You must train employees on ISO 9001 so they understand the requirements for their job, the importance of meeting customer requirements and how their job contributes to meeting the Quality Policy.

Project Leaders, Management Representative

These people should have a thorough understanding of the Standard to effectively lead the implementation. Options include:

Offsite training: Many Registrars offer three day to one week long training programs. A popular choice is the "Lead Assessor Training". This is a standardized course that covers the requirements of the standard in detail. A good portion of this course focuses on how to audit the standard.

Computer training: "Understanding ISO 9001:2000" is designed to prepare those that will be closely involved with or leading the implementation project. This computer training is designed to allow the student to work at their own pace through the program, spending 2 to 4 hours total for completion. The focus of the program is the requirements of the standard and how to address them. The student completes exercises that help plan for the QMS, prints out notes from the exercises, completes quiz to measure understanding, and when the final test is completed, prints a personalized training certificate. All this is available with the convenience of having the training at your fingertips, on your computer.

Employee Training

All employees need to have a general understanding of what ISO 9001 is, and what their responsibilities are for maintaining the system and complying with requirements.

Group Training: Group training allows you to present the material to a large group of employees at one time, and allows for questions and discussion. A group training should cover an introduction to what ISO 9001:2000 is, why your company chose to implement ISO 9001, and what the requirements and responsibilities are.

"ISO 9001:2000 Presentation Materials Package" gives you a PowerPoint presentation and speaker notes to present to groups. This training

Good communication throughout the project will help make your QMS more effective. Your QMS needs to be more than written procedures on a shelf, it must be a way of doing business day in and day out. Who is responsible for "doing business"? Your employees. Keep them involved, educated and informed every step of the way.

Employee Involvement

We encourage you to involve employees throughout the project. The Team Approach helps get employees involved in customizing procedures that they are responsible for performing. To reach beyond the employees on the task teams and involve every employee we have seen companies use some creative ideas and celebrations.

Examples:

• As each Task Team finalizes the process and procedure that they are working on, combine training employees on the new procedure with a celebration or fun activity.
• For example, have the team think up an idea that relates to their process, and communicates the new process. One corrective action team decided to have a lunch for employees. They had the employees order, but then intentionally ordered something else (that they knew they would enjoy.) After lunch they discussed the corrective action process, and had employees fill out a Corrective Action Form on the lunch order.
• A document control team had an Ice Cream Break where employees had to follow the documented work instruction for making their Sunday.
• Several creative companies have had large wall graphics to track progress of the teams on their procedures. I have seen teams represented by race cars, horses, and even cows making their way into a pasture. What would you do to represent your business? Let some employees work on the idea, you will be surprised at some of the fun ideas that come out of it.
• Buttons, mugs, T-shirts and mouse pads with the Quality Policy have been used across the country and continue to be an effective way to communicate the Quality Policy. One company had the T-shirts printed backwards, so when the employee looked in a mirror, the quality policy was right there.