Dr. Hole is a Continuous Improvement evangelist, who work to show organizations how they can implement procedures for risk management and continuous improvement as a process.
RISK MANAGEMENT AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE OF OMD
- Purpose This procedure describes the process by which the OMD can collect analyse and act on relevant data to improve its training and assessment systems and customer services and management operations.
- Related ISO 9001 and 14001 standards.
- Scope This procedure applies to all persons employed by or contracted to OMD.
- Responsible parties The Principal Executive Officer is responsible for the control and issue of this procedure.
- Definitions Risk is defined as ‘actual’ or ‘likely’ events or actions that may lead to the organisation’s failure to meet OMD compliance requirements. Auditing is one process used by OMD for the purpose of Continuous improvement of the organisation’s operations. Continuous improvement is the outcome from OMD identifying and acting on opportunities for service and operation improvement. Methods such as student and employer evaluation and feedback, self-assessment and review, validation, and strategic planning are used to gain information for continuous improvement Corrective and preventative action reports are utilised to offset and inefficiencies in the quality system, or to rectify activities that risk the integrity. Feedback is information provided by a, teamleader or employer on any of the operations or activities of OMD. Unsolicited feedback may come from a variety of sources and because of its unstructured nature may raise issues beyond the control of OMD.
- Policy Statement This policy approaches continuous improvement in relation to each of the Standards specified within the OMD:
- identify risks (likely an actual) concerned with compliance with ISO Standards
- undertake audit and continuous improvement activities in all operational areas to identify and prevent any perceived areas of risk
- modify any policy or procedure that may lead to ongoing improvement
- modify actions by staff that may lead to ongoing improvement
- respond, with a view to resolve any complaint lodged in regard to OMDs operations
- the conduct of an internal audit of OMD compliance
- the collection and analysis of the feedback and satisfaction data from staff on the activities of OMD · the review of all operational activities and their supporting policies and procedures against the ISO Standards, to discern opportunities for service or system improvement. Improvement may take the form of corrective or preventative action, as well as developmental activities designed to raise better standards of practice.
- the OMD shall document all actions arising from risk assessment processes and priorities for the coming year
- Procedure Four processes are to undertaken as part of the Continuous Improvement Procedure. These are:
7.1. Employer Feedback is to be gathered during multiple stages of service delivery:
- Prior to new qualification/course implementation (industry consultation)
- At the end of the first month of study
- On completion of units/courses as part of a progressive evaluation
- At the time of internal audit.
- During moderation/validation processes of training and assessment strategies Evaluations/surveys are to be developed under the authority of the OMD or CEO and implemented by OMD. The results may remain anonymous and employee should be given an opportunity to submit their comment without prejudice. When implementing the evaluation/survey, the staff member must:
- Use the approved valuation/survey response sheet
Explain the purpose of the evaluation/survey
- Provide students/employers with the opportunity to submit evaluations/survey responses with anonymity – if desired.
- Arrange / offer unbiased assistance with the completion of evaluations/surveys with literacy or language difficulties
- Deliver the responses, without tampering, dissemination, or alteration, immediately to the administrator for processing. The newspaper administrator is required to:
- Analyse and report to the CEO on information gained through feedback processes, including making recommendations on corrective/preventative and continuous improvement actions
- If requested, advise a respondent of complaint and resolution opportunities
- Arrange for the appropriate storage of feedback responses. in the course files. to ensure inclusion in audit processes CEO is required to
- Table the analysis and report at the next executive management meeting
- Implement the decisions made by the executive management committee
- Report back to the executive management committee on implementation actions
7.2. Internal Audit the CEO shall conduct an internal audit of OMD. This will happen on an annual basis and address all operational areas including:
- Promotion and Marketing of OMDs services
- Training Delivery and Assessment
- Training Completion and the issuance of awards
- The Quality System and its efficiencies in ensuring OMD compliance
An audit checklist must be compiled against:
- ISO Standards – OMD Policy and Procedural Guidelines Complaints lodged and resolutions
- Stakeholder Feedback to the CEO or his appointed officer will:
- Undertake the audit – commencing each area on a rotational basis
Review the previous audit outcome and risks identified for the relevant cycle and draw up an audit schedule
- Notify the relevant staff of the audit date and documentation requirements
- Using the resources available, identify current compliance status in relation to OMD requirements and the organisation’s own policies and procedures that reflect these.
- Detail the audit findings in a report, identifying and non-compliance and recommendations for corrective/preventative action.
- Table the audit report at the next executive management meeting. Where policies and or procedures are incorrect or found no longer current to operational requirements, the CEO must make the necessary amendments and distribute the changes for confirmation to the relevant staff/management before updating the system. Changes of this nature must be approved by the executive management committee and recorded as part of the version control policy. Preventative and Corrective actions will also be discussed, and signed off by the CEO and be implemented to correct non-compliance issues.
7.3. Compliance Review The Distribution Manager shall review all matters of compliance in relation to the ISO Standards for OMD s and the organisation’s own Quality System to assess the effectiveness of the quality system and assess elements of risk, risk management and risk avoidance processes. This should determine whether changes in the Quality System or resource allocations will be necessary to ensure ISO Standards are met consistently throughout OMD operations and in line with business planning.
7.4. Continuous Improvement and Risk Management A number of activities contribute to the identification of potential and actual areas for improvement of OMD operations: These ranges from corrective/preventative actions, audit reports, feedback to complaints logs. The Distribution Manager is responsible for raising awareness among staff of any operational areas that have received unfavorable feedback from staff. The Distribution Manager will, as part of the Continuous improvement process, manages Continues Improvement Register. Any continuous improvement identified in Staff meetings, Moderation Meetings and other feedbacks are entered in Continues Improvement Register.