ISO

Process Excellence through Standards Adoption

The ISO standards have evolved from systems for documenting desired behavior to ones that are intrinsically integrated into the strategic direction of the organization and its objectives. In their current evolution, these standards are focused on driving assessable gains in performance, quality and customer satisfaction which are all enabled through the optimization of the organization's processes. iGrafx enables companies to leverage and capitalize on the requirements of the standards to implement a broad approach to process excellence.

A Process Management Model for ISO Continual Improvement

All work is performed as part of a process and all processes are interconnected to represent the entire activity and output of an organization. Efficient processes are therefore critical to the success of any organization. Processes that are designed to provide outputs that meet the critical-to-quality objectives of the organization and customers can be used as advantages in today's highly competitive market.

The ISO standards recognize the importance of efficient processes to the overall measure of quality of output. Simply documenting processes alone is meaningless. The Quality Management System (QMS) must define and enable systems and techniques that continually evaluate and review the relevance and returns for a process as it affects the organization's strategic goals. Inefficient processes must be modified or eliminated. An emphasis is placed on results and management is tasked with responsibility for ensuring a culture of continual improvement.

iGrafx has long been an integral part in helping organizations achieve ISO certification. Through a unique, user-friendly suite of process management solutions, iGrafx provides organizations with the ability to document, improve and manage processes in compliance with ISO standards. By instilling a process-centric approach iGrafx helps companies ensure that standards compliance becomes a powerful facilitator of operational excellence and not simply a compulsory burden.

Organizations use iGrafx as a component of a QMS to help them:

• Standardize and manage operations
• Understand and achieve internal and external requirements
• View processes from a value standpoint and eliminate non value-add steps
• Capture actual process performance data
• Conduct process simulations to continually improve process performance
• Encourage process improvement initiatives
• Consistently share process knowledge that is accurate and up-to-date

For many of these organizations, ISO is one of several process-based initiatives being undertaken at any time. Methodologies such as Six Sigma and regulatory requirements like Sarbanes-Oxley also demand a process-centric approach. Using iGrafx, a consistent approach to process excellence is made possible through the use of methodology specific tools that are integrated into a broader suite of solutions.

The ISO standards help companies achieve a level of consistency and quality through a process management model for continuous improvement. The results can be measured in increased revenue, decreased costs and improved customer satisfaction. iGrafx helps companies to improve these results through a powerful, integrated, easy to use set of process management solutions.

 Download ISO Brochure [433 Kb]