The summer months are the time the UK Excellence awards process gets into full swing in preparation for the presentation of the awards to the winners at the annual ceremony on the 24^th October 2007 at the London Hilton.

 

This year three of ley hill's people have been leading assessment teams during the award process on behalf of the BQF. Those of you who have been involved before will know the effort and commitment put in to this process by the assessors and the BQF itself. As lead assessor it is your responsibility to build your team (usually from a group of people you have never met before), plan and manage the assessment process itself and then ensure that the site visit and eventual feedback is honest, representative and above all useful to the applicant.

 

This year it was even more interesting in that two of our assessors undertook the role using the flexible approach to assessment (2005+ approach - more detail on our website), as this was a new venture for the BQF as well, it was a learning experience for all and the outcomes will hopefully provide the applicant organisations with some recommendations to take forward into their coming business planning rounds.

 

We can't at this stage tell you who we were involved with in 2007, but we wish all the applicants well and will be attending the awards ceremony ourselves to celebrate with the winners, finalists and all those organisations being recognised for excellence. If you are attending the awards ceremony come and say hello to us on the ley hill solutions table during the evening.

Have you recently submitted a tender that asks for details of your training policy or your quality policy?

 

More and more companies are finding that they need a suite of policies to be able to answer the questions thrown at them during the bidding and tender processes. We have been asked on several occasions recently if we can help and if so where do they start.

 

The important aspect we raise with all clients in this area is to make sure they are not just generating paper for the sake of it, any policy or strategy needs to be workable in the environment for which it is intended and that it actually does what it says on the box.

 

By using a structured interview technique we are able to discern the important polices and strategies already in existence - although they may be unwritten, and the gaps where a P&S may help the organisation to improve its processes and performance.

If you think it may be time to review your top level policies and strategies please get in touch and we will show you how to develop a truly useful set relevant to your business.

Have you received letters in the post promising ISO9001 or ISO14001 certification in less than 30 days, maybe at a fixed price depending on your turnover?

 

Too good to be true?

 

Well the old saying that if it seems too good to be true then it probably is, certainly applies in this case. Over the last few months we have been approached by numerous companies who already have one of the ISO standards but not through a certification body approved by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service - UKAS.

 

What many of these companies have found is that because their certification is issued by  a non UKAS accredited body or an accreditor not recognised by the UK Government  they are running into trouble when applying for tenders with government departments or large organisations.

 

Non UKAS accredited bodies offer a package that is often cheaper than the accredited certification body and combines consultancy with certification all in one go. They often state that they work on a "no certification - no fee" basis, but, you should remember that the certificate is very rarely, if ever, refused. 

Most often the consultancy aspect will produce a quality manual which may, or may not, reflect the operational processes of the business. By doing this the non UKAS accredited body is working against the requirements of the international standard with which UKAS accredited certification bodies are required to comply. Also non accredited bodies are not legally entitled to award the "Tick & Crown" logo for display by their clients. Any certificates issued by such a certification body may well not be recognised by your customers as valid for the purpose of qualifying you as a supplier.

This type of accreditation produces documentation and procedures which may not either detail how your business operates or indeed may not even be in the best interests of your business. A properly installed Management system will not only give your customers confidence in your product or service but also actually be of use in identifying improvements to make your business more efficient and effective in what it does.

 

At ley hill solutions we work with businesses to install compliant management systems which will actually help the business improve its performance. Then once we think you are ready we will help you select a UKAS accredited certification body to undertake the actual certification. We do not do certification ourselves and in that way ensure that you are getting the best impartial advice and solutions to running your business.

 

Ley hill solutions is one of Europe's most innovative consultancy organisations specialising in the tools and methods to improve the way your business works and performs. We use internationally recognised standards and frameworks such as ISO9001 and the EFQM Excellence Model to develop solutions that are right for your business.

 

Sincerely,

 

See how you could be recognised as one of the most excellent organisations in Europe by following a structured approach to business improvement. See the list of Europe's excellence award winners over the years and then view the European Foundation for Quality Management's -  EFQM - pages about this years award winners.

If you would like to be recognised with the best contact us at ley hill solutions

The EFQM Excellence model is Europe's premier improvement framework. Using it in your business could enhance performance across the board and in particular show real bottom line benefits........

Graham is the Managing Director of ley hill solutions ltd and set up the business in 2000. To know more about Graham.

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