Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

The Right Approach: Guerilla Tactics to Pass Any QMS Audit, Part 1

Introduction

“Guerrilla tactics” was chosen as the name for this series to reflect a number of nontraditional, take-no-prisoner concepts, techniques, and tactics that were born in the quality trenches and will guide any company to a successful audit result. These guerrilla tactics are also framed around what I call the 10 Williams’ Laws: my lessons learned in over 40 years of getting my hands very dirty in the quality trenches.

I would be so bold as to say that if the entirety of this series was truly embraced and flawlessly executed, an expectation of zero audit findings could be not only achieved but maintained! How is that for a pretty bold statement? Also, how do I know this can be done? Because I have done it more than once. Descriptions I would use to characterize the proven tactics presented in this series are words such as unconventional, focused, speed-based, tactical, dynamic, and high integrity.

Character and Integrity
What this series will not present are quick and dirty ways to circumvent requirements, methods to “fool” an auditor, how to “buy” your ISO registration, the top 10 bribes most likely to be accepted by an auditor, or shortcuts for not doing the day-to-day work that is required for an effective QMS. What this series will present are legitimate, aboveboard techniques that pass the integrity smell test.

I believe that in life, character and integrity are everything. This belief was somewhat validated during a recent conversation with one of the few politicians worth their salt, J.C. Watts. Before he became a member of Congress, J.C. was quite the quarterback for the University of Oklahoma, and later professionally in the Canadian Football League. Over a cold beer one night, J.C. said, “Steve, I’ve always felt that character means doing the right thing when nobody’s looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that’s right is to get by, and the only thing that’s wrong is to get caught.” Words to live by.

GUERILLA TACTIC 1: Quality Executive Skill Set
Williams’ Law 1: Never fear an unexpected customer visit. If every employee lives and breathes the quality system every day, there will never be a need for an audit-prep panic.

This first tactic/law was previously published as a standalone column titled Steve’s Particular Set of Skills (to become a World-class Quality Manager).

GUERILLA TACTIC 2: Make it Fun!
Williams’ Law 2: When things are fun, things get done!

This second tactic/law was previously published as a standalone column titled Making Quality Initiatives Fun.

GUERILLA TACTIC 3: Visual Management
Williams’ Law 3: First impressions count.

The Japanese word for visual controls is Andon, and visual management is key to success in any system. One of the mistakes many organizations make is to cultivate an environment of secrecy when it comes to organizational performance as if this knowledge is dangerous to share with employees. Quite the contrary is true. Displaying accurate, timely metrics on a visual management board will both engage employees and instill a sense of ownership in the company’s performance (Figure 1).

Key visual management metrics include:

• Quality goals
• Revenue
• Internal quality defects/yield
• External customer returns and survey results
• Kaizen events
• SPC data
• 5S successes
• PIT crew activity and successes
• Continuous improvement awards
• Rally schedules, minutes, and pictures
• Audit (customer visit) schedules

GUERILLA TACTIC 4: Internal Audit Strategy
Williams' Law 4: Find your own dirty laundry.

While a robust internal audit system is a bit of a given in a good quality program, there are some strategies that, if employed, will provide a number of intangible benefits during any quality systems audit. It is easy for the management representative or department supervisor to have all the right answers, so encouraging auditors and customers to interact with the employees doing the job will demonstrate the strength and competency of the workforce and the quality system.

The internal audit program should be used to help condition employees to be comfortable in this situation. For example:

• Audit trainer should be formally “lead-assessor” trained
• No “conflict of interest” auditing (you cannot audit your own process)
• Train auditors to “see as the customer sees”
• Complete system cycle every six months (calibrate with six-month surveillance audits)
• Closed-loop follow-up audit for findings
• Develop procedure-specific audits
• Integrate common system-level questions into every audit
• Audit employees’ ability to recite the quality policy and battle cry
• Audit line workers, not supervisors (supervisor can assist but not answer for employees)

Conclusion
It is my desire that as we work through the various strategies, techniques, and tactics presented throughout this series, you will appreciate that these are tried-and-true, practical applications and lessons learned over the course of my career that I hope you will find some value in.

This column originally appeared in the March 2020 issue of PCB007 Magazine.