The position of Quality in the overall company strategy isn’t always clear. Yes, most companies claim that quality is their number one priority. This makes sense, as you can only deliver real value if you provide…
nickappel1st September 2020
More and more companies and governments have started to require suppliers to be ISO27001 certified. This can be a great push for more data security awareness, but there are downsides to it as well. As an…
nickappel31st July 2020
We touched upon the SHEQ culture numerous times already, and we cannot stress the importance of it enough. Developing the right culture has a tremendous impact on SHEQ within the company and how the company operates.…
nickappel22nd July 2020
After talks with hundreds of quality and safety managers, we saw a pattern emerge we weren’t really aware of. We started to notice that there is some kind of implicit impact certification bodies (CB) have on…
nickappel6th July 2020
Transparency has a pretty broad spectrum and can mean different things to different people. Especially, the level of transparency and when you are transparent and when not. Of course, certain information is on a “need to…
nickappel23rd June 2020
Ever since the introduction of the HLS (High Level Structure) in several ISO standards, the stakeholder analysis has a more prominent role in most Management Systems. This is a good thing if you ask us. However,…
nickappel15th June 2020
Last week we had a great talk with an esteemed consultant about compliance and how to go about it. He had quite a nice way of approaching it. It was during this call he dropped the…
nickappel8th June 2020
The several different ISO standards can be great guidance when adding structure to an organization. However, the standard shouldn’t be the starting point for an organization when setting up any kind of management system. When you…
nickappel20th May 2020
Most of us have been working from home for several weeks now. While working from home a couple of days here and there is fine for most of us, we now run into an odd situation…
nickappel30th April 2020
This pandemic of course has a big impact on your job as a safety officer. Normally, you are mainly outside or in the production plant to check up on the safety culture in the company. It…
nickappel20th April 2020
Over the last couple of weeks, we spoke with several consultants based all around the world. One of the things that almost all of the consultants mentioned is that training your staff is very important. It…
nickappel6th April 2020
Working from home can become quite tiresome and repetitive but it also holds some great opportunities for you as a Quality Manager. Normally you are running around with little time left to make fundamental improvements. We…
nickappel27th March 2020
After last week the world looks quite different. People in most countries are working from home, which means that audits need to adapt as well. This week, one of our customers had their first completely remote…
nickappel18th March 2020
We talk with dozens of companies on a daily basis that have some degree of QHSE management system. Some are complex; others are plain simple to use. The biggest question for most companies is, of course,…
nickappel13th March 2020
Quality Management isn’t a one (wo)man show. Most of you Quality Managers know this is true, but within a significant number of companies, this is still the default. Phrases like “John is the Quality Manager, he…
nickappel24th February 2020
We had a great interview with Bart Vanraes, a prevention advisor from Belgium. Bart is an expert in “tippex accidents” and did a significant amount of research into this topic. Tippex Accidents A “tippex accident” is…
nickappel13th February 2020
This week we organized a great workshop together with the Team of Brown Paper Audit. They introduced their refreshing point of view to audits. Rather than the one-on-one talks with people in the company, they recommend…
nickappel6th February 2020
Having the right and best equipment for the job is crucial to guarantee the highest quality level. Monitoring and Measuring Resources is the clause in the ISO9001:2015 that focuses on this. Regardless of the standard you…
nickappel29th January 2020
Previously we touched upon whether or not a certificate is worth it. This post led to quite some discussion, with strong opinions from both sides. However, looking at Quality Management in general you can ask the…
nickappel17th January 2020
Near miss is still seen as a big burden by many people, and companies for that matter. The general feeling is still, “Nothing actually happened, so why should we report it?” Yes, nothing happened in the…
nickappel10th January 2020
