Art of Innovation

1. Make meaning, not money. Entrepreneurs should focus on making their product or service mean something beyond the sum of its components—and the money may very well follow.
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2. Make a mantra, not a mission statement. Bland, generic company mission statements serve no one. Nike stands for “authentic athletic performance.” FedEx is about “peace of mind.” Explain why your organization exists and how it meets customers’ needs and desires.
3. Jump curves. Innovating is harder than just stay­ing a little bit ahead of competitors on the same curve. Most organizations define themselves in terms of what they do instead of thinking ‘what benefit do we provide the customer?’ True innova­tion comes when you jump curves, not when you duke it out for 10% or 15% better.
4. In product design, “roll the DICEE.” Deep (think­ing about features that go beyond the norm), Intelli­gence, Complete (not just a product, but also sup­port and service), Elegance, Emotive (products that generate strong emotions).
5. Don't worry, be “crappy”. Your innovation can have elements of flaws and does not need to wait.
6. Polarize people. If you try to be all things to all people, you often ship mediocrity,
7.Let 100 flowers blossom. Innovations may attract unexpected and unintended customers. Learn who’s buying your product, ask them why and give them more reasons. That’s a lot easier than asking people who aren’t interested ‘why not,’ and trying to change their minds.
8. Churn. Always improve. Listen to customers for ideas.
9. Niche yourself. Find your place. High value, unique products and services is where meaning is made, it’s where money is made, it’s where history is made.
10.Follow the 10-20-30 rule when presenting the idea. That means no more than 10 PowerPoint slides, a limit of 20 minutes for the pitch, and using a 30-point font size in the presentation.
- Abridged from an article “Ten Commandments from En­trepreneurial ‘Evangelist’ Guy Kawasaki” in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, from a talk delivered at the Pennsylvania Technology Conference.

Talk on Short Notice

A well-prepared presentation is possible at the last minute. It only takes a little practice. These principles can be applied whether you are speaking informally to five people or giving a formal speech to 50.
Impromptu vs. Unprepared Presentations
Impromptu presentations do not mean you do not prepare. Think through the following key points as well as how to best communicate what is necessary for the requested presentation.
A lesson taught early in presentation skills courses is to “treasure the threes,” which means create a presentation structure that has three main components: an opening, a body, and a closing. If you can manage those three, your presentation will be organized every time.
Getting Off On The Right Foot
An attention-grabbing opening is not difficult to develop. On short notice, no one expects you to be witty or humorous because last-minute presenters are usually expected to address a specific issue or concern.
Grab your listeners’ attention by beginning with the issue you are there to speak on. This can be done by asking a question that reflects back to the topic. For example, if you are asked to present the status of a project, begin your presentation with the question, “One of our current projects is Project X. Just where do we currently stand right with Project X and are we on track for our end goal?” This is exactly what everyone in the room is there to find out so you immediately have their attention.
Keep It Going
The body of your presentation – whether it’s five or 50 minutes – should then answer the question posed in your opening. You are giving valuable information to the attendees and you have their attention.
Plan to cover no more than three points in the body of your presentation. People best retain up to three pieces of information so list those three project points to the group up front. For example: this is where we stand, these are our budget concerns and this is the proposed process we are implementing to move the project forward.
Next, tell them in broader detail what you just outlined. If you are up-to-date with your project, you should already know this information and can expand upon it. The last statement in the body of your speech should then summarize the three points you just explained. You could say, “In summary, where things stand include Points One, Two, and Three. And we will overcome these concerns and move the project forward by doing actions a, b, and c”.
A powerful closing statement might start by addressing the opening question. This brings the presentation full circle and sums up why everyone has been listening. Then ask whether you have answered all concerns and field questions. Finish your presentation by calling the group to action or reaffirming everyone’s commitment to the project. Examples might include, “With the status I have just presented, I ask that you continue your commitment to move forward with the project”, or “With the concerns I have addressed, I ask that you commit another person to the task at hand.” These steps will reaffirm the commitment of the group members.
Public Speaking on Short Notice
If you burn this basic presentation structure into your mind, when called upon, you will be able to create a well-prepared impromptu presentation. You can apply this structure to almost any talk you give. To reiterate:
Remember the rule of threes – people remember threes best.
Follow a structure that includes an attention-getting opening that reflects the issue you’ve been asked to present; a body with no more than three points; and a closing that reaffirms, motivates, or calls to action.
Presenting on short notice is a strong, career-building skill.
- From an article titled “On Short Notice: How to Give Powerful Presentations When You Have Little Time to Prepare” in HR.com by Sylvia Henderson, who conducts experiential programs for people who want to communicate more clearly to achieve personal and more professional success. Refer www.SpringboardTraining.com.

Energy Saving

Synchronous belts save energy in HVAC
Reichhold Inc. is a global supplier to the composites and coatings industries, with 18 manufacturing facilities in 11 countries. Its facility in Durham, N.C., was spending about $80,000 per month in energy costs to operate this equipment during the summer.
The Company approached Gates Corp., maker of industrial power transmission belt drive systems, to survey the plant for potential energy savings. Gates found that there were 21 HVAC units with 30 hp motors, 44 fume hood exhaust fans with 5 hp to 10 hp motors, and four cooling tower fan drives with 50 hp motors, all V-belt-driven.
The Gates representative recommended purchasing two tools to accurately align and tension the belt drives: a laser alignment device and a sonic tension meter. When properly aligned and tensioned, a new V-belt drive operates at 98% efficiency. Mis-alignment of the pulleys and improper belt tension can cause efficiency to drop below 90%, wasting energy and shortening the life of the drive. By implementing these simple procedures, the Reichhold plant saved $60,000 in energy the first year.
As a second step, the Gates analyzed the existing belt drives on each piece of equipment. They performed the analysis using a belt-drive selection tool called Design Flex Pro, a free software program. In addition to designing belt drives, the program determines proper belt installation tension, calculates belt pull, determines the belt horsepower capacity, and estimates the energy savings of a synchronous belt drive over a V-belt drive.
The Reichhold facility had four cooling tower fan drives, each fitted with six-strand V-belts. With the motors running at 100% capacity, the drives were generating 26 hp. The software analysis recommended conversion to a 14-mm Gates synchronous Poly Chain GT Carbon belt drive.
Initially, only one of the fan drives was converted so results could be compared. With the motor operating at 100% capacity (60 Hz), the synchronous belt drive generated nearly twice the horsepower (51 hp versus 26 hp for the V-belt drive). This greater efficiency allowed the plant to operate the motor at 80% capacity (48 Hz) and still achieve the desired horsepower. With the motor drawing 20% less power to achieve the same result, energy costs were reduced. Estimated yearly cost savings is $12,595 by converting all four fans, including reduced downtime and maintenance costs.
A similar approach with the HVAC drive units and rooftop exhaust fans gave estimated savings of $10,608 and $11,000 per year respectively, for a total of more than $34,000 per year in reduced energy costs. In addition, the synchronous belts will run for years without re-tensioning or replacement, saving additional downtime and maintenance costs.-

Ref: www.plantservices.com/bestpractices

Cutting costs without affecting employees

The retrenchment saga has unveiled the inventive side of the Indian firms with each of them designing innovative ways to cut cost without affecting the employees and clients.
To cut on electricity bills Kotak Mahindra Bank introduced the 'Kill Bill' campaign under which air-conditioners are set at a particular temperature and computer monitors are asked to be switched off when not in use. For the successful utilization of the campaign, posters elaborating the importance of it are displayed in conference rooms and at various entry and exit points of the company. SBI has begun using the e-mail instead of posts to reduce costs. The bank lures its customers to go for online transaction, by offering reward points to those who use the electronic system. Thus, through each customer, who agrees to follow the practice, the bank saves Rs.40. Taking a cue from SBI, HDFC Securities too is looking at pruning costs sending a welcome kit for every new broking account through mail, instead of courier. The brokerage firm can make a monthly saving of six lakh rupees by following this practice.
Other broking firms are e-mailing contract notes with the consent of their clients, instead of printing and couriering it, saving Rs.20 per contract. Typically, large brokerage houses dispatch a minimum of 5,000 such contracts on any trading day. Another instance is cutting on colored printouts by a foreign investment bank, which used to take 1,000 such everyday, but has now brought it down to 100. This allows it to save Rs.12 lakh annually.

- Condensed from Silicon India’s SI Dailydose [dailydose@sidailydose.com]

OHSAS 18001

Occupational Health and safety assessment Specifi­cation (OHSAS) is an international standard giving requirements related to health and safety management systems in order to enable an organization to control its risks and improve its performance.
Benefits of OHSAS:
Improves your safety culture
Improved efficiency and consequently reduce acci­dent and production time loss
Increased control of hazards and the reduction of risks through devolved responsibility
Demonstrates legal compliance
Increases your reputation for safety and occupational health
Reduces insurance premiums
Is an integral part of a sustainability strategy
Demonstrates your commitment to the protection of staff, property and plant
Encourages more effective internal and external communication
Is a “Business to business contract winner.”
Elements of the OHSAS 18001 standard are:
■ OH&S Policy ■ Planning for Hazard identifica­tion, Risk Assessment and Risk Control ■ Legal and Other Requirements ■ Objectives ■ OH&S Manage­ment Programs ■ Structure and Responsibilities ■ Training, Awareness and Competence ■ Consultation and Communication ■ Documentation ■ Document and Data Control ■ Operational control ■ Emergency Preparedness and Response ■ Performance Measure­ment and Monitoring ■ Accidents, Incidents, Nonconfor­mances and Corrective and Preventive Ac­tion ■ Records and Records Management ■ Audit ■ Management Review.
OHSAS is a systematic practice of identifying poten­tial for loss, assessing the risks, making decisions on appropriate controls, implementing and then monitor­ing the system to control the loss.
How to implement OHSAS
Identify all loss exposure
Evaluate the risk
Develop a plan
Implement the plan
Monitor the system
Identification of loss exposures is helped by
Review of past incidents, including accident investiga­tion work
Brain storming and Task Observation
Checklists
List of hazardous material and processes
Three variables used in the risk evaluation:
Severity - if the exposure were to result in a loss, how severe is the loss likely to be?
Frequency - how often are people, equipment, materi­als, or the environment exposed to the risk?
Probability - considering all pertinent factors, how likely is the loss to occur?
To develop a plan, we have four alternatives:
Termination - Termination of the risk is generally the preferred option
Treatment - Many hazards can be treated to reduce the inherent risk.
Toleration - Either we treat risk in order that it may be brought down to a tolerable level; or the risk does not warrant any treatment at all.
Transfer - Even with the best means of treatment, we may find that we are still liable for consider­able financial risk. Insurance is one way to transfer some risk, but in so doing we do not transfer all fi­nancial and legal liabilities and accountabilities. An­other option is to transfer risk through contracted agreements.
The implementation of the plan involves key aspects of performance management such as goals - objec­tives - responsibilities - accountability - follow-through. Implementation is facilitated by applying proven management principles and tech­niques for success.
Monitoring the plan needs us to measure, evaluate, commend and correct individual, group and organ­izational performance.
- From “An Introduction to OHSAS 18001” by Jentek and http://www.nimbuscertifications.com/services.html?gclid=CJCq27Oi1pgCFQLMbgodXV7odQ

Effective Internal Quality Audits

The following are some of the most common pitfalls to ineffective internal auditing deployment:
Pitfall No. 1: Not basing audits on status and importance of the auditee department.
Status and importance can be interpreted differently, but their intent is often misunderstood.
Status can be defined as how a particular department, discipline, facility, or process is performing against established policies, goals, objectives, and expectations. Some questions to ask when considering status include:
What are the performance indicators for an area, group, or department reflecting?
What does the performance history indicate?
Have these indicators been the result of root cause corrective actions? Are they recurring?
Have there been changes in process, equipment, personnel, or management?
Has the area or department been restructured or reorganized?
If the performance history of a given department, process, or group is meeting established expectations, then its status can be considered healthy. Remember, everything needs to be considered on a case-by-case basis, according to the size and type of the organization. The management representative or the process owner of internal audits ultimately makes that determination.
Importance is an entirely different aspect, yet it is still directly linked to status. Assume that those performing a final inspection process have found no nonconforming product, and the goals and objectives of the process are consistently meeting expectations. Therefore, one could ascertain that the status of the final inspection process is operating as expected and all is well. If nonconforming product is distributed, the customer is the next in line to receive it. The importance is with respect to the power to produce an effect—nonconforming products will not ship out.
Therefore, concentrate on the areas that are critical (importance). Increase the internal audit focus on areas that are the root cause or otherwise not performing to expectation (status). This is especially true when companies implement new departments, processes, or initiatives (i.e., lean manufacturing, Six Sigma projects, etc.). During these situations, time is usually a major concern to get things operating as soon as possible. Then it's the auditing of the general implementation and functionality of the new system, area, or process that becomes an importance. (Its status will unfold, as it’s monitored and measured.)
When scheduling internal audits, consider other aspects such as:
What’s been the past performance history?
Are there new employees, equipment, or management?
How effective is the training system?
What do past audit results indicate?
How critical is that area?
Truly effective audit schedules concentrate on potential, not just obvious, shortcomings or weaknesses. Utilizing control plans along with related design or process failure, mode, effect, analysis (FMEA) can also be helpful as a guide to aid in identifying critical areas. The key is to focus the audit schedule on the areas that are or could potentially be a root cause for nonconforming situations as well as areas critical for maintaining product conformity.
The audit schedule is a living document and should be revised as appropriate. The individual responsible for scheduling audits should be fully aware of management review output data; customer, internal, and supplier concerns; and organizational infrastructure changes.
Pitfall No. 2: Ineffective internal audit scheduling. If status and importance aren’t properly understood, then this pitfall is sure to follow.
Audit schedules must reflect the reality of the QMS. A third-party auditor expects to see an internal audit schedule that reacts to the organization’s key performance indicators.
In reference to status and importance, processes that fall below expectations must receive internal audit attention. Processes that meet or exceed expectations do not necessitate audit focus.
When a third-party auditor examines an audit schedule that never changes, is never revised, that neatly lists each process just once with all processes given equal weight, that appears more like a decorative pattern on a calendar rather than a thought-out living document. This is a clue that the internal audit process is probably not understood and not being utilized to its fullest potential.
Perhaps, the worst practice is when a company takes the "granddaddy" audit approach. This tactic generally involves scheduling a full-system audit of the entire QMS just once or twice a year. There is so much ineffectiveness and inefficiency with this practice that it’s easier to just list the few positive aspects. Besides the fact that there is virtually no consideration given to status and importance, this practice of infrequent internal audits is also statistically unsound. It’s not possible for management to conduct an effective management review of the QMS based on the sample of one or two grand-system audits. Conducting only two full-system audits is the equivalent to sitting down at Thanksgiving, eating the entire meal, and then not eating again until Memorial Day. No one, of course, could eat just two huge meals twice in one year and expect to be suitably nourished. It’s the same when developing the internal audit schedule. Audits should be spread out so that audit activity is “digestible” to the organization, not overwhelming it.
Full-system audits pose other problems as well. It absolutely places strain on all resources involved—auditors and audited alike—and it’s also a major disruption to the operation. When such an endeavor is undertaken, the focus of the audit tends to lose itself under the enormity of the task. Full-system audits don’t allow the auditor to concentrate on the specific aspects of the process. The scope of a full-system audit is so wide that inconspicuous and subtle nonconformances may exist and be easily overlooked.
When developing the audit schedule, consider the following:
Focus on the “climate” changes within the QMS (i.e., keep abreast of customer feedback, new employees, new equipment or processes, quality initiatives, new departments, root cause areas of concern, etc.).
Try short-duration, highly-concentrated audits in lieu of long, drawn-out audits where focus is prone to be lost. Consider weekly audits (for 30 to 60 minutes) instead of auditing on a monthly or quarterly basis. This method is much easier to manage, takes less time, increases focus, and is much less disruptive.
Utilize a wide variety of trained internal auditors. In fact, some of the best auditors are new employees or the employees that have no clue of the area, function, or process that they are auditing. These individuals ask simple, childlike questions and aren’t satisfied until they understand the answers provided. These are the types of auditors that ask the “why?” question at least five times, which almost always leads to revealing the underlying root causes.
Use a checklist only as a guide and ensure it’s based on a process approach. Otherwise, if the checklist becomes the basis of the audit, it can become stale in a short period of time. Admittedly, checklists are great for first-time auditors to generate an audit trail. Just be careful not to rely on them solely, as they tend to keep the blinders on and generally don’t allow the auditor to think outside of the box.
Rotate auditors to keep the system fresh. Spread them around. Take advantage of new thoughts, perspectives, and ideas. Share the audit results with the entire organization as a lessons-learned exercise; one person’s corrective action could be someone else’s preventive action.
Consider scheduling additional activities such as corrective action effectiveness validation, customer web site examination (to ensure customer-specific requirements are current), and assessing company statutory/regulatory requirements, if applicable.
Pitfall No. 3: Internal auditors not effectively utilized
Auditing is an acquired skill just like playing a musical instrument, cooking, or playing golf. Simply put, the more one audits, the better and more comfortable they become with the auditing process. Honed auditing skills shortly follow. It’s a wasted opportunity when a company invests time and money to train their audit team and yet uses them on a minimal basis.
Consequently, it’s also equally beneficial for the audited to be engaged in the audit process as well. The more one is exposed to the auditing process, the less intrusive and threatening the process becomes.
Pitfall No. 4: The internal audit and the corrective action process are not timely.
Many audit schedules I’ve assessed allow the internal audit team a wide time allowance to complete a scheduled audit. Typically, if an auditor is given a month to complete an audit, then it will be a month (or more) before that audit is complete. You know the saying, “Give an inch, take a mile.”
Effective audits are scheduled to take place during specific days and conclude within specific weeks, at most. Any time extension only dilutes the effectiveness and importance of the system. Even worse, when corrective action responses are equally relaxed, the timeframe between initial audit schedule, deployment, finding and response can be spread out so far that the audit’s effect is completely nullified.
Pitfall No. 5: Internal audits don’t reflect a process-based approach.
When ISO 9001 was released, there was much emphasis placed on the requirement for conducting audits using the process approach. This requirement’s original intent was to focus the audit on assessing process effectiveness (including interface activities with other processes). This was a departure from focusing solely on element/clause compliance.
Unlike third-party auditors, many companies didn’t pursue formal ISO 9001 training and hence never fully grasped the intent nor understood process-based approach auditing. In fact, some companies still don’t fully understand their process inputs and outputs, process sequences and interfaces, and process monitoring and measuring. As a result, this has created a disconnection between the third-party auditor and the organization. Organizations that are still struggling with the process-approach concept are highly encouraged to pursue formal training or consulting assistance.
The bottom line is that internal auditing is a cornerstone of the QMS—a vital tool to identify and improve the effectiveness of the QMS. With the advent of the process-based approach to auditing and process-layered audits, its value and importance has been significantly raised. Management reviews simply cannot be effective without effective internal auditing and reporting.
The pitfalls mentioned in this article represent only some, not all, ineffective auditing practices. If an internal audit system is disciplined to the point that it’s supported by senior management, carried out as scheduled, and coupled with effective corrective and preventive action in a timely manner (as required by the standard), then the benefits will justly be realized—through continual improvement and customer satisfaction.

- Richard Strouse in Quality Digst article “Improving the Effectiveness of Internal Auditing”

Risk Management

What is risk? : Risk of something happening that will have an effect on objectives; measured in terms of consequences and likelihood (AS/NZS 4360:1999—“Risk Management,”)
What is risk management? : It is the culture, processes, and structures that are directed toward the effective management of potential opportunities and adverse effects.
Examples of risk managementCompetition forces companies to develop products faster as markets become specialized and customers demand more. Companies realize that they can’t keep pace with customer demands, so they rely on suppliers to design new marketplace offerings to improve their products. Collaborations become more critical, and product-timing risks increase. If products reach the market too early, there is insufficient demand; if too late, the crucial buy window is missed.
Much like The Boeing Co., which adopted a business model that emphasizes outsourcing and supply management. The model is: Design the core product, outsource the core assembly (up to 85% of manufacturing dollars), assemble the complete product, test the product to ensure compliance, and then manage the Boeing brand. But Boeing didn’t anticipate the risks involving its fastener supplier, which delayed the 787’s market introduction by many months.
U.S. Homeland Security would like womb-to-tomb traceability of shipments based on source and product risks. Incoming shipments can be a terrorist vector or delivery mechanism for chemical, biological, high-explosive, radiological, and nuclear terrorism. The federal government is moving rapidly toward supply chain security using Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism compliance audits, 100-percent container inspection, radio frequency tagging of containers, issuance of biometric IDs to port workers, supplier profiling, and fewer “less than truckload” shipments. These change the just-in-time supply chain model to a ‘just-in-case’ risk model.
Product development is a global activity. Automobiles may be designed in Los Angeles and assembled in Ohio from parts manufactured throughout the world. Managing worldwide, disparate suppliers requires project risk management. It is the ability to anticipate project problems and obstacles that may hinder the project from achieving objectives within cost, schedule, and quality constraints.
The risks represented by imported products and food are now issues of public safety and homeland security. It is proposed to improve the safety of imported products by focusing on preventing nonconformances and controlling risks. You can’t inspect all incoming goods to protect consumers from possible harm. One system is, the government would collect the data, identify safety hazards along the entire life cycle of imported products, and manage risks proactively and preventively. The change from an inspection-focused strategy to a risk-based approach emphasizes prevention with verification and validation.
Risk management standards and modelsISO is developing ISO/DIS 31000--”Risk management--Principles and guidelines on implementation.” The critical elements of the standard are:
• Risk identification. Identifies the sources of risk, risk events, and their potential consequences
• Risk analysis. Analyzes the causes and source of the risks and the likelihood that they will occur
• Risk evaluation. Determines whether risks need to be addressed and treated
• Risk treatment. Determines strategies and tactics to mitigate or control risks
ASME ITI has developed Risk Analyses and Management for Critical Asset Protection (RAMCAP) for the U.S. Homeland Security as a guidance document for assessing risk analysis and risk management for critical infrastructure assets.
Advantages of risk-based decision makingAn interesting management phenomenon occurred during the last decade. Approximately 10 years ago, quality was the critical filter in high-level management decision-making. Then it evolved to price, which led to the global rush to find offshore suppliers and eventually to massive outsourcing. Price evolved into the total cost of ownership, and quality became a less compelling issue to senior management.
So, what’s the primary filter for senior management decision making now? Risk management. Why is risk management so critical these days? Four reasons:
• Risk is inherent in globalization and outsourcing.
• Executives don’t want to be blindsided, and they feel uncomfortable with uncertainty.
• Executives want to manage outcomes and stakeholder expectations.
• Bottom line: Risk management is preventive and predictive, not reactive.
- From “Risk Management- The Future of Quality” by Greg Hutchins (www.qualityplusengineering.com) in Quality Digest

ISO 9001:2008 - What’s New?

This ‘fourth edition’ of the Standard was released on the 15th November 2008. It is not a revision but it only introduces amendments, clarifications and some additional ‘Notes’. It also aims to increase compatibility with ISO 14001:2004.
While there are many cosmetic changes and those based on semantics, here is an abbreviated list of the notable differences between the 2000 and 2008 versions:
1. Cl 1.1: The definition of the term ‘Product’ now includes also ‘any intended output resulting from the product realization process’.
2. Cl 4.1 : There are a number of additional requirements as regards outsourced processes. One is, ‘The type and extent of control to be applied to these outsourced processes shall be defined within the quality management system’. The meaning of ‘outsourced product’ is now made clear as a process that is needed for the QMS (specially with respect to Cls. 7.2.1 and 7.4) but is chosen to be performed by an external agency. An additional note makes it clear that outsourcing will not absolve the company of the responsibility for conformity to requirements. The note also covers how the company can decide on the extent of control to be exercised on the BPO. For greater ‘officail’ clarification on the term ‘outsourced processes’, see the ISO site at: http://isotc.iso.org/livelink/livelink/3553354/Outsourced.doc?func=doc.Fetch&nodeid =3553354
3. Cl 4.2.1 : It is now made very clear that records also are treated as documents and you determine which records are necessary for effective planning, operation and control of your processes.
4. Cl 4.2.3 : Now you need to determine which of the external documents are necessary for the planning and operation of the QMS and control their distribution. This eliminates the earlier vagueness on this subject.
5. Cl 4.2.4 : This again emphasizes that Records also must be controlled.
6. Cl 7.5.3 : While the 2000 version mentioned that the product status shall be identified with respect to monitoring and measurement requirements, now it is made clear that this applies throughout the product realization.
7. Cl 7.6 : In the 2000 version, there was a note which suggested seeing ISO 10012 parts 1 & 2 (QA systems for measuring equipments) for reference; this note is now removed. Instead, a note is added suggesting that the suitability of computer software may be checked by verification and by configuration management.
8. Cl 8.2.1 : The 2000 version states only that the method of obtaining customer perception ‘shall be determined’. Now a new note points out that this can be done through Customer Satisfaction surveys, customer data on product quality, user opinion survey, lost business analysis, compliments, warranty claims and dealer reports.
9. Cl 8.2.3 : A change has been now made to show that correction and corrective action to meet the planned results of the QMS are not just for the product conformity but cover the system conformity. And a Note is added to say that the type and extent of measurements could be based on the nature of the process impacting on the product and the QMS.
10. 8.5.2 & 8.5.3 : Now it is not sufficient to only ‘review’ the corrective and preventive actions but you have to review their effectiveness.
It is worthwhile noting that the certification to ISO 9001:2000 will be valid till 14th November 2010; but all recertifications and new certifications will be only to the 2008 version from November 2009. You can get your certifying body to audit you to the 2008 edition during the forthcoming surveillance audit itself.

- Ref: Annexure B of ISO 9001:2008