Blog

I read a couple of books recently that demonstrate the importance of a major skill in management.  The books were: “Mud, Sweat and Tears” by Bear Grylls and “If Chins could Kill!” by Bruce Campbell (Google them if you are unsure as to their identities).  Not exactly standard management texts you’d think, but you’d be … Continue reading “Bear and Bruce”

Over summer, I attended an IRCA (International Register of Certificated Auditors) registered ISO 9001 Lead Auditor course run in Manchester by ISOQAR.  I did an Auditor course in the mid-1990s, when I was a paternity tester in central London, but that certification had expired (well before the end of the last millennium, in fact!) and … Continue reading “I’d Forgotten How Difficult Written Exams Were…part 1”

A few years ago, I was working with a high-tech equipment company, let’s call them Hightech Ltd that maintained a large team of highly-trained engineers to service and maintain their equipment throughout the UK.  The team worked hard with long hours and lots of travelling required.  Although Hightech Ltd is publicly-listed and successful, the engineers’ … Continue reading “Treating the symptom not the cause usually fails”

Following on from my last blog, if a proposed action will affect the integrity of your management system, then it is a corrective or preventative action.  Now, all we have to do is determine which action type of action is being implemented: corrective or preventative? As mentioned previously, this is fairly straightforward and recognising what … Continue reading “Choosing which action is required: Corrective or Preventative”

Some of you might be aware that three of the most widely used International Management System Standards are changing (see Flintloque’s newsletter from November 2014).  ISO 9001: Quality Management, ISO 14001: Environmental Management and OHSAS 18001: Health and Safety Management, are all being revised and changed structurally, so that they can more easily be implemented … Continue reading “Looking forward to the transition”

Periodically, I am asked about the difference between ‘Agreed Action’, ‘Corrective Action’ and ‘Preventative Action’, and how one differentiates between them.  A spate of these questions during recent Flintloque Management System’s installations has prompted me to do some serious thinking about the concepts involved. Normally, when explaining the difference between agreed action and corrective and … Continue reading “Corrective and Preventative Actions”

Since founding Flintloque in 2005, we’ve developed a number of learning tools to help organisations to implement a variety of management systems (e.g., quality, environmental, medical devices, business relationships, etc.), in accordance with International Standards.  One of our main learning tools is ‘The Five Pillars’ concept.  Now, obviously, the idea of having ‘Five Pillars’ as … Continue reading “The Five Pillars of…”

Those of you that know me will be aware that I am really enthusiastic about what it is that I do. Now, I admit that I’m lucky and I love my job, but you don’t have to be so far into what it is you are doing that you have disappeared into your own navel … Continue reading “Enthusiasm is good”

Since last year, Flintloque, in conjunction with P&Q Consulting, has run Masterclasses on ‘Successful Business Relationships’ in Manchester, Liverpool and Daresbury.  This one-day workshop is based on the relatively new management system standard, BS 11000: Collaborative business relationships.  Given that I have over 20 years’ experience in the implementation of a variety of management systems, … Continue reading “Flintloque’s ‘Successful Business Relationships’ Masterclass”

As I said in last month’s newsletter, I have found that the efficiency of management communication within an organisation is a very good indicator of the general health of the management system, and by inference, the competence of the managers therein. Good managers communicate well; poor managers don’t. It’s really that simple. So, what’s the … Continue reading “The first recourse of the scoundrel…”