As a QMB in industrial measurement technology, I experience again and again how companies fight with or against their own management systems. A good QM should not work against you.
There is diligently one system after another, e.g. DIN EN ISO 9001 as quality management, 14001 as Environmental Management, 45001 for the safety And, of course, the ISO/IEC 27001 on IT security implemented, continuous improvement processes (CIP) set up and in the end... well, in the end we have nice folders full of documents, but the reality on the shop floor looks quite different. Sounds familiar? Then you're in the right place.
The issue of ‘paper compliance’
You probably know this: There comes the audit, everyone rushes to finish their checklists, the documentation is quickly ‘pretended’ and after the successful certificate... everything runs again as before. This type of compliance may pass the audit, but the real benefit to your business? Misrepresentation.
KVP is a bottom-up approach that aims to increase the efficiency of business processes by involving all employees. This is where the key lies: ALL Employees, not just the management level or the QM team. It works just as little if it is dictated from above but the system itself is not simulated.
Why do so many implementations fail?
The main problem is usually that we forget who has to work with the system in the end: Your staff at the base. Welders, turners or milling cutters, measurement technicians, production managers – they are the ones who have to live with the new processes on a daily basis. If they don't understand, WHY Suddenly you have to fill out three additional forms, then you don't make any friends. Quite apart from the fact that only 3 additional documents besides the traceability probably nothing gets better.
The most common stumbling blocks:
1. Top-down without traction Management systems are developed in the ivory tower and then ‘prescribed from above’. You forget that employees could work independently in their departments and teams on ongoing improvements in their area of responsibility - if you let them.
2. Lack of communication of benefits "We need this for ISO" is not a motivation. Your people want to know how the system will make their day-to-day work easier.
3. Too much bureaucracy, too little practice Exaggeratedly, if three signatures are required for each move, then something is generally wrong.
CIP as the heart of living quality assurance
The continuous improvement process shouldn't just be another acronym in your QM manual. This method must be wanted and demanded by the company management and at best involve all employees in the implementation.
Here's how to get your CVP right:
Small steps, big impact Don't start the revolution of your entire production line right away. Start with the things that annoy your employees on a daily basis. The broken printer, the cumbersome job change, the illegible work instructions. Eliminating these small "annoyances" will directly build trust in the system.
Bottom-up instead of top-down Your employees know best where the shoe is pressing. Give them the tools and permission to initiate improvements themselves. A simple improvement proposal system, which is actually taken seriously in a timely manner, works wonders.
Creating Visible Achievements Make improvements visible! A board with "before/after" pictures, saved time or reduced error rates motivate immensely. A bonus can also be a great motivational boost to actively continue working on the CIP yourself.
One Very nice article on the subject You can also find it at qdsglobal.com if you want to read more about it. There is also a great description of the PDCA cycle, which we know in measurement technology as ‘measuring, controlling, regulating’.
IT as enabler, not as brake
Especially in industrial metrology, IT is often the key to success – or frustration. Modern quality assurance without digital support? Virtually impossible. But please don't make the mistake of making everything unnecessarily complicated.
IT integration with brains:
Automation of routine
Automatically recording measured values, visualising trends, immediately reporting exceedances of limit values - this is sensible digitalisation. But please do not have every move documented with a tablet, your employees will thank you if you take them off work or hate you if they also get an office job on top.
Mobile solutions
Your employees are mobile, so should your QM system. Rapid detection of deviations directly at the point of origin saves time and massively increases data quality. Ideally, the IT and QM also work hand in hand in such a way that the measuring room can be relieved and thus also the production gets the required information faster for adjustment or tool change. Win/win!
Integration instead of isolated solutions
Make sure your systems talk to each other. No one wants to type the same data into different systems three times. Industry 4.0, anyone? Be sure to get help directly from your IT instead of immediately yelling for external service providers, the girls and boys are happy if they can learn something new themselves.
Help instead of brake:
No remote access
You have a problem with a measuring device, but the IT specification generally does not allow any access from the outside? In the worst case, this means a standstill until the service technician arrives to look at the problem on site. Let IT establish secure access options in advance, which are then opened if necessary.
eMail access to the evaluation system
Your employees can clarify error messages or specific questions directly with the manufacturer or distributor of the measuring instrument, if either directly at the measuring station or at least within reach of a terminal with eMail is available. Even a simple contact option by phone to the right contact person can work wonders here.
Upload or download data
In industry (especially in the DACH area, according to my experience), there is hardly anything better secured than the possibility of getting data into a corporate network or out of the corporate network. In principle, there is nothing wrong with this until data is exchanged for troubleshooting purposes. Definitely establish functioning processes in advance, which saves you long-term headache pills.
Worst case: Responsible not reachable
Nothing is worse than when the one who is the only one with the ‘power’ to initiate a trial is just not in the house. Such single point of failure are simply things that must not happen. In addition, no one wants to have to justify why parts of the production stood still over time XY. Provides n+1 redundancy!
ISO 9001 and ISO 27001: Strong together
ISO 27001 places a clear focus on IT security, while ISO 9001 is designed to improve quality at all levels. So each of these systems has its specific focus, but that doesn't mean they need to be looked at separately.
Exploit synergies:
Joint risk assessment Both standards require risk management. Why not merge? Quality risks and IT security risks are often closely related.
Uniform document structure With the high-level structure of ISO standards, you can elegantly integrate both systems instead of building two parallel bureaucracies.
Joint audits Internal audits, which cover both standards, also save you time and resources in the long term.
Practical tip: How to pick up your employees – concrete implementation
1. Honest communication – the kick-off that arrives
The minimum: Instead of "We need ISO 9001 for our customers", says: “We want to spend less time looking for mistakes and more time on the actual work.”
Best practice example: Organise a kick-off event entitled ‘What annoys you every day?’. Collects concrete annoyances such as:
- ‘Measurement point 3 is always untidy’
- “We never know which calibration is up-to-date”
- ‘When changing shifts, information is always missing’
The objective: Every employee should understand: ‘The QMS solves MY daily problems, not just those of the management.’
Measurable success: After three months, 80% at least one specific benefit of the new system can be identified by the workforce.
2. Practical training – real-life learning
The minimum: Use your own workstations, meters, and actual problems instead of PowerPoint slides.
Best practice example – The “5-minute training”:
- Take a specific problem: ‘Measuring instrument XY shows implausible values’
- Goes through together: How do I identify the problem? Where do I document it? Who do I inform?
- Let employees try it right away at their workplace
- Next week: Follow-up with the same team – "What has happened since last week?"
Concrete training content for measurement technology:
- Instead of: ‘ISO 9001 requires calibrations’
- Better: ‘Look, you can see from our calibration label whether the meter is still okay. And here you type it into the system – it takes 30 seconds.”
The objective: Each training participant can complete at least one task from their daily work with the new system after the training.
Measurable success: Modern training methods and practical examples help to effectively put what you have learned into practice – check this with concrete tasks 2 weeks after the training.
3. Creating Quick Wins - Visible Achievements in the First 30 Days
The minimum: An improvement per month that everyone can see and ‘touch’.
Best practice examples from measurement technology:
Quick Win 1 – End the “measuring instrument chaos”:
- Previously: Measuring instruments are all around, calibration dates are unclear
- After: Each measuring station has an overview: ‘Which instrument for which measurement + calibration date’
- Time required: 2 weeks
- Visible benefits: “I immediately find the right meter and know it is calibrated”
Quick Win 2 – The “Interface Info”:
- Problem: Employees travel too long distances between departments, warehouses and workplaces
- Solution: A simple board with ‘Who is doing what in which shift?’
- Benefits: Fewer demands, fewer waiting times
Quick Win 3 – The ‘error tracker’:
- Previously: Complaints disappear in email chaos
- After: Simple panel “Resolved this week” with before/after photos
- Psychological effect: Successes become visible, team feeling emerges
The objective: In the first 90 days, at least 3 visible improvements should be implemented, which directly facilitate the daily work.
4. Establishing a feedback culture – Criticism as a driver for improvement
The minimum: A fixed date per month where everyone can say what is not working – without consequences.
Best Practice – The "Mecker Board" (not negative):
- Whiteboard in the break room: “What's not going well yet?”
- Rule: Anyone can write down problems anonymously.
- Commitment: Within 2 weeks there will be a response or solution
- Transparency: Solved problems are marked green, unresolved ones remain red
Concrete examples of successful critique culture:
- Employee complains: "The new test protocol takes too long"
- Wrong reaction: “This is what we need for the standard”
- Correct response: “Show me where exactly it hangs. Can we do it digitally?”
CIP rounds with system: CIP rounds enable the workforce to address ideas and suggestions for improvement without great effort
- Weekly: 15 minutes per team
- Rule: At least one improvement proposal will be discussed
- Follow-up: What happened to last week's proposal?
The objective: Employees are often best placed to identify and implement potential for improvement – systematically using this knowledge.
Measurable success: For example, three improvement proposals should be received per month, at least one of which will also be implemented.
5. Show leadership – Credibility through action
The minimum: Management uses the same tools and processes as everyone else.
Best practice examples:
The boss with the tablet: If you introduce a digital system for deviations, then the managing director (or QMB) must also have the tablet with him during his tour and enter his observations. Nothing demotivates more than a boss who says “This is us important”, but does not participate.
Management review as an open book:
- Standard: Closed management meeting on QMS key figures
- Better: Quarterly presentation for all employees: “We have achieved this, these are our goals, we need you for that”
- Specifically: Shows real figures – complaints, lead times, customer satisfaction
The ‘management audit’: Let your employees audit you!
- Question: “Does our management follow the same rules as you?”
- Specifically: Leader can be shown how to submit a proposal for improvement – and then submit one himself
The objective: Leadership is perceived as authentic, not as ‘preaching water, drinking wine’.
Measurable success: In anonymous employee surveys, at least 70% confirm: “Our leadership works with the same processes as we do.”
Measuring technology-specific challenges
In industrial measurement technology, we have special requirements:
Measuring equipment management
The standard requires measuring equipment to be calibrated or verified at specified intervals and documented. This must be done against international or national measurement standards, usually via DAkkS or meanwhile DKD / PTB certified calibration laboratories to ensure traceability.
Traceability
Every measurement must be comprehensible. The system shall automatically record calibrations, environmental conditions and operators.
Measuring force management
Who used which measuring device when? A good system makes this transparent without hindering the work.
Statistical approach
MSA (Measurement System Analysis) and SPC (Statistical Process Control) are not ends in themselves, but tools for process improvement.
Measuring success: How do you recognize a living QMS?
A functioning quality management system recognizes that:
- Employees voluntarily submit suggestions for improvement
- Discrepancies are communicated openly, without fear of ‘punishment’
- Processes can be lived without auditing
- The management regularly asks about the system and shows interest
- Measurable improvements emerge (less complaints, shorter lead times, higher customer satisfaction)
Conclusion: Quality as a mindset, not a mandatory program
At the end of the day, quality assurance is a matter of corporate culture. You can have the best ISO certification in the world – if your employees aren't behind it, it's not worth the paper it's printed on.
As a QMB, make it your mission to create not only auditor-compliant systems, but systems that help your employees do better work. Systems that solve problems rather than create new ones. Systems that are alive and evolving with the company.
In the end, we all want the same thing: Products and services we are proud of, satisfied customers and a working environment where improvement feels natural.
This article reflects my personal experience as a QMB in industrial metrology. Every company is different – but the basic principles of an employee-focused QMS apply everywhere.
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