How to prepare for and survive a quality audit when you are not a member of the quality assurance group

Abstract

This paper is informational in nature. As a member of the Support Staff to the Sales Department, it was important for an example to be set related to management and employee "buy-in" from other disciplines when the QS-9000 mandate was given by the automotive industry for suppliers to comply or seek business elsewhere. The Sales Department was going to drive the company forward and give direction to Research and Production. There were three people chosen from within the Sales Department to attend different outside seminars hosted by the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) in order to learn firsthand what the challenge for the business future was as it related to the new Quality Standard. After that seminar, there were many changes made within the Sales Department. In addition to regular job duties, several people became involved in the quest for QS-9000 either as active participants for one of the Sales Department procedure writing teams, for the company audit team or as a member of the company's Implementation Team also known as the "I-Team". The company was about to begin the largest single endeavor of the company's history. This paper will take you through the processes used to organize and prepare a Sales Department that includes Administrative Assistants, Sales Representatives, Technical Service Representatives, Marketing Managers, and Sales Support Staff through the clean up of the department in order to prepare for the third party registrar audit.