"Meeting ISO 9000 in a TQM World" Allan J. Sayle; Allan J. Sayle, Ltd., 1991, pp 337.

A Book Review by Norman C. Frank, PE, CQE, CQA. CER Corporation, Washington, DC

This book sets out the steps and decisions necessary for any company to develop and achieve quality. All companies, not just those working with a Total Quality Management (TQM) program, will be interested in and helped by the content of this book. Mr. Sayle starts at the beginning with the decision to use the ISO 9000 series standards. He provides suggested steps for ISO 9001/2/3 certification achievement. The system developed is discussed in terms of the foundations for TQM (e.g., customer, product, self inspection). Ambiguous terms and phrases within the standards are discussed to help clarify the intent and to help with the decisions each company must make while implementing the standards.

An interesting concept is that the company must also consider how to handle "by-product" that results from the processes. The by-product itself may become a product down the line as new uses and customers are found. Perhaps the biggest help to a company just starting on the ISO trail is the discussion of necessary documentation from quality policies, quality manuals, and procedures through quality records. Of major importance, Sayle gives an interpretation for the mysterious "quality plans" mentioned now and then in the standards. Once the standards have been explored from a big picture viewpoint, Sayle begins the detailed examination of the content of each standard in the ISO 9000 series standards.

Each paragraph is analyzed in depth for both content and for implications. Sayle points out the decisions that each company will have to make before they can successfully develop and implement an ISO 9000 program. ISO 8402 is included in this detailed analysis with its own chapter. Problems with ISO 8402 are also pointed out in each chapter where a definition may be missing or ambiguous. Sayle provides a list of definitions that are needed to make the standards more clear, such as, procedure, record, servicing, data, software, and hardware.

The final chapter, "The Task Elements", Sayle examines processes in terms of his five task elements: The Person, The Item, The Equipment, Information, and Service. Analyzing each task for these five elements helps assure that each task is defined and workable. Actions to take are provided to help new aspirants develop and clarify their quality program.

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