Sell Everything That Sells

Recently, the company has become more frequent with calls to the question of how to obtain an ISO certificate. The trend is very good - now the time has come when high-quality management has stepped into the mass application! But, after the beginning of the conversation, the mysterious client has to explain that this certificate is not bought, within three days after payment, and deservedly obtained when ready for the requirements of the standard and passing the certification procedure. And it's a pity that the vector of a good trend with a figure of twelve falls on the figure of half past five. Why is this happening, what lies behind the naivety of the question "I want to buy a certificate," and who is cutting a beautiful tree of conscientious, quality management. Let's try to understand.

To analyze this situation, we will draw on the tools of quality management. Consider this action as a process (and so in fact it is). Entrance is the desire of the subject producing a product (goods, service), to prove to the consumer its quality, by providing a certificate. Output is a consumer who has believed the certificate, and has received this product with great satisfaction. In this process, there are two large subprocesses, this is a consulting company and a certification body. The actions of these participants in the process are separated by the requirements of ISO 17021 "Conformity assessment. Requirements for bodies that conduct audit and certification of management systems ". I strongly recommend that many participants of this process study it, so as not to try to fill fresh milk, salted cucumbers - our consumer can have problems, well, you understand what we are talking about.

Let's analyze all stages of the process. Step one.

1. Of course, the output is not abstract satisfaction, but a tangible product - a certificate of compliance with the requirements of ISO standards for quality management (management, food safety, ecology, occupational safety, and others). The availability of such a document gives the manufacturer advantages in selling its product, such as: buyer's trust, advantage in participation in tenders and competitive purchases, both from private business entities and in the state procurement system (conditional price reduction). To obtain such a document, the manufacturer applies to the conformity assessment body. And at the same time he does the second step.
2. The bodies confirming compliance with the requirements of ISO standards (or as accepted by the "certification bodies"), are all subjects of private business, even with names close to the state ones. Personnel composition is very homogeneous, because The main employees bear a proud name - the auditor. Most often these are specialists who have left consulting, and have either teaching practice or practice of "Soviet business". Unfortunately, some of them "forgot" to completely withdraw from consulting, which violates the requirements of the ISO 17021 standard (but the customer does not know this). They meet customers very well, they immediately ask "but if you have implemented a quality management system," they get very round eyes in return and immediately send our client to a consulting company. This is for him step number three.
3. Consulting companies, as well as private business entities. Their staff is very diverse: - from fresh past students, university professors, engineers and technicians, former officers, to retirees. There is a certain tendency in the analogy of teaching and consulting (well, about like doctors, after all, both the neurosurgeon and the pathologist both work with a scalpel). I want to inform all potential consumers of this service, always ask for a resume of a specialist: "Only a successful manager can successfully advise a manager!". The client here is greeted even more cordially, the benefit of consulting services is limited only by the imagination of the parties. The client absolutely does not understand why he should pay money for the advice, because before that, seventy years, all this was absolutely free, that is, For nothing. A consultant can not explain to the client that consulting management (ie management) is not a council, but a guide to action to create a quality product for our society.

We came to the beginning of the process. And if the client is really concerned with the development of his activities for the benefit of society, and has already acquired immunity from "Soviet reality", and wants to develop not only at the expense of financial injections of the state, but mainly at the expense of his managerial intelligence, he will take these three steps.

And what if there is no immunity. Then "plan B". Accelerate the receipt of the coveted certificate. With consulting, agree and get a minimum set of documents (but not just a quality management system!), With the compliance body to agree on "compliance", and here is the cherished document in the frame on the wall, and in the tender documentation too. And this situation is becoming more typical in the past two years. My colleagues say that worry is the market, the client has the right to choose between the original and the formalism, between the false counsel and the professional, between the certification audit and the tea party, between honest payment of services and corruption. And here, we completely forget about the consumer, but he is the main character! A small, inconspicuous rust corrodes a large steel bridge between the manufacturer and the consumer, and it is ready to crash at any moment.

What to do? It's very simple - we need to look for the cause of the event, rather than heroically fight the investigation. We start from the beginning, with consulting. Yes, amateurs in this area are quite, sometimes a "cool" consultant with multiple international regalia, can not in practice explain to the client what the process is different from the procedure, I'm not talking about the process approach as the basis of quality management - who understands it in practice - Hands up? We also take into account the fact that the client, like a blank sheet of paper, knows absolutely nothing about ISO standards, and it is very insulting when not very decent words are written on it. But here there is a border pillar, which is accredited by the state, for which a client with quick-descriptive management will not be released - the certification body. How does it work? All certificates are issued for three years. A customer who successfully passes certification is guaranteed to pay for an annual inspection audit in order not to lose, a certificate dear to him. And so lifelong for the organization of the client, - pay - and still receive an extension for another three years. Stably profitable business for the certification body. Of course, we must firmly say that Kazakhstan has enough qualified auditors and professional conformity assessment bodies, with which we can be proud. But, as the classic said, "business is business," therefore "Ostap" comes to this sphere, with certain accelerated technologies. Where do these companies come from and why they are multiplying with great enthusiasm, we will not cover this in this article, the Committee of Technical Regulation and Metrology of the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies accredits them, let him write an article on this subject, if he can, of course. So, where is the demand that generates supply? Of course, these are preferences in tenders, moreover, more state procurement. A private company will quickly "snap up" an express certificate and bring in a leader who has it on the "black" list. But the state procurement, "naively" believes, the bearer of this paper and is ready to cooperate with him. Well, that's the root of evil - they are preferences, if you have a certificate! The solution is to take them and cancel them! What's next - let's simulate the situation - there is no incentive for certification, then what is the result? Of course, for a start, we will get positive results.

1. Those companies that are spiritually ripe for professional consulting services, competent certification and open dialogue with the consumer - will rise to a lined pedestal of honor.
2. They will leave this sphere for another, perhaps similar, nonprofessionals and temporary workers, as well as great combiners, corrupting the bright name "Quality".

But you can not do without negative results.

1. A few thousand "working people" will remain without work in this sphere;
2. We actually lose some of the professionals and the development of this area of activity, as the most advanced and at the same time practical for the consumer;
3. Disappear, the main motivating incentive to obtain world-class knowledge in management and managerial progress, and accordingly to national economic development.

As you can see, at this stage, when the national idea of managing the quality of life through the quality of management has not yet been born, when there is no system for obtaining world knowledge on management tools in educational institutions, we must "ask" the government to somehow stimulate our development. The weakest link in this process is the certification bodies. They are certainly needed, but, in essence, they try to replace the consumer, making a decision for him. Visibility and publicity are necessary if certification is intended for the end user, and this is a public substance, i.e. We with you, and informative authenticity, must also be public. In the era of social networks, electronic governments, specialized print publications and public organizations, it is not difficult to do this, only the will of the consumer and the legislative base are needed. To produce a state-control apparatus that does not carry any added value to the consumer does not make sense. Tools of public quality management set. Imagine that, you come to the store, pick up the goods, and on it stickers - "management does not meet the stated requirements" - what your reaction will be. And what will be the reaction of the manufacturer of this product tomorrow. And to which list will the conformity confirmation body that issued the certificate to the manufacturer come. We were taught for a long time how to live, but did not teach how to manage your life. Let's try.