How to simplify your ISO 9001:2015 system at production?

Just hearing the words “ISO compliance” is often enough to send a chill through the manufacturing owners’ spine. Yes, they know that having such a certification could help them show that their products are of high quality because they have a set of quality standards and tests in place. Getting the certification and ensuring that your manufacturing production stays compliant later is easier said than done.

Or is it? There’s actually a smart way in which you can simplify the ISO tasks at your company – by using production management software. Read on to find out how exactly such a system can help. 

How did you come across ISO 9001?

There are two common scenarios when companies decide on implementing the ISO 9001 certification.

• Obtaining a certificate ISO 9001:2015 or other quality system was imposed by one of your key Clients.
• You decided to implement a quality system to standardize procedures and improve functionality as you had some organizational problems.

Regardless of your motivation to make changes, we suspect you might feel a little bit disappointed even when you worked hard to implement the ISO 9001 system and yet it seems there are far too many troubles with it.

• Even though many procedures were created and you agreed in writing the way they should work, it has nothing to do with practice.
• The production hall workers spend a long time filling different orders, working cards, etc., but this paper work doesn’t translate into a real decision-making process.
• There are many interesting rules and monitoring procedures, but only on paper, not at the production hall.
• You are under the impression that your solutions are for your client’s monitoring requirements or for auditors, who come once a year.

If any of the above symptoms apply to your business, check how production management software can help you.

You can get rid of binders full of product documentation and make sure your employees always have updated information

Thanks to the Prodio database of your products, all necessary information automatically goes from operator to production:

• You don’t need binders with outdated documentation because Prodio’s database of products updates automatically.
• You don’t have to mark and set the version of documentation – Prodio shares dates of changes and the login of a person who made them.
• The employee constantly has updated information about the product; thus, communication and information flow standards are met. In addition, thanks to production technology, a comment can be directed to a particular operator.

The problem with “Knowledge management” with ISO 9001:2015 is automatically solved. However, some companies don’t know how to deal with the required norms. This problem disappears when product data is collected in real-time and subsequently analyzed thanks to employees’ comments, complaints, or remarks.

Additional application of this solution:

Influence on Clients’ image for auditors – especially in the case of big companies.

Let’s be honest: the bigger a company is the more probability of using the “old-fashioned” ERP program. Imagine auditors’ surprise when they see computers for employees at the production hall in a small manufacturer. Prodio was often a trump card and a strong point in negotiations in automotive industry audits or other significant market players.

A perfect place to show correction measures

Instead of creating correction measures, especially for audits, add to Prodio updated manuals or photos of product defects and information about what should be double-checked during monitoring based on actual problems you encountered. As a result, you will improve true quality, lower the defect rate, and gain the auditor’s respect because of your right attitude to ISO 9001:2015 correction measures.

You don’t have to print paper production orders and working schedules

One of the essential elements of all quality systems (and quite correctly, because it’s one of the main points where complaints arise) is communication between production and the office – which means giving commands.

Practically speaking, all parameters are copied from one order to a production order and passed on to employees. Then, a catalogue with photocopies and drawings is ready to be taken to a production hall.

Once you use production management software, such as Prodio:

• You don’t have to supply any papers to the production – both order and product parameters are in the system.
• The employees always know what to do – not only do they have to look into documentation, but your presence at the production hall is no longer necessary because the production plan is available online
• No more lost orders and technical drawings at the production hall.

Additional application of this solution :

Add permanently quality control procedures and additional manuals to machines and operations on the production plan.

Instead of putting documents that each employee should know or necessary manuals (ex. machine maintenance) at the production hall, you can permanently add them to the production plan as lines attached to particular machines or operations to eliminate paper documents.

Lower the number of mistakes at the production hall

We hope that so far, you visualize how different your production could be with fewer products wasted and mistaken orders avoided once the communication between employees and information flow was working efficiently. It’s true –  and as many companies indicate, the changes are immense and effects quite spectacular.

You can finally abandon the painstaking filling of work cards and orders at the production hall and increase productivity

Identification and traceability (possibility of recreating working history) are the basics of quality norms. There is a necessity for registering work by employees hence the overwhelming number of notebook pages, order cards, or registers full of signatures.

Once you use production planning software, such as Prodio:

• Instead of writing, it’s enough to use a key-fob and a reader, which replace a signature and employee ID.
• The whole working history is in the system – it’s created automatically once the active operations are registered by employees.
• Fast filtering and access to working history – it’s easy to find anything in the system, as the data is stored in the database, it takes only a few seconds, not hours, as before.
• You can control analyses and monitor efficiency in real-time – this allows you to improve production and find unprofitable orders.

Additional application of this solution

Normative requirements regarding monitoring and process analyses are met automatically.

You can quickly answer the auditor’s question about methods used for monitoring processes. With just a few clicks, you can give a satisfactory response, because you have full shop floor control.

Improved efficiency of your team

Using a computer or another tool that sums up real working time (not a piece of paper where anything can be written) improves work efficiency.

Get rid of all forms, which got on your nerves before each audit

Once you use production management software, such as Prodio:

• Ongoing production can be marked with barcoded order cards, printed directly from Prodio – it’s enough to add such cards to each pallet or package to see clearly what they contain and who they are for.
• Register incompatible products and assess your team from the point of product defectiveness – in Prodio, an employee gives the number of deficiencies and reasons.
• You have updated order statuses and dates of confirmed lead dates – it all goes through the list of orders you use daily. Hence it’s updated.
• You can use Prodio’s ID as a batch number or product ID number, which you can place, ex. on the boxes or qualitative documentation.
• Thanks to additional boxes during work registration, you can easily register a raw material batch number used for making the product. It can be handy for automotive industry companies.
• The complaints are added to the list of orders – thanks to that, you avoid the necessity of creating an additional list.

Additional application of this solution

Eliminate unnecessary procedures and limit documentation to a bare minimum

Practically speaking, the new norm ISO 9001:2015 allows for the replacement of written documents and procedures with algorithms and programs, which regulate the pace of work. There will be no more need for tons of paper documents that have to be updated manually – maybe except for some particularly sensitive documents that have to be stored this way.

Do you want to see how exactly Prodio can make managing your ISO 9001:2015 documentation easier but also boost your production efficiency? Then, how about scheduling a demo presentation or giving our free 14-day trial a test drive? Once your entire production data will be stored in the cloud, you’ll see that keeping ISO 9001:2015 compliance can really be a piece of cake.

Conclusion

Are you struggling with managing the compliance requirements at your production site? We’ve been there too. The good news are, you can now hand over most of the heavy lifting to our Prodio. The app will take care of updating the information inside the database and ensuring that all your employees can access the information whenever they need. Plus, creating reports for the compliance audits will also be much easier – Prodio can design those in seconds.  So why spend hours keeping track of your documentation and compliance requirements when Prodio can handle those for you?

ISO 9001:2015 system at production FAQ

What is ISO 9001? 

Answer: ISO 9001 is an internationally recognized standard for quality management systems. By passing the certification requirements, companies can prove that they can consistently provide products and services that meet customer and regulatory requirements.

How can a production management software streamline the ISO 9001 certification process? 

Production management software come with several features and functionalities that support the implementation and maintenance of a quality management system. It helps automate and streamline processes, maintain documentation, conduct internal audits, manage corrective actions, and facilitate management review, making it easier to meet the requirements of ISO 9001.

What are the key benefits of using a production management software for ISO 9001 requirements management? 

It simplifies the documentation and control of processes, facilitates compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements, enhances customer satisfaction through improved quality, supports continual improvement initiatives, and provides real-time visibility into the organization’s quality management system.

How does a production management software facilitate continual improvement, as required by ISO 9001?  

Such systems have several mechanisms through which they monitor and analyze quality performance data. It enables organizations to identify areas for improvement, track corrective and preventive actions, measure the effectiveness of implemented changes, and drive a culture of continuous improvement throughout the organization.

Can a production management software help in maintaining ISO 9001 certification? 

Definitely, as it comes with tools through which ongoing compliance monitoring and management system maintenance is made easier. It allows organizations to conduct internal audits, track non-conformances, manage corrective actions, and facilitate management reviews, ensuring that the quality management system remains effective and compliant with ISO 9001 requirements.

How does a production management software improve the efficiency of internal and external audits?

A production management software streamlines the internal and external audit process by centralizing documentation, automating audit scheduling, and facilitating the capture and tracking of audit findings. It provides a structured approach to conduct audits, enables real-time collaboration among audit teams, and ensures timely resolution of non-conformities, leading to more efficient and effective audit outcomes.

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