World Quality Day
Held this year on 13 November 2008, World Quality Day provides an opportunity to celebrate quality and its benefits.

Read more - and reserve your places for the CQI World Quality Conference - here

PAS 99: framework for integrated management system
PAS 99 is a specification of common requirements for management systems that can be used as a framework for an integrated management system.

It is intended to encourage organisations to combine the separate 'systems' that sometimes arise from applying standards such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. Read more at the BSI site

Chartered Quality Institute Announces Restructure
The Chartered Quality Institute (CQI) has announced a major restructure which brings together the CQI and its personnel certification body IRCA (the International Register of Certificated Auditors) - "an opportunity to take the best from both sides to do it bigger, better and more efficiently". Read more here

Deming on TV
Watch a series of programmes of material related to the late W. Edwards Deming on Sky channel 181 (in the "entertainment" category) or via live web simulcast over broadband. More information here

ISO 14000 expert sought
Our friends from the DTI's Manufacturing Advisory Service are planning a workshop in Kent on the subject of the ISO 14000 environmental standards and are looking for an expert to facilitate the event. They'd prefer someone with an in-house role (as opposed to a consultant or a certification body auditor). Contact Jim Wade if you are interested.

Join the discussions on auditing
IRCA (the International Register of Certificated Auditors) is experimenting with an on-line discussion forum. If auditing and related subjects interest you, you can register and join the discussions here.

"Really valuable - this event particularly touched on practical issues rather than theory" - Bank of Scotland

"Great mix of speakers. Has provided clear ideas on how to get BPM sustained in my organisation" - Caribbean Development Bank

More detail here.

Jim Wade on IQA Panels
The Business Improvement Network's Jim Wade will be a member of the newly-formed Editorial Advisory Panel (EAP) of the Institute of Quality Assurance (IQA).

Jim, who is already a member of the IQA's Training Panel, will be pleased to help represent to the IQA the views of Business Improvement Network members on any aspect of the Institute's publications or training offerings. Contact him here.

Survey of Business Improvement Network members
In conjunction with Head Light Communications Ltd, we conducted an online survey of over 1500 Business Improvement Network members to identify the key areas of challenge and focus for the membership. Download survey results here.

Two hundred of you gave your views on topics as diverse as the management of financial resources and the development of vision and strategy.

In terms of priorities for the coming year, the two main improvement areas for members are people management and development and managing improvement and change.

We'll now go ahead, with Head Light Communications, to hold a series of networking and knowledge sharing sessions designed to target these priority areas.

What can we do to get the 'quality' message across more effectively to managers and other colleagues?
In June 2005, a group of managers from companies including Accenture, Atkins Highways and Transportation, British Gas, Halcrow, Masterfoods and O2 took part in an Open Space event on the theme of how support functions can best initiate and implement change in their organisations.

One particular discussion led to a proposal for this follow-on event to allow information sharing and learning about effective communications. Read more here

ISO 9000 is Dead, Long Live ISO 9000!
This intriguingly entitled evening event, organised by the Milton Keynes Branch of the Institute of Quality Assurance, deals with Certification to ISO standards and their relevance to business.

You will have the opportunity to debate with key figures from the quality world the relevance or otherwise of the ISO 9000 group of standards in running a good safe and successful business.

The panel includes John Seddon, a renowned critic of ISO9000; Nigel Wickins, operations manager of a leading UK certification body; and Phil Brown, a strong supporter of the EFQM excellence model.

The event is free to all but prior booking is essential by email or phone: 0118 987 5120

Date: May 3, 2006 at 7pm.

Location: Saturn Conference Centre, Bedford Heights, Manton Lane Bedford MK41 7HP

Are you involved with any aspect of ISO 9000? If so, you'll kick yourself if you missed the unique Open Space gatherings sponsored by BSI and Orange. Read more here

ISO Management Systems magazine continues to feature negative as well as positive views of ISO 9001:2000. Read on...

We've added a great new facility to the Bookshop. Now you can go straight to lists of books on 50 key continual improvement topics. Treat yourself to a book today!.

The British Quality Foundation says that ISO 9000 does not guarantee a high standard of quality and that its use to meet bureaucratic requirements can present a great opportunity for charlatans. . More...

Who is the European Quality Teddy Bear (pictured above)? The mystery deepens.

The Institute of Quality Assurance launches a special interest group devoted to the work of W Edwards Deming See here.

The Secretary-General of ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) has challenged ISO 9000 certification bodies - and the accreditation bodies that approve them as competent - to do a better job of weeding out malpractice and dishonest operators. Read all about it here.


Workshops being planned

Rapid Problem Solving, based on David Straker's book of the same name and run by the author. Please send me more information.

Identifying, documenting and improving business processes - not only a vital new consideration for ISO 9000:2000, but also a key factor in continual improvement. Please send information when available.

What is 'Deming thinking' and how can it help us with ISO 9000:2001? The new version of ISO 9000 places more emphasis on system and process thinking. The teaching of Dr. W. Edwards Deming provides a powerful means to implement the new standard and obtain real improvement. Please let me know more about this one.