Worldwide Quality Network, Inc. (WQN) is not just another consulting firm offering solutions to quality issues. WQN is on the cutting edge in offering new solutions to the same old problems. In fact, we are very proud to have participated on the committee to draft the nation's first ever National Hurricane Standard for disaster preparedness. We have also written a "west coast" version for disaster preparedness including earthquake, fire storm, and tsunamis. Both standards are available on our shopping cart for a nominal fee. A small price to pay to save countless dollars in down time not to mention the potential for saving lives and eventually (we hope) saving on your insurance premiums.

One of the other solutions to prepare for disasters and maintain business continuity is to also implement a quality or business management system (QMS/BMS) such as ISO 9000 for most organizations. There seems to be a great deal of misinformation out there on the subject primarily becasuse of the word "quality". Notice that we are now calling this a "business management system" as this is the best way to control and document your internal processes. For owners and top management - this is the BEST way to get the procedures out of the heads of your long term, experienced employees and put down on paper. You will also get streamlined and organized with less waste and duplication of effort. The more employees you have equates to more versions on how to do things internally - unless you implement one system for all...make sense? If your organization hasn't considered implementing a QMS know that nearly 1 Billion companies worldwide are certified by a third party and many thousands more are simply compliant to one of the standards. Certification may be a customer requirement, but the message here is don't wait for that. Why wait? The sooner you implement a system...the sooner you see the ROI and put $$$ back to your bottom line profits as well as enjoying all the benefits of an organized facility. Call us toll-free at (866) 977-8632 for a FREE analysis or check out our website at www.wqntoday.com

This month we wanted to share one of the leading ERP software firms that we are proud to resell. JobBOSS is the most widely used job shop software designed specifically for job shops, custom manufacturers and high-tech shops. Today over 4,200 shops and more than 22,000 users rely on JobBOSS shop management software to give them the visibility and control they need to manage all the changes their shop experiences on a daily basis. Whether you are a high-volume production shop or a quantity one proto-type, machine builder, tool builder or assembly shop, JobBOSS can help increase your productivity and profitability. To find out more about JobBOSS, download a demo, attend a FREE webinar or call 1-800-777-4334 to talk with a JobBOSS representative.

Please be sure you send your referrals to us and make sure we get the necessary credit! To find out more about JobBOSS, download a demo, attend a FREE Webinar or call 1-800-777-4334 to talk with a JobBOSS representative or ask for Holly Griner Sr. Regional Sales Mgr. - 800-777-4334 ext. 1453 Direct 952-841-1453...and tell her WQN sent you over.

"Formalizing Your Knowledge" is WQN's slogan. We review what your organization is already doing and then see how we can help you improve it. Usually, this is by implementing a QMS such as ISO 9001:2000. The key is not to reinvent the wheel but simply to enhance your current operation.

It's amazing how many myths there are on the subject - "It's too expensive..., it takes too much time..., we don't have enough people..., we aren't a manufacturer..., our customers are not requiring us to do this..., we only do government work"... These are excuses that are unfortunately preventing many organizations from being better organized with thorough process controls.

This is one of the best tools for an organization to get streamlined and organized. You take what you already do and use things that you already have in place, such as forms and procedures. But most companies have gaps, or missing pieces to the puzzle, and that is precisely where ISO 9001 will fill these areas and improve your company. This usually means less waste (both product and time), greater customer communication and satisfaction, and increased profitability. The reality is that when a QMS is implemented correctly you will save time, money, have less waste, gain a competitive advantage, and be positioned to operate in a global climate. Doing this correctly means hiring a professional consulting and training organization such as WQN to get you started, other wise you may end up with a botched system that is neither effective nor efficient. You don't attempt to perform your own dental work - do you?

Implementing a QMS such as ISO 9000 is not a cakewalk and will not happen overnight. It is not free as there are start-up costs, however, after implementing this business and quality management system the Return on Investment will usually surpass your start-up and maintenance costs by far. Notice the description in the previous paragraph referring to a "business management system"- ISO is not "quality control" of products but is an all inclusive management system of your entire organization.

These systems are excellent for ANY business, regardless of employee size or sales. Most of the people we speak with that have experienced ISO 9000 the "right way" tell us they don't know how they used to operate their business without it.

ISO 14001 an Environmental Management System, or EMS. This is not new, but one that has not really taken off yet here in the USA. Worldwide there are approximately 60,000 certificates. In comparison to ISO 9001:2000 with over 750,000 certificates this is a standard that is bound to increase especially since the world's greatest minds have agreed that Global Warming is here - and it isn't going away anytime soon unless we all do something to help our environment. As stated in the article above certification is not mandatory.

Wouldn't it be great if every company out there was going to implement ISO 14001 to help the environment? This is a must for manufacturers and those who affect the environment, but even for service or distributor organizations they can make a significant impact as well. For example, in an office environment we can recycle our white paper, glass, plastic and aluminum cans...and you can even earn some cash back in the process! But you can also learn how to save on electricity by installing automatic shut-off switches and dimmers. How about disposing of all those old flourescent light tubes properly? Are you recycling your electronic waste - computers and monitors? What else can you prevent from going into the land fills or open air?

ISO 14001:2004 specifies requirements for an environmental management system to enable an organization to develop and implement a policy and objectives which take into account legal requirements and other requirements to which the organization subscribes, and information about significant environmental aspects. It applies to those environmental aspects that the organization identifies as those which it can control and those which it can influence. It does not itself state specific environmental performance criteria. ISO 14001:2004 is applicable to any organization that wishes to establish, implement, maintain and improve an environmental management system, to assure itself of conformity with its stated environmental policy, and to demonstrate conformity with ISO 14001:2004...read more on the link below

Every month (2cnd Tuesday) ? Local ASQ meeting - Camarillo, CA at CoCo's Restaurant off 101 FWY and Los Posas. Open to the public. Anyone visiting our area is invited to attend one of our dinner meetings or company tours sponsored by the American Society for Quality. The topics vary but are usually focused on quality improvement issues. For information on meeting places in your local area please check the www.asq.org link.

We have remodeled our website last year. It now includes a "self service" shopping cart with many features and products for some of the more common standards. If you are looking for one particular form or procedure we probably have what you are looking for! If you haven't seen our website yet take a moment to do so and be sure to mark it as a favorite and share this with your friends.