Working on your Quality

Management System (QMS)

by implementing ISO
standards
 Content list

Introduction ................................................................................................................... 3

Mind Map ........................................................................................................................ 4

1. Get in context ............................................................................................................ 5

The importance of standardization .............................................................................. 5

2. Let’s talk..................................................................................................................... 6
Let’s check some useful expressions .......................................................................... 6

3. Let’s read ................................................................................................................... 8

Understanding Vocabulary Words in Context ............................................................. 9
Techniques for guessing ............................................................................................. 9

4. Let’s listen ............................................................................................................... 10

ISO certification? What is it for? ................................................................................ 10
What does ISO mean? .............................................................................................. 10
What is ISO 9001? .................................................................................................... 10

5. Facts to know .......................................................................................................... 11

What is a “standard”? ................................................................................................ 11
The importance of standards in different contexts .................................................... 11
Standardization for SMEs? ....................................................................................... 12

6. Let’s write ................................................................................................................ 13

Sentence Connectors................................................................................................ 13
Practice on Sentence Connectors ............................................................................. 17
 Introduction

As part of the global positioning objective, it is important not only to analyze the market
and assess internal processes, but also to analyze competitors to get to know how your
company and your product can surpass them and offer your customers a best
experience. In order to do so, you must ensure your company meets the quality
standardized characteristics for a product like yours and actually meet even higher
standards. Once you do it, you can certify it and let your customers know why you are a
better option in the market.

Through this material we will check some of the quality standards that every customer
look for when purchasing a new product. We will briefly evaluate some of the ISO
standards for you to get familiar with the terminology and common international
scenarios in which this knowledge may be useful.

ISO standards are international quality standards that every Physical Distribution
student should be familiar with, as this ensures that as a professional, you will be able
to speak not only in the same language the international businesses speak, but you will
also be able to use the same terminology. In order to be successful, any company
needs to be competitive in product terms as well as in the ability to communicate
themselves.

So, let’s learn some of those elements that will make you a more competitive business
person.

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 Mind Map

The following mind map will show you what the distribution of topics for this material is:

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 1. Get in context

The importance of standardization

Hi, dear student. Welcome back!

Being a Physical Distribution Student from The SENA training program has probably
helped you to realize the importance of being competitive. Healthy competition
encourages change which will distinguish your company from others and hence you
will improve your customer experience.

Thus, getting to know the market you are moving in, as well as the quality standards for
that market will enable you and your company to improve your practices in innovative
ways to always surpass what is expected. After all, the future is for those who are
willing to take the next step.

This material will help you to get to know the main quality international standards that
every customer will be looking for when considering your company, as well as it will help
you to increase your communication skills.

Let’s get started!

Fuente: SENA

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 2. Let’s talk

Fuente de imágenes: SENA

Esteban: Hi Jane, sorry to interrupt, I know you must be busy.

Jane: Don’t worry! What is it? How can I help you?
I received an announcement letter for an audit. What or how should I
Esteban:
get ready for it?
Oh! That’s right. I forgot to tell you about it. We want to get an ISO
Jane: certification. That’s why we need to go under an internal audit. We
need to be ready for the actual audit.
Esteban: Hmm… I see.
All the paperwork for an audit can be a bit overwhelming, but I’ll send
Jane:
you some material, so you understand what’s going on.
Esteban: That would be great! Thank you!
You are very welcome. Please, let me know if you have any questions.
Jane:
This certification is very important for us.
Esteban: Sure thing I will do. Again, thank you!

Let’s check some useful expressions

Communication at your workplace is very important. You must always try to be very
clear as well as polite. Let’s review the previous conversation:

The following expressions are useful to:  Excuse me,

 Pardon me,
a) Introduce yourself.
b) Interrupt politely.  Sorry to interrupt,
c) Ask for help.  May I interrupt (for a minute)?

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d) Express your excitement.  I don’t mean to intrude, but . . .
 Do you mind If I take two minutes of
your time?

A) What do you need?

The equivalent informal expression to “How B) What is your concern?
can I help you?” is: C) What aide can I provide you?
D) What is the matter?

 I am all gratitude.
 Words are powerless to express my
gratitude.
The following expressions are useful to:  Please accept my best thanks.
 I thank you from the bottom of my
a) Show respect. heart.
b) Show gratitude.  It was so awesome of you.
c) Show hesitation.  What would I do without you?
d) Show happiness.  I will never forget what you have
done.
 I truly appreciate all your help.
 I cannot express my appreciation.

 That’s all right.

 Don’t mention it.
 Not at all.
 It’s nothing.
Select the polite ways to accept thanks:  (It’s) My pleasure.
 No problem.
 Think nothing of it.
 It’s no bother.
 Sure.

Fuente: SENA

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 3. Let’s read

To: Esteban Rodríguez

Cc: John Doe-CEO

Mark Ronson-CFO
Jane Hampton-Corporate Compliance Officer
Sophie Arango-Chief Information Office (optional)

From: Renée Jaenicke, Director, Internal Audit

Date: August 11th. 2017

Reference: Internal Audit Notification

Dear Distribution Manager Assistant,

In accordance with our approved annual plan, the Internal Audit Department will
perform an audit to evaluate the quality of the internal processes at Pace Run. The
main objective of this audit are to:

 Assess the identification of risk exposures and use of effective strategies to

control them.

The scope of the audit will include walkthroughs, inquiries, observations and
examination of documents for the time period of one month.

The audit work will begin the week of Aug 14 th and is scheduled for completion on
September 14th of the same year. The fieldwork will be performed by Nathaniel
Baratheon who will serve as lead auditor. Nathaniel, Senior Auditor and I will
review and supervise all audit work. Timely completion will depend on response to
inquiries, requests for information and validation of audit findings. If a senior
leader requests a change in scope to the audit, we will send you a separate memo
to inform you of this and communicate an update expected audit completion date.

As part of our quality circle, we will meet with you to discuss and validate results as
the audit progresses. At the conclusion of our fieldwork we will schedule an exit
conference to discuss the results and obtain action plans for any issues noted. The
final audit report with agreed upon action plans will be distributed to the recipients
of this memo and the external auditors, with a summary of high impact issues.

We are looking forward to working with you on this audit! If you have any questions,
please feel free to call me at 982-4117. Thank you!

Fuente: SENA

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You don't have to memorize vocabulary words to understand the meanings. Context is
always a key element to understand new vocabulary.

Understanding Vocabulary Words in Context

Guessing from context refers to the ability to infer the meaning of an expression using
contextual clues. These clues may be purely linguistic or situational:

 Linguistic context: the linguistic environment in which a word is used within a text.

 Situational context: extra linguistic elements that contribute to the construction of

meaning this may involve background knowledge of the subject.

Techniques for guessing

Texts are often full of redundancy and consequently students can use the relation
between different items within a text to get the meaning. Our prior knowledge of the
world may also contribute to understand what an expression means. Have in mind the
following strategies to better understand meaning from context:

 Synonyms and definitions included within the text. Most of the cases, synonyms or
definitions are followed by paraphrasing expressions like in other words, i.e. (that
is), it means, among others.

 Antonym and contrast. When introducing an antonym, we usually use expressions

like by contrast, opposite to that, different to that, among others.

 Examples are always a great way to understand meaning. They are usually
introduced by words like for example, for instance, take the case of, this is an
example of …, such as, among others.

 Word forms (the morphological properties of the word). The formal knowledge you
have from the language is also helpful to guess meaning. Getting information from
affixes (prefixes and suffixes) to understand a word. Examples: dis -(meaning not)-
less (meaning without)…

 Translate when possible. Someties words are very similar in different languages. If
you are bilingual, this could help you to guess the meaning of new words

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 4. Let’s listen

ISO certification? What is it for?

ISO Standard Certification is a proof that your company is responsibly operating in line
with the industry best practices and management systems. ISO Certification that help
you build credibility in the eyes of stakeholders, employees, managerial
committees, and foreign trade personnel. It also aims to reinforce the promise of
dedication, hard work, quality, and efficiency in front of your potential customers.

What does ISO mean?

The organization known as ISO began informally in 1946 when delegates from 25
countries met in London after the war and decided to create a new international
organization for the purpose of having an international body to facilitate the
International coordination and unification of industrial standards. In February 1947 the
organization known as ISO officially began operations.

Because a name like International Organization for Standardization would have

different acronyms in different languages like IOS in English or OIM in French or MOS
in Russian, it was decided to give it the short form ISO. ISO from the Greek word
ISOS, meaning equal as in ISOmetric and ISOsceles.

So, no matter what the language, the official acronym is always ISO. It's beginnings
in 1947 ISO has published over nineteen and a half thousand international standards
covering almost every aspect of technology and manufacturing and services to take
care of standard development.

ISO has members from 165 countries and 3368 technical bodies as of today more
than 150 people work full-time for ISO Central Secretariat in Geneva Switzerland.

What is ISO 9001?

Well, to understand what is ISO 9001, it is first necessary to understand what is a

Quality Management System. A Quality Management System or QMS is a set of
documented policies, procedures and responsibilities organized into a structured
system of processes to assist an organization in realizing its quality vision, goals and
objectives.

So, ISO stablished a standard called 9001 for Quality Management Systems. It
comprises a set of generic standard requirements governing the quality management
systems of certified companies or other organizations. Especially credited auditors
known as Certification Bodies or CB auditors are authorized to award the certificate of

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 compliance to ISO 9001-2008 standard which is the one current in 2015. This
certification must be reviewed annually and renewed every three years.

Although it is called standard one of the foundational requirements of this standard is

that its implementation should be based on a system of dynamic processes rather
than a set of static standards.

In summary the ISO 9001 standard requires procedures for the following activities to
be documented and evidenced maintained that they are being followed:

 Control of documents and records, for example the gathering of customer

requirements and the recording of productivity.

 Control of non-conforming product, for example to prevent defects and rejects

for being send to customers.

 Continuously improvement through corrective and preventive actions. Necessary

when mistakes have been made to prevent them from happening again.

 Internal audits to show that your organization takes seriously its commitment to
quality and conformance to the ISO 9001 standard.

Maintaining well implemented compliance with the ISO 9001 standard helps an
organization focus on meeting customer requirements and exceeding customer
expectations with processes that are even more effective and efficient.

5. Facts to know

What is a “standard”?

A standard, according to the ISO definition, is a document that has been established
and approved by a recognized organization that provides rules, guidelines or
characteristics for goods or services to complete their intended function. The primary
objective of any standard is to achieve the optimum degree of quality in a given context.

The importance of standards in different contexts

ISO started with the idea of answering a fundamental question: “what's the best way of
doing this?”

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At the beginning it considered very obvious things like weights and measures, and
over the last 50 years ISO has developed into a family of standards that cover
everything from the shoes we stand in, to the Wi-Fi networks that connect us invisibly to
each other.

When a company meets those International Standards, it means that consumers can be
confident that their products are safe, reliable and of good quality. ISO's standards on
road safety, toy safety and secure medical packaging are just a few of those that help
make the world a safer place.

Regulators and governments count on ISO standards to help develop better regulation,
governments around the world know that the ISO standards have a sound basis thanks
to the involvement of globally-established experts.

Some of the most popular standards are:

 ISO 9001 Quality Management: This family of standards makes sure that customers
meet their needs through the different products and services a company may offer.

 ISO / IEC 27001 Information Security Management: This family of standards ensures
that your organization’s information is secure.

 ISO 140001 Environmental management: This family of standards helps to improve

the environmental performance of a company.

Standardization for SMEs?

Internationalization of businesses is a key factor in today’s competitive landscape. Far-

reaching strategic vision and thorough operational implementation are essential for
the success of companies. Entrepreneurship or the creation of new innovative
companies plays an essential role as an agent of change, a generator of economic
development and new jobs.

Standardization plays a significant as they are strategically important in relation to:

 Choices regarding the development of technologies and their dissemination.

 Innovation management.

 The establishment and exploitation of network effects -with particular consideration

for the complexity and extension of today’s supply chains.

 Access to international markets.

 Optimization of company processes.

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 Compliance with regulatory requirements (existing, expected or uncertain).

 Consumer confidence.

 Sustainability management.

6. Let’s write

When explaining a process, such us the implementation of a standard, it is necessary to

organize your ideas for your listener to understand every step in the process. Let’s
check the different connectors or linking words that can help you to communicae your
ideas effectively:

Sentence Connectors

‘Connectors’ are used to link large groups of words: phrases and sentences. You can
also use them to connect paragraphs to give them coherence. Sentence connectors are
usually placed at the beginning of a sentence, followed by a comma (,) and may be
categorized as follows:

Function Connector Example

This company has the best product in the
However, market. However, it hasn’t been ISO certified
yet.

House prices have gone up this year. In

In contrast,
contrast, car prices seem to be on the floor.

We weren’t ready for the CB audit.

Nevertheless, Nevertheless, we did the best we could to
show how our company works.
Contrast
I don’t think Sean has any problem to show
Nonetheless, the company around. Nonetheless, I’ll talk to
him first thing in the morning.
That company has serious quality issues. Yet,
Yet,
they are still operating.
England has the best tea industries. On the
On the other hand, other hand, it has the worst coffee
companies.

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 Investing on that company has its risks. By
By comparison, comparison, doing it with an ISO certified
company doesn’t represent a major risk at all.
I don’t hate audits. On the contrary, I’m rather
On the contrary, happy with them. I can always learn from my
mistakes.
I didn’t want to take a risk on the
implementation of the new ISO standard.
Instead,
Instead, I hired consultants to help me with
that process.
You can’t trust everyone who promises to do
good things for you. Likewise, you can’t trust
Likewise,
marketing on the TV. You need to verify the
information they present.
You’re not allowed to use your phone here.
Similarly, Similarly, you have to switch it off when
you’re in the library.
She’s an excellent accountant.
Similarity Correspondingly, Correspondingly, her reports are always easy
to understand.
Cutting down on some expenses will help you
to save money. In the same way, investing on
In the same way,
renewable energy resources will help your
company to reduce some few taxes.
I want to talk to the CEO of your company
Also, when I’m in England. Also, I want to meet the
CFO.
We’ve done some training on the ISO
As a result, standards. As a result, we are now ready to
implement some changes in our QMS.
Zack missed the meeting this morning. As a
As a consequence, consequence, he’s unaware of the new
Result policies.
We’re going to have some audit interviews
Therefore, next week. Therefore, you need to arrive
earlier.
We didn’t know how to get ready for the audit.
Thus,
Thus, we wasted valuable time.

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 First,
Firstly, First of all, I’d like to talk about the benefits of
First of all, having a risk based QMS.
In the first place,
To begin with, we need to collect all our
To beging with,
receipts for the audit.

For one thing, they’re useful to explain our

For one thing,
expenses.

Second,
Secondly, we’ll compare our expenses
Secondly,
against our budget.
In the second place,
For another thing, we might even consider to
For another thing,
expand or reduce our Budget.
Third,
In the third place, it is always good to check
Sequencing Thirdly,
how money is being spent.
In the third place,
Also, it helps us to keep track of our
Also,
investments.
Besides being boring, it is helpful for our
Besides,
Company.
In addition, this process will ease the financial
In addition,
audit we’ll go through next month.
Furthermore, our CFO (Chief of Financial
Furthermore,
Office) will appreciate our effort.
Moreover, Moreover, our CEO will also look into it.
Finally, Finally, it is sour responsibility to do it.
Last,
Lastly, your reputation as a good accountant
Lastly,
will rapidly grow.
Last of all,
I’d like to talk to you about how to keep calm
Most importantly, at your workplace. Most importantly, never go
to the canteen while your boss is there.
Order of You’ll have to focus on your immediate
importance Primarily, surroundings. Primarily, on your computer
screen.
Above all, don’t ever look up from your notes
Above all,
when people are around.

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 Most significantly, avoid eye-contact at all
Most significantly,
costs.
It wasn’t a piece of cake to learn English. At
At first, first, I couldn’t pronounce all the words
correctly.
Then, Then, I couldn’t spell all the words correctly.
Afterwards, I had a hard time understanding
Afterwards,
the tenses.
Time
Later, I couldn’t memorize phrasal verbs and
Later,
idioms.
In the meantime, I was getting some help
In the meantime,
from some friends.
Meanwhile, I was enjoying my skype lessons
Meanwhile,
more and more.
Keep accounting crystal clear. That is to say,
That is to say,
don’t ever stop reporting your incomes and
That is,
your expenses.
I have a very good reason for not trusting
Namely, them. Namely, they haven’t renewed their
Explanation certification in more than 10 years.
Don’t be unsociable. In other words, go out
In other words,
and make some friends.
John has managed to get over his
Put differently, depression. Put differently, he’s started
looking for a job.
In conclusion, it may be said that our
In conclusion,
company is ready to be certified.
Meeting my boss at the pub was an
In brief, interesting experience. In brief, it was a
disaster.
Conclusion In summary, it may not be the best idea to
In summary,
frequent the same pubs as your boss.
To sum up, some people are better suited to
To sum up,
working from home than others.
All in all, you have to make sure both you and
All in all,
your customers are satisfied with your work.

Fuente: SENA

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Practice on Sentence Connectors

Complete following sentences using an appropriate connecting word.

1. Alice seems to be quite intelligent; ………………………, she often gets poor grades.
(also / for instance / nonetheless)

2. This restaurant has some of the best chefs in the town ……………………………. their
service is excellent.
(to conclude / moreover / however)

3. He is a reckless driver; …………………….., he hasn’t had any accidents.

(yet / first of all/ that is why)

4. My sister works three jobs in a day; ………………………., she doesn’t earn much
money.
(however / moreover / even as)

5. We went out ……………………….. the cold weather.

(despite / although / besides)

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 Document control

Nombre Cargo Dependencia Fecha

Centro de Gestión de
Autor Mercados, Logística y
Karen Yolima Experta Agosto de
Tecnologías de la
Torres Tafur técnica 2017
Información. Regional
Distrito Capital
Andrés Felipe Guionista -
Centro Agroindustrial. Noviembre
Adaptación Velandia Línea de
Regional Quindío de 2017
Espitia Producción

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