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AS9100 Manual from a consultant
A startup company formed to develop aviation parts hired someone to prepare an AS9100 manual. We now have the manual, but appears to have been simply adapted from another company. How do we know if the manual has any value for us?
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AS9100 DOCUMENTATION TOOLKIT
Step-by-step implementation for smaller companies.
Find out more 
AS9100 DOCUMENTATION TOOLKIT
Step-by-step implementation for smaller companies.
Find out more
AS9100 DOCUMENTATION TOOLKIT
Step-by-step implementation for smaller companies.
Find out more
Expert
Mark Hammar
Apr 11, 2018
Answer:
This is one of the problems with consultants that do not take into account the processes that are currently in the company hen they choose what to document on a QMS, does what is documented actually add value? There are a few things to consider now that you have the manual, even if it was adapted from another template manual:
- Do we actually do the things that the manual states?
- Does the manual add a necessary process that we did not have in place before?
If the answer to these are positive then the manual may be beneficial to you, on the other hand, if the manual:
- Has written detail that you do not do
- Has processes that are not required by your company, or AS9100 Rev D
- Is wordy or complex such that it will confuse your employees
If these are true then the manual is not only lacking in value , it is actually a problem since you will fail when your employees are audited against the manual. When you have a consultant working for you what you want is to ensure that what they write down is actually what you do so that people follow it.
For more on dealing with consultants there is a good checklist on 9001Academy that can help with choosing a consultant that is relevant to the AS9100 QMS: https://info.advisera.com/9001academy/free-download/list-of-questions-to-ask-an-iso-9001-consultant
This is one of the problems with consultants that do not take into account the processes that are currently in the company hen they choose what to document on a QMS, does what is documented actually add value? There are a few things to consider now that you have the manual, even if it was adapted from another template manual:
- Do we actually do the things that the manual states?
- Does the manual add a necessary process that we did not have in place before?
If the answer to these are positive then the manual may be beneficial to you, on the other hand, if the manual:
- Has written detail that you do not do
- Has processes that are not required by your company, or AS9100 Rev D
- Is wordy or complex such that it will confuse your employees
If these are true then the manual is not only lacking in value , it is actually a problem since you will fail when your employees are audited against the manual. When you have a consultant working for you what you want is to ensure that what they write down is actually what you do so that people follow it.
For more on dealing with consultants there is a good checklist on 9001Academy that can help with choosing a consultant that is relevant to the AS9100 QMS: https://info.advisera.com/9001academy/free-download/list-of-questions-to-ask-an-iso-9001-consultant
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Apr 11, 2018
Apr 11, 2018
Apr 11, 2018