Saturday, January 18, 2014

An As9100 Consultant Helps Streamline Aviation Companies While Facilitating Certification

By Judy Sullivan


The aviation business is an exciting but challenging place, and as has been often noted, the only constant seems to be change. How one manages the implementation of new processes, or even decides if that is the correct step can make or break an organization. With the help of an as9100 consultant, a corporation can gain ISO certification and change their future for the better.

A serious challenge to senior leadership in any company that elects to pursue greater efficiency and quality is the reaction of their employees. To workers, any such management move smacks of danger to either changing or eliminating their job. Handled poorly, workers can not only resent the attempt to change things, but get very creative in the effort to thwart possible change, even without knowing what it entails.

One of the hallmarks of the airline industry is its remarkable safety record, where it ranks as the safest form of travel by distance traveled. This is due, among other factors, to the discipline of aircrews checklist use. This same rigid mindset, however, makes change problematic a necessary part of continuous improvement and ISO compliance.

The organization rising to that need is called ISO, a word that originates in the Greek word isos, meaning equal. Organized in 1947, this group of standards experts from more than 150 countries meet, debate and develop guidelines that ensure consistent, safe and equal products and services. Adopting these guidelines and gaining certification in them proves a commitment to excellence customers and competitors heed.

The organization has been producing agreements ever since, but the quality management movement created a more receptive environment. Once the ISO 9000 series were published in 1987, they received international approval, and the option to neglect them faded. Now competitors and the consuming public are aware of the standards and companies go without certification at their peril.

Gaining ISO certification in an industry as complex as aviation is difficult yet almost necessary to gain public confidence. Old school leadership would see managers simply dictating what the new process was going to be, but that no longer sits well with workers. But these same workers that one painstakingly selected feel strongly that the way they are already performing does not require change. Fortunately, change managers are skilled at introducing new processes without eliciting anger or fear.

The process will require a top to bottom analysis of every process in the company, with an eye towards efficiency. In addition, any change must be introduced without disturbing the existing process, so workers and leaders can see the new process from beginning to established norm. Often it is better to have outside assistance to make this happen.

Identifying unnecessary work improves efficiency instantly, better and faster ways to accomplish other tasks, or the outsourcing of them, can also increase efficiency and often please employees. Getting everyone actively involved while still operating the company is not easy. An as9100 consultant will have many ideas on how to smoothly implement the effort without aggravating the workforce or frustrating management.




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