decision to implement a quality management system (EMS) for the organization, the stages of the project must be planned. One of the most laborious is the one referring to the documentation of the organization, since, if a systematic work has not been maintained in its formation, it is tiring to identify the minimum deficiencies in each process to comply with the requirements of the NC-ISO 9001: 2008.
In the case of the studied study, work has been done on the preparation and / or modification of manuals, procedures, instructions and standardizing documents for each process, based on the documentary base that the organization had, and for the modification of this situation the following has been followed. following scheme:
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As can be seen in the diagram, a review of the activities of the quality management system has been carried out, through extensive consultation with specialists and workers in the different areas.
Based on the foregoing, the objective of this work is to present the results obtained in the redesign and implementation of the quality management system to achieve its certification.
WORK DEVELOPMENT
Business project: Implementation and improvement of the Quality Management System
Project objective: Design and implement a quality management system with the focus of NC-ISO 9001/2008.
Actions:
- Raise awareness and train management and workers in quality management in relation to:
- Organizational culture Administrative support system.
Raise awareness and train management and workers in quality management
Training and awareness-raising actions have been carried out in quality management, including a postgraduate course (45 hours), training for the training of two internal auditors (45 hours) and the dissemination of activities related to the system quality management in murals, meetings with workers and the use of the Intranet.
It should be emphasized that it is necessary to improve the leadership of those responsible for the processes in order to achieve the implementation of the system.
Determine and document processes
The lack of documentation in the processes has been determined and the documentation formats (procedures, records, instructions, etc.) have been established, to achieve uniformity in their structure, so that it is a coherent system and allows a future integrate to other systems as established in Decree No. 281/2007 on the Continuity and Strengthening of the Cuban Business Direction and Management System, known as Business Improvement, in which this company is located.
In order to know the documentation needs for the Quality Management System, the requirements demanded by NC-ISO 9001: 2008 were analyzed and an internal audit (diagnosis) was carried out on the existing documentation where:
- Major Nonconformities: 8 (Requirements that invalidate the QMS are not met) Minor Nonconformities: 6 (Partial fulfillment of requirements that do not invalidate the QMS) Observations: 24 (Findings that are potential nonconformities).
Based on the findings of this audit, during 2009 an Improvement Plan was prepared to solve the problems detected in the documentation.
To determine and document the processes, work was carried out in groups with those responsible and those identified in the previous system were taken into account, a new process map is proposed, also taking into consideration the systems established by Decree No. 281/2007 on Continuity and Strengthening of the Cuban Business Direction and Management System.
The determined internal processes are classified into three groups:
Strategic processes
Those processes designed to define and control the goals of the organization, its policy and strategy. These processes are directly managed by senior management as a whole. Within this group are the following:
- Management Process. (Responsibility of the Directorate) Human Capital Process. (Resource Management) Financial Accounting Process. (Resource Management) Quality Process (Measurement, Analysis and Improvement).
Operational processes
Processes intended to carry out the actions that allow the development of the policies and strategies defined by the organization to provide services to customers. They are those processes that add value to the intended product of the organization. Those responsible for managing these processes are the heads of the different areas.
- Management Process of Integrated Project Management (Product Realization). Purchasing Process. (Resource Management) Business Management Process.
Support processes
Processes not directly linked to the policy development actions, but whose performance directly influences the level of execution and effectiveness of the operational processes.
Within this group are the following:
- Security, Defense and Exceptional Situations Process Information and Communication Process Innovation Management Process Environmental Process Services Process Marketing Process
External processes
Processes intended to carry out actions to ensure the organization's operational processes, which are outsourced and must be controlled to ensure that the requirements of the quality management system are met.
- Legal Advice Process.
As a result of this stage, the fundamental activities of the processes, their requirements and the indicators for measuring their efficiency and effectiveness are defined and the Process Map is prepared, which is presented in Table 1.
The summary of this stage, in relation to the determination of the processes and the preparation of the documentation are presented below:
- The Process Manual (Map of processes, interrelations, description of the processes and indicators for measuring effectiveness) The Quality Manual (Description of the system, exclusions and list of documented procedures) Mandatory procedures of the quality management system.Business Procedures linked to the Design and Development of Engineering Projects service.
Table 1. Organization process map
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Implementation of the Quality Management System
In order to establish the Quality Policy and Objectives, it was taken into account that they are appropriate to the organization's Social Objective and the revised procedures are being gradually implemented, taking into account the requirements of NC-ISO 9001: 2008.
The analysis of the current state of the quality management system is carried out in compliance with Requirement 8.4 Data Analysis of NC-ISO 9001: 2008, which has as input the following aspects:
- Customer satisfaction Compliance with product requirements Process and product characteristics and trends, including opportunities for preventive action Suppliers.
To carry it out, the Management Review reports, the results of the Internal Audits made to the QMS and the behavior of Non-Conformities in the stage from January to December 2009 were taken into account.
The general tendency of the quality management system is to achieve stability in its results, given in the behavior of the evaluations made to the new system in the process of implementation.
Customer satisfaction of the services complies with the indicators established for the organization, there are no registered complaints and major non-conformities in the service, it has improved since the previous year, there is evidence of an increase in the number of customers who request the services.
The solution of Non-Conformities has been improved, which is evidenced by the fact that they have been closed on the agreed date, but these results are still not satisfactory in terms of the effectiveness of the actions taken.
The trend of not taking preventive actions is maintained, which must be taken into account in the audits and controls carried out on the processes and services within the scope of the quality management system, which could be improved with preventive actions, to eliminate the causes of possible non-conformities.
The evaluation of the effectiveness of the processes indicates that there has been an improvement in their management. A better knowledge of the quality management system has led to a correct evaluation of them and the introduction of improvements, as is the case of the Management, Quality and Service Processes that to evaluate their effectiveness, surveys are carried out to know the opinion of Workers.
The evaluation of suppliers continues to present limitations in its performance, which has been maintained since previous years, since there has been instability to occupy the position of Head of the Internal Services Brigade, responsible for keeping the records updated and being aware of the situation of these and their impact on the services within the scope of the quality management system.
No work has been done on the implementation of quality costs and on the inclusion of quality management in the analysis of the financial performance of the organization, which should be resolved in the second half of 2010.
The quality management system has been working since October 2008 and according to this, an assessment of the current situation can be made, for this a field of forces is presented under current conditions in Table 2, where You can conclude that there is a balance between the driving forces and the restraining forces, but that they cannot be lost sight of, because the restraining forces can affect the effective implementation of the quality management system.
The following strengths and weaknesses in the organization can be identified to continue with the implementation of the quality management system that are listed below: Strengths
- A greater domain of the activities and processes is achieved by managers and specialists.
- Indicators are established that allow data to be obtained from the key processes to work towards the implementation of a balanced scorecard. It allows to identify opportunities for improvement in the rationality of the documentation. The activities that so far focus on the knowledge of people and become part of the corporate heritage In the analysis of the documentation needs, opportunities for improvement have arisen in the activities of execution of the processes that must be undertaken later By normalizing the activities through procedures and instructions, it allows reducing corruption and illegalities in the The organization is also aligned with the requirements established by Decree No.281/2007 On the Continuity and Strengthening of the Cuban Business Direction and Management System and Resolution 297/2003. Definitions of Internal Control. Content of its components and its regulations from the Ministry of Finance and Prices.
Weaknesses
- The economic situation that the country is going through creates weaknesses in the business infrastructure and in the work environment to achieve greater motivation in the implementation of the system. Promote skills and habits in the control, management and conservation of documentation, which constitutes one of the organisation's assets Raising quality values in such a way that it is integrated into the organizational culture Achieving effective management of all processes, especially Marketing, Commercial in relation to economic contracting and purchases in carrying out the supplier evaluation.
If this analysis is taken into account, an assessment of the current state of the system can be made, considering the situation found in 2008 to the present moment, which can be summarized in the results of the controls carried out on the system by both the National Office of Normalization as per the National Directorate.
It can be seen that it is required to work on the culture of quality to achieve a better acceptance of the system, since it also constitutes a tool that allows improving the general organization and like any process of change, resistance to new situations is manifested that are created in the system implementation.
In this case, we can also speak of knowledge management according to the concept of the art of creating value in an organization from its intangible assets, since the tacit knowledge given in the actions, experiences, ideals, values and emotions of an individual tends to explicit knowledge that includes documents, databases and other types of information recorded in a context, to support the decision-making process in a way that contributes to organizational knowledge.
Table 2. C ampo forces to evaluate factors related to the implementation of a quality management system for the NC-ISO 9000
| Restraining forces | Driving forces |
| · There is no specialist in Marketing.
· Communication with the client is insufficient. · Customer satisfaction is not systematically evaluated. (- -) |
· There is good relations between the specialists and the sales representative of the Integrated Project Management with clients.
· Customer requirements are known and conflicts are resolved. |
| · Acceptable leadership.
· There is no full domain of the vision, mission and values by all workers. |
Positive results in business management in the evaluation of the controls of the National Directorate. (++) |
| · Workers do not show interest in the implementation of the quality management system.
· There is no structured welfare and incentive program for workers. · Internal communication is not effective between managers and workers. |
· Company in the process of Business Improvement with a results stimulation program.
· Tendency towards collaboration between working groups. · The mobilizing work of workers in the center. (++) |
| · The organizational structure is of the functional hierarchical type.
· The business documentation is not yet fully implemented. · Business activities are not managed with a process approach. (-) |
· Well defined functions of the organization and those responsible.
· Work objectives are well defined. · Internal interrelation in the execution of functional activities. |
| · The improvement processes are not carried out as a planned process in the organization. | · Improvement activities are carried out in contingency situations or through own initiatives.
· There are established partnerships with specific plans. (++) |
| · Decision-making based on facts is highly polarized towards the economic area.
· Data focused on customer satisfaction is not analyzed. (-) |
· There are the necessary controls for the establishment of quality management indicators in most of the processes. |
| · Suppliers are not systematically evaluated and there are no updated records of them. (-) | · Management is interested in solving this situation. |
Balance of forces:
Predominance of driving forces: 3 factors.
Prevalence of restraining forces: 4 factors.
Determination of quality prevention spending
The expenses for the implementation of the quality management system include the expenses for training, the expenses for preparing the documentation and the project financing.
The expenses incurred in the implementation of the system with respect to annual sales is the ratio of quality prevention expenses to annual sales for 2009 and is 1.08%.
CONCLUSIONS
The application of a business project for the implementation of the quality management system in the organization has been positive and shows that progress can be made if the stages of the project are met and if greater leadership is promoted by the Directorate for its implementation.
The process management approach and the definition of indicators, which together with those that already exist must in the future make up the comprehensive scorecard and integration with other systems such as the environment and occupational health and safety, makes it possible to identify improvement opportunities.
This stage is closely linked to the organization's knowledge management, with a conversion of tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge, in the phase of externalizing knowledge through documents that allow and facilitate the dissemination of the knowledge acquired to third parties.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Cairo Cairo, C. 2007. Procedure for managing quality costs in CONAS, Cienfuegos Branch. Master's Thesis. FCEE, University of Cienfuegos. Cuba. Cuba. Decree No. 281/2007 on the Continuity and Strengthening of the Cuban Business Management and Direction System. Ministry of Finance and Prices. Resolution 297/2003. Definitions of Internal Control. Content of its components and its standards. De Heredia, R. 1995. Integrated Project Management. DIP. Second edition. Technical School of Industrial Engineering. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Business Excellence, 2002. Available at http://web.jet.es/amozarrain/enlaces.htm.Fernández Cao, E. 2003. Current situation and work projections for quality in Cuba. CD Memorias Calidad 2003. La Habana.Fresno Chávez, C. 2001.Can we reach an agreement…? before managing knowledge. International Conference of Information INFO` 2001, Havana, Cuba NC-ISO 19011: 2004. Guidelines for conducting quality and / or environmental management audits NC-ISO 9000: 2005. Quality Management Systems. Fundamentals and Vocabulary NC-ISO 9001: 2008. Quality Management Systems. Requirements. Sveiby, K. 1999. Tacit Knowledge. Available at
