ISO 9001 Quality System: An Interpretation for the University* S. KARAPETROVIC, D. RAJAMANI and W. WILLBORN Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg R3T 5V6, Canada. E-mail: [email protected]The paper provides an interpretation of the ISO 9001 model for quality assurance in a university environment. The objective is to prepare a framework for successful documentation and imple- mentation of a quality system based on the ISO 9000 international standards in education. The systems approach to quality assurance and the concept of a university production system furnish the basis for a consistent interpretation of all twenty elements of ISO 9001 (1994). An interpreted quality system can then be established in any department, faculty or university seeking explicit quality assurance, i.e. providing confidence to customers that their requirements for quality are met. INTRODUCTION UNDOUBTEDLY, THE WORLD of education is facing rapid changes today and will probably face even greater changes in the future. With the emerging communication technologies, such as the Internet, video-conferencing and satellite- aided communication, distance education is becoming a reality not only in remote Australian deserts, but across the world. Suddenly, a Canadian student can obtain a degree from a reputable Australian or British university, without ever leaving the comfort of his/her home. The exclusive local university markets will soon cease to exist, and schools will have to both think and act globally in order to survive. So, how will universities assure prospective students and their future employers internationally of the quality of education provided? The manufacturing sector has already encoun- tered a similar situation: fierce international com- petition, customers requiring world-class quality at a preferably low price, the necessity of keeping pace with leading-edge production and informa- tion technologies. Many organizations have found a part of the answer to these problems in the introduction of internationally accepted generic standards for quality assurance from the ISO 9000 series. Hundreds of thousands of companies world-wide have achieved registration and are now able to compete for international contracts. In a previous paper [1], we argued that engineering faculties in particular should follow their manu- facturing counterparts in this respect, and develop quality assurance systems based on ISO 9000. This would provide confidence to employers, students and the general public that their requirements for quality education and research are met, and would make systematic quality efforts visible. This paper will attempt to further discuss a quality assurance strategy in education, and provide a framework for a systematic interpretation and a successful doc- umentation/implementation of the most compre- hensive standard in the ISO 9000 series; namely ISO 9001. The ISO 9001 (1994) standard: Model for Qual- ity Assurance in Design, Development, Produc- tion, Installation and Servicing was written by engineers and quality professionals from large industries with a manufacturing organization in mind, and thus requires an interpretation for application in a university environment. The need for a systematic approach in interpreting the standard is evident considering that the sparse literature on the topic shows considerable short- falls. Existing literature restricts the scope of the quality system to fewer than the full 20 elements [2, 3]. For example, Lewis and Smith consider only twelve elements of ISO 9001 to be directly applic- able to education [2], while Willborn and Cheng address seventeen [3]. Although research is an integral part of university processes and a distin- guishing characteristic of academic staff, existing interpretations focus on the ‘learning opportunity’ and courses as a primary product of educational institutions (e.g. [4, 5]). These interpretations would most certainly become more clear and consistent if underlying production and quality system concepts were to be used. Therefore, the next section of the paper briefly addresses the concept of the university produc- tion system, which will be used in the inter- pretation. Subsequently, ISO 9001 elements are re-ordered to follow the logical flow of a uni- versity’s products, from the determination of customers requirements and needs, to the evalua- tion of whether these needs have been satisfied. Each ISO 9001 element is then interpreted and * Accepted 1 October 1997. 105 Int. J. Engng Ed. Vol. 14, No. 2, p. 105–118, 1998 0949-149X/91 $3.00+0.00 Printed in Great Britain. # 1998 TEMPUS Publications.
Transcript
ISO 9001 Quality System:An Interpretation for the University*
S. KARAPETROVIC, D. RAJAMANI and W. WILLBORNDepartment of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Manitoba,Winnipeg R3T 5V6, Canada. E-mail: [email protected]
The paper provides an interpretation of the ISO 9001 model for quality assurance in a universityenvironment. The objective is to prepare a framework for successful documentation and imple-mentation of a quality system based on the ISO 9000 international standards in education. Thesystems approach to quality assurance and the concept of a university production system furnish thebasis for a consistent interpretation of all twenty elements of ISO 9001 (1994). An interpretedquality system can then be established in any department, faculty or university seeking explicitquality assurance, i.e. providing confidence to customers that their requirements for quality aremet.
INTRODUCTION
UNDOUBTEDLY, THE WORLD of educationis facing rapid changes today and will probablyface even greater changes in the future. With theemerging communication technologies, such asthe Internet, video-conferencing and satellite-aided communication, distance education isbecoming a reality not only in remote Australiandeserts, but across the world. Suddenly, aCanadian student can obtain a degree from areputable Australian or British university, withoutever leaving the comfort of his/her home. Theexclusive local university markets will soon ceaseto exist, and schools will have to both think andact globally in order to survive. So, how willuniversities assure prospective students and theirfuture employers internationally of the quality ofeducation provided?
The manufacturing sector has already encoun-tered a similar situation: fierce international com-petition, customers requiring world-class quality ata preferably low price, the necessity of keepingpace with leading-edge production and informa-tion technologies. Many organizations have founda part of the answer to these problems in theintroduction of internationally accepted genericstandards for quality assurance from the ISO9000 series. Hundreds of thousands of companiesworld-wide have achieved registration and are nowable to compete for international contracts. In aprevious paper [1], we argued that engineeringfaculties in particular should follow their manu-facturing counterparts in this respect, and developquality assurance systems based on ISO 9000. Thiswould provide confidence to employers, studentsand the general public that their requirements forquality education and research are met, and would
make systematic quality efforts visible. This paperwill attempt to further discuss a quality assurancestrategy in education, and provide a framework fora systematic interpretation and a successful doc-umentation/implementation of the most compre-hensive standard in the ISO 9000 series; namelyISO 9001.
The ISO 9001 (1994) standard: Model for Qual-ity Assurance in Design, Development, Produc-tion, Installation and Servicing was written byengineers and quality professionals from largeindustries with a manufacturing organization inmind, and thus requires an interpretation forapplication in a university environment. The needfor a systematic approach in interpreting thestandard is evident considering that the sparseliterature on the topic shows considerable short-falls. Existing literature restricts the scope of thequality system to fewer than the full 20 elements[2, 3]. For example, Lewis and Smith consider onlytwelve elements of ISO 9001 to be directly applic-able to education [2], while Willborn and Chengaddress seventeen [3]. Although research is anintegral part of university processes and a distin-guishing characteristic of academic staff, existinginterpretations focus on the `learning opportunity'and courses as a primary product of educationalinstitutions (e.g. [4, 5]). These interpretationswould most certainly become more clear andconsistent if underlying production and qualitysystem concepts were to be used.
Therefore, the next section of the paper brieflyaddresses the concept of the university produc-tion system, which will be used in the inter-pretation. Subsequently, ISO 9001 elements arere-ordered to follow the logical flow of a uni-versity's products, from the determination ofcustomers requirements and needs, to the evalua-tion of whether these needs have been satisfied.Each ISO 9001 element is then interpreted and* Accepted 1 October 1997.
105
Int. J. Engng Ed. Vol. 14, No. 2, p. 105±118, 1998 0949-149X/91 $3.00+0.00Printed in Great Britain. # 1998 TEMPUS Publications.
examples of documentation/implementation ofselected elements are provided. Finally, guidelinesfor a successful and cost-effective implementationare given.
SYSTEMS APPROACH
Although the ISO 9001 standard is generic, i.e. itis applicable to manufacturing and service organ-izations, as well as health care, small business andeducation, a number of terms and concepts in thestandard have manufacturing background. Toassist us in the interpretation, the concept of theUniversity Production System is introduced. Thisconcept is addressed in detail in [1], however a briefoutline of main terms and concepts is providedhere.
The University Production System (UPS) canbe defined as a set of interdependent processes,such as teaching, learning and researching, andresources, including human, material and infor-mation, that function harmoniously to achievespecified educational objectives. For example, a
university's objectives can be to create, preserveand disseminate knowledge [6]. Universities createthree main products:
. student knowledge, abilities and competencies
. courses and programs
. research (new knowledge).
A summary of terms found in the ISO 9001standard and explanations of these terms withrespect to these three products are given in Table 1.
ISO 9000 is about quality systems. A qualitysystem is defined as a set of interdependentprocesses that function harmoniously in an organi-zation, using various resources, to achieve objec-tives related to quality. An objective related toquality is to meet and surpass customer needs andrequirements. Another objective can be to createzero-defect products (an analysis of zero-defectproducts in the university environment is pre-sented in [7]). Processes within the quality systemtransform customer requirements (required output)into the product bearing the ability to satisfythe requirements (actual output). The current ver-sion of the ISO 9001 standard, approved in 1994,
Table 1. UPS terms required for the interpretation of ISO 9001
EXPLANATIONTERM
(ISO 9001) Student Knowledge Program/Courses Research
Industry, research sponsors,other universities,community
Supplier University/Faculty/DepartmentSubcontractor High schools, other
universities, communitycolleges
Professional institutions,other universities
Researchers, industrysponsors, literature sources(journals)
Executive Management For a faculty: Dean, department heads and program directors;For a department: Head and associate heads
Design Plan Undergraduate programs, M. Sc. programs Research objectivesDesigner Academic staff (professors and instructors)Process Plan Individual student curriculum Course outline (plan); Research project plan
Program planRaw Material Student knowledge and
comprehension of basic artsand sciences before enteringthe university
Existing material on coursesand programs
Existing practical andtheoretical knowledge
Value Adding to Material Value adding to student'sknowledge and abilities
Improvement in coursedesign, delivery andmaintenance
Value adding to existingknowledge
Manufacturing Process Learning Teaching ResearchingLead Time Time from enrollment to
graduationPrograms: 4 or 5 years;Courses: 1 or 2 terms
Machine/Technology `Learning opportunity' `Research Opportunity'Operator Teacher and student Teacher, teaching assistant Researcher, research assistantPart Specification Course specification in the `General Calendar' Specification of deliverables
in a research contractQuality Policy The overall quality intentions and direction of the faculty (department), as formally expressed by
the dean (department head)Quality Control The operational techniques and activities used to fulfill the requirements for qualityNonconformity The nonfulfilment of specified requirements
Student failure Course, program failure Research project failure
S. Karapetrovic et al.106
consists of twenty requirements, each representingone element of the quality system. Nevertheless,interrelationships of the twenty elements of ISO9001 are not clear, and the elements do not seem tofollow a logical order. For example, element 4.4Design control is followed by 4.5 Document anddata control, and 4.6 Purchasing, after whichcomes 4.7 Control of customer-supplied product.Some organizations have tried to document andimplement these quality system elements in theorder in which they appear in the standard, andencountered a treacherous path. The danger in thisapproach lies in the increased emphasis on docu-mentation and a loss of the focus on the qualitysystem [8].
In a university environment, the developmentof a quality system and concepts of qualityassurance will certainly encounter mixed reviewsby academics, who are often weary of structuredapproaches requiring additional documentation.Thus, the focus has to be on the establishment of ameaningful quality system with numerous benefitsto each individual professor and staff member,rather than documenting each requirement andhaving impeccable and seldom-used records madejust for a registrar's visit.
In order to provide the universities with a focuson a quality system, ISO 9001 elements have beenre-ordered into two categories: quality loop andsupporting elements (Fig. 1) according to [9]. Thequality loop is a set of interacting activities andprocesses that influence the quality of the productthrough various stages of its life-cycle: fromdetermining customer needs to the evaluation of
whether these needs have been met. The firstprocess in the loop is the determination of cus-tomer requirements, and the ability of the organi-zation to meet them. This is the subject of theISO 9001 requirement 4.3 Contract Review. Theproduct that meets these requirements is thendesigned (4.4 Design Control), and a quality planaddressing this specific product is prepared (4.2.3).The procurement of necessary resources follows,with sections 4.6, 4.7 and 4.11 of ISO 9001 focus-ing on these issues. Human resources must betrained to effectively use procured resources (4.18Training). The product subsequently goes throughprocessing (4.9 Process Control), inspection andtesting (requirement 4.10 and 4.12), as well ashandling and storage (4.15). Defective productsare removed (4.13) and corrective and preventiveactions implemented (4.14). Finally, servicing isavailable, if required (4.19).
The group of seven supporting elements con-sists first of the requirement 4.1 Managementresponsibility, which is implied in all other ele-ments of the quality system. Necessary documenta-tion resources are the subject of sections 4.2, 4.5and 4.16 of the standard. Element 4.8 ProductIdentification and Traceability, is also impliedthroughout the product's life cycle. Finally, 4.17Quality Audits and 4.20 Statistical Techniques aredesigned and implemented to improve the qualitysystem.
Armed with this systems approach to ISO 9001,as well as the concept of the University ProductionSystem, we will proceed with the interpretation ofall twenty elements of the standard for application
Fig. 1. Graphical model of an ISO 9001 quality system (modified from [9]) .
ISO 9001 Quality System for the University 107
in higher education. In our preceding paper [1], aglossary and interpretation of ISO 9000 terms wasincluded.
ISO 9001 INTERPRETATION
Quality Loop Elements
Contract review. Quality can be defined as theability of the product to satisfy stated and/orimplied customer requirements. Therefore, thefirst step in the development of a quality systemin a university is to adequately identify theserequirements. The objective of the contractreview element of ISO 9001 is to provide thefaculty (department) with a clear understandingof customers' needs and specifications, to evaluateif these needs can be achieved, and to provide thecustomers with a clear understanding of themanner in which the faculty (department) shallmeet them. The following processes are covered:
. Defining and documenting the industry andsociety requirements with respect to under-graduate and graduate programs offered, bymeans of alumni and employers surveys, ques-tionnaires, interviews, as well as the analysis ofavailable legislation, governmental guidelinesand standards.
. Accreditation of programs by regulating bodies,such as the Canadian Engineering AccreditationBoard (CEAB) in Canada or the AccreditationBoard for Engineering and Technology (ABET)in the United States.
. Review of contracts with the employers parti-cipating in co-operative programs offered by thefaculty (department).
. Review of students' understanding of theadmission requirements, program content andcontext, graduation requirements, and their res-ponsibilities and authorities, through interviewsand surveys.
. Review of industry and government-sponsoredresearch contracts, such as research projectsundertaken with the Natural Sciences andEngineering Research Council (NSERC) inCanada.
. Assessment of the faculty's (department's)ability to meet the requirements.
. Contract changes, such as when a researchsponsor changes the requirements.
As an output of contract review activities, pro-gram and research design/planning committeesshould have a clear understanding of the kind ofprograms/courses/research required, as well as thefaculty's (department's) ability to offer such pro-grams and research. A document outlining corerequirements can be prepared in the form of aprogram or research project brief, much likeproduct briefs in manufacturing. An example ofa typical contract review process in an engineeringdepartment is presented in Fig. 2.
Design control. Following contract review activ-ities, the faculty (department) must demonstratethe ability to translate customers' specificationsinto appropriate design of programs/coursesoffered, individual student curricula and researchprojects. Design control may consist of severalstages, such as: identifying the input into thedesign process, verification of the program/curriculum/research design against design input,as well as validation of the design output againstcustomers' requirements. Design input mayinclude suggestions for new programs fromCEAB/ABET or industry, analysis of customerneeds and market position of the faculty (depart-ment), and feasibility studies for new programs orresearch. Design output should include the state-ment of factual content and format of programs,skills and competencies to be developed in studentsor research projects, as well as an illustration ofhow the course/program/research project contentis relevant to its aims and objectives. The respon-sibilities and authorities and the vertical and lateralinterrelationships between the personnel which areinvolved in the design process should be definedand documented. Also, the faculty (department)must identify, document, review and approvedesign changes and modifications. The followingprocesses should be included:
. Design planning, review, verification and vali-dation of new undergraduate and graduateprograms and courses.
. Design control of the individual student curri-cula, including the statement of minimum pathsto graduation, elective and compulsory courses,responsibility and authority of students, anddefining the student's input into the designprocess.
. Contractual research with industry and govern-ment agencies.
. Identification, documentation, review andapproval of program design changes, includingthe addition of new courses and deletion ofexisting courses and programs.
An example of a program design control flow-chart is presented in Figs. 3a and b.
Quality planning. Quality planning covers theidentification, classification and weighing ofproduct quality characteristics (see [1]), establish-ing the objectives, requirements and constraintsfor quality, as well as the preparation of qualityplans. Quality plans are documents setting outthe specific quality practices, resources andsequence of activities relevant to a particularproduct, project or contract. This means thateach course, program and a contracted researchproject should have a separate quality plan, stand-ing alone or as a part of the course or researchproject plan. A typical course quality plan shouldinclude:
S. Karapetrovic et al.108
. course requirements from the General Calendar;
. course objectives and specific knowledge/competencies to be developed in students;
. course prerequisites & statement of anyincoming inspection of student backgroundknowledge;
. detailed topic layout and schedule of presenta-tion (can be in a checklist form to provide therecord of topics covered in class and the topicsstudents would study on their own);
. list of required textbooks, software and labora-tory notes;
. instructions for teaching assistants andlaboratory technicians;
. detailed inspection plan, including the type oftests (exams) planned, topics covered andweights assigned for each test.
Purchasing. Product design and quality planningis followed by the acquisition of necessaryresources, including academic and support staff,information and material resources (hardware, soft-ware, equipment and facilities), as well as students.The objective of the purchasing requirement of
Fig. 2. Example of a contract review process.
ISO 9001 Quality System for the University 109
ISO 9001 is to ensure that these resources con-form to the specified requirements. This is neces-sary because the university builds the acquiredresources into its products. For example, only thestudents who meet entrance standards should beallowed to enroll. Defective purchased material,such as a faulty overhead projector or inappro-priate software loaded on the network, may nega-tively affect the quality of the teaching, learning orresearch processes.
The following processes should be covered byadequate procedures and records:
. purchasing of hardware and software requiredfor the proper delivery of programs, courses andresearch projects;
. subcontracting of resources (facilities manage-ment, equipment maintenance, student trans-port);
. appointment of academic and support staff,including professors, teaching and researchassistants/associates, administrative and techni-cal staff (see Fig. 4);
. admission of undergraduate and postgraduatestudents.
Also, the appropriate verification of a purchasedproduct or an acquired resource must be planned,executed and reviewed. Where specific contractsrequire the department or faculty/staff members toverify purchased products or acquired resources atsubcontractor's premises, this verification should
Fig. 3a. Example of design control activities.
S. Karapetrovic et al.110
be planned, conducted and recorded according tothe particular contract. An example of suchactivities may include screening of high schoolstudents through visits, the assessment of com-munity college programs to provide credits totransfer students and so on. In some instances,specific contracts may require the customers toverify purchased products or services at univer-sity's premises. This, in general, pertains toresearch contracts, but may include visits by therepresentatives of industry and governmentalagencies to verify the delivery of programs andresearch.
Control of inspection, measuring and testing equip-ment. Another set of resources that has to beallocated before the actual delivery of programsand research includes the inspection/measuring
equipment and methods. This ISO 9001 require-ment covers the methods and equipment usedfor measuring and testing of student knowledge/abilities, methods applied to ensure that programs/courses conform to the specified requirements, aswell as the measuring and testing equipment usedin research activities. The following processes areincluded:
. design of tests, quizzes, assignments, projectrequirements, exams;
. designing, applying, reviewing, validating, chang-ing and improving the marking and gradingschemes;
. review of inspection and testing methods forstudent knowledge, experience and skills;
. control, calibration and maintenance ofequipment used for inspection, measuring and
Fig. 3b. Example of design control activities (continued).
ISO 9001 Quality System for the University 111
testing at the course level, such as instant scoringmachines, standardized and computerized tests;
. control, calibration, maintenance, handling andsafeguarding of inspection, measuring and testequipment used in research activities;
. control, maintenance and review of methodsused for inspection and measurement of thedegree to which an undergraduate or a graduateprogram meets specified requirements.
Control of customer-supplied product. The objectiveof this element of the quality system is to demon-strate the capability of the faculty (department) toidentify, maintain, store, preserve and properlyhandle all material provided by students in thecourse of studies, and all products provided byexternal organizations with which the departmenthas contracts for research projects. The identi-fication, verification and handling of student-supplied material, such as exams, tests, assign-ments, reports, theses, software and books arecovered. Also, the examination, storage, main-tenance, preservation, handling and properusage of hardware and software provided byresearch sponsors, industry and governmentalinstitutions and/or agencies should be documentedby appropriate procedures and records.
Training. The faculty (department) and individualfaculty and staff members must identify the train-ing needs of its faculty and staff, and provide forthe adequate training. Also, student counselingneeds should be identified and proper counselingservices supplied. Thus, the following processesshould be addressed by appropriate procedures:
. development and training of faculty, teachingand research assistants, and support staff;
. student curriculum counseling;
. faculty members' maintenance of professionalcompetence;
Appropriate records of training activities must bemaintained.
Process control. After the allocation and deploy-ment of adequate resources, the delivery of pro-grams and research is soon to follow. In general,the teaching, learning and researching processesare addressed by this requirement. The objective isto ensure proper identification and planning ofthese processes, and to ensure that they are carriedout under controlled conditions. Controlled con-ditions include:
. documents defining the manner in which theprocesses are carried out, such as course/research project plans and procedures;
. use of a suitable equipment and a suitableworking environment;
. compliance with reference course and researchproject quality plans;
. monitoring and control of product qualitycharacteristics and suitable process parameters;
. preventive/corrective maintenance of equipmentused for teaching, learning and research.
It is important to note that the control of thelearning process and its product, namely studentknowledge, is also focused by the inspection andtesting element of ISO 9001 (see following section).This element covers the student-based controlof individual learning, via student presentations,seminars and design projects.
Process control activities may be categorizedinto four groups:
. process control design
. control of resources
. process control implementation
. process control improvement.
Table 2 illustrates the activities of teaching andresearch process control, respectively.
Inspection and testing. Student knowledge, pro-grams/courses and research must be inspectedand tested against the requirements set in appro-priate procedures and quality plans. Also, recordsof such activities must be kept. The ISO require-ment 4.10 Inspection and Testing applies to thereceiving, in-process and final inspection of:
. undergraduate students' knowledge and skillsacquired in a particular course;
. student's academic status (program level inspec-tion);
. graduate students, including course-work andthesis-related work;
. research projects against the requirements setout in the research contract and/or project plan.
Specific activities are outlined in Table 3.
Inspection and test status. After performing inspec-tion and testing of its products, the faculty (depart-ment) must ensure that the products are properlyidentified, and that the inspection and test statusindicates whether the products are conformingor nonconforming to specified requirements. Forexample, a class list with grades for specific com-ponents of the course indicates a student's inspec-tion and test status in a course. Another exampleis the student academic status, determined afterevaluation by the board of examiners. A studentmay also be requested to repeat a course, and his/her status indicated on the transcript. Thus,inspection and test status of undergraduate andgraduate students at the course and programlevels, as well the status of research projectsconducted in the faculty (department) must beidentified.
Control of nonconforming product. The purposeof inspection is to confirm whether a product
S. Karapetrovic et al.112
conforms or does not conform to specified require-ments. Nonconforming products are students whodo not meet course or program requirements,courses/programs that failed to achieve statedobjectives, as well as research projects that didnot meet specified contract requirements. Researchactivities have such a nature that sometimes afailure to prove a hypothesis is a valuable researchresult. In this case a `failure' is not necessarilyidentical to nonconformance. Only when a con-tract with industry or a research sponsor existsshould this ISO 9001 element be applied inresearch.
The identification, evaluation, documentationand segregation of nonconforming students,courses/programs or research projects are required.In terms of undergraduate students, control ofnonconformancies related to term-work and finalexams, as well as control of students under academicsuspension is required. Control of graduate stud-ents who do not meet course or thesis requirements,as well as nonconforming contracted researchmust be addressed by appropriate procedures andrecords, as well.
Corrective and preventive action. A logical pathafter the occurrence of nonconforming productsis to look for and eliminate the causes of thesenonconformities, if feasible. This is done by plan-ning, designing, implementing and reviewingadequate corrective actions to prevent existingnonconformities from occurring again, andadequate actions to prevent the occurrence ofpotential nonconformities. Corrective and pre-ventive actions taken at all stages of planning,design and delivery of programs, courses andresearch in the faculty (department) are includedin this element. Existing and potential nonconfor-mancies are identified, for instance, by means ofinternal Quality Audits, statistical techniques, testsor personal observations.
Handling, storage, packaging, preservation anddelivery. The material and equipment used inteaching, learning and research should be properlyhandled, stored and preserved in order to preventdamage or deterioration. Also, a safe and healthyenvironment should be provided. In case of any
Table 2. Process control activities
TEACHING PROCESS CONTROL
GROUP ACTIVITY
PROCESS CONTROL review of course design and quality plansDESIGN assessing the need and selection for course/program prerequisites
identification of critical quality characteristics for the courseidentification of teaching process parameters to be monitored and controlledplanning the methods for monitoring and control of critical quality characteristics and suitable process
parametersCONTROL OF identification of adequate teaching equipment
RESOURCES ensuring proper maintenance of teaching equipmentidentification of proper teaching and learning environmentreview of equipment, facilities and services admissibility for the course
PROCESS CONTROL incoming inspection of student's prerequisitesIMPLEMENTATION assessment of student's admissibility to a course
assessment of topics and matter taught in course prerequisitescourse deliverymonitoring, measuring and control of critical quality characteristics and teaching process parametersstudent course evaluation
PROCESS CONTROL planning, implementing and reviewing preventive and corrective actionsIMPROVEMENT assessment and review of critical quality characteristics, suitable process parameters, equipment,
environment, facilities and services
RESEARCH PROCESS CONTROL
GROUP ACTIVITY
PROCESS CONTROL identification of critical quality characteristics for a research projectDESIGN identification of research process parameters to be monitored and controlled
planning of the methods for monitoring and control of critical quality characteristics and suitableresearch process parameters
CONTROL OF identification of adequate equipment required for the research projectRESOURCES ensuring proper maintenance of research equipment
identification of proper research environmentreview of equipment, facilities and services admissibility for the research projectresearch project quality planning
PROCESS CONTROL research project deliveryIMPLEMENTATION monitoring, measuring and control of critical quality characteristics and research process parameters
PROCESS CONTROL planning, implementing and reviewing corrective actionsIMPROVEMENT assessment and review of critical quality characteristics, suitable process parameters, equipment,
environment, facilities and services
ISO 9001 Quality System for the University 113
damage or deterioration of material, equipmentand/or environment occurs, the objective is toensure detecting and assessing such occurrences,and implementing corrective and preventiveactions to eliminate causes of further damageand/or deterioration.
The equipment and material include lecturerooms, research laboratories, computer labo-ratories, overhead projectors, electronic displays,chalk boards, textbooks, software, solutionmanuals, materials used in tests and experiments,research project reports, and research papers.Provision of a healthy and safe environmentincludes proper conduct of faculty, staff andstudents, personal safety and health, as well asparking and traffic regulations, sports services,housing and student life. Adequate proceduresand records must be documented and maintainedto assure quality.
Servicing. Servicing of programs/courses andresearch project follows delivery. Under thisrequirement, students are provided with informa-tion on new developments in the field of expertise.Also included are career counseling, provision ofthe list of engineering graduates to prospectiveemployers and alumni organization's services.In terms of research, servicing activities areperformed according to specific contracts.
Supporting elementsSupporting elements of the ISO 9001 quality
system address resources necessary for the qualitysystem implementation, as well as resources andprocesses necessary for the improvement of quality.
Management responsibility. Overall objectives ofthe quality system are stated in a documentcalled the quality policy. This policy should be
Table 3. Inspection and testing activities
PROCESS ACTIVITY
RECEIVING INSPECTION selection of course prerequisites and corequisitesAND TESTING AT A assessment of student admissibility to a courseCOURSE LEVEL keeping records of receiving inspection and testing activities
IN-PROCESS INSPECTION design and design review of inspection and test plan for the courseAND TESTING AT A distribution of the course inspection plan (part of course outline) to studentsCOURSE LEVEL assessment of the scheduling of inspection and tests activities
design and review of term tests, quizzes, projects, case studies and other forms of inspectionand testing activities to be performed during the term
distribution and collection of testsmarking and gradinghandling of marking and grading appealskeeping records of in-process inspection and testing activities
FINAL INSPECTION AND design and design review of the final examTESTING AT A COURSE conducting the final examLEVEL marking and grading of the final exam
review of marking and gradinghandling of appeals and review of final exam resultsconducting deferred and special examskeeping records of final inspection and testing
RECEIVING application for admission into the department's undergraduate programsINSPECTION OF review of the application and eligibility of student to enroll
UNDERGRADUATE inspection against specified entrance requirements and criteriaSTUDENTS handling of student appeals
keeping records of aforementioned activitiesIN-PROCESS INSPECTION determination and review of the student academic status
OF UNDERGRADUATES handling of student appealskeeping inspection records
FINAL INSPECTION GraduationRECEIVING application for admission into the department's undergraduate programsINSPECTION OF review of the application and eligibility of student to enroll
GRADUATE STUDENTS inspection against specified entrance requirements and criteriahandling of student appealskeeping records of aforementioned activities
IN-PROCESS INSPECTION advisor's assessment of the student's progressOF GRADUATE annual review of progressSTUDENTS establishment of the M.Sc. thesis examining committee
M.Sc. thesis oral examinationreview of thesis/project by the examining committeeestablishment of the Ph. D. selection committeereview of student's suitability for Ph.D. studiesadvisor's assessment of Ph. D. student's progressdocumenting and implementing the program of studiesestablishment of the Ph. D. advisory committeeannual review of the Ph.D. student's progressconducting the Ph.D. Candidacy and Oral Examination
FINAL INSPECTION GraduationRESEARCH PROJECT Activities specified in the research project plan
S. Karapetrovic et al.114
drafted and signed by the dean (department head).An example follows:
The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering has committeditself to provide the best quality in teaching, learningand research. Meeting the needs of our students, theirfuture employers and the needs of the community in
general is the main objective. A documented and
implemented quality assurance system, that complies
with the International ISO 9001 Standard, and will be
registered, supports this policy. All members of the
Faculty understand and follow this policy.
Signature and date
Fig. 4. Example of a purchasing activity.
ISO 9001 Quality System for the University 115
The executive management (defined in Table 1)ensures that the quality policy is understood,implemented and maintained. Apart from clearlyemphasizing quality objectives, management res-ponsibility facilitates that the interrelationshipsand authorities of all persons whose work influ-ences quality of student knowledge, courses andresearch is defined. This includes responsibilityand authority of the faculty/department adminis-tration, professors (instructors), teaching/researchassistants/associates, technicians and adminis-trative/support staff. Organizational charts orresponsibility matrices may serve in this mandate.
The executive management must also identify theneed for appropriate resources (instructors, assist-ants, courses, laboratory equipment, library, audio/video/computer equipment), as well as appoint anISO 9000 Coordinator. The coordinator shouldbe a faculty member with a thorough under-standing of the ISO 9001 quality system and theeducational and research processes in the faculty(department). His/her responsibilities includeliaison with external parties, such as other facultiesand/or universities, university administration, stu-dent records office and customers/subcontractorsof the faculty (department).
At prescribed intervals, or when required, theexecutive management conducts managementreviews. A management review includes:
. internal Quality Audits;
. overview and analysis of the quality policy andobjectives;
. assessment of quality system effectiveness;
. analysis of customers requirements/needs;
. interrelationship between customer requirementsand policy and objectives.
While Quality Audits are performed against thedepartmental goals and objectives, managementreviews are performed by the executive manage-ment against the quality policy. A managementreview may include the review of documentationemerging from the audits. Records of managementreviews must be kept and evidence of actionsarising from them must be available.
Quality system. This requirement addresses thescope of the quality system, and the requireddocumentation. If the faculty (department)plans not to include certain products in the qualitysystem, such as research, the range of products andservices included in the quality system must bestated. A quality system must be documented withan appropriate quality manual, procedures,instructions and records. This allows proper com-munication, audits and verification activities. TheQuality Manual describes the quality system andrefers to quality system procedures. Depending onthe scope of the quality system and the organi-zational structure of the institution, a QualityManual can be drafted on a faculty or depart-mental basis, or it can address specific products,such as programs or research. For example, an
engineering faculty with three departments canhave three separate manuals, one for each depart-ment, or one for each product: undergraduateprograms, and graduate programs and research.In terms of procedures, the faculty (department)may decide to prepare one procedure for eachrequirement of the standard. The proceduresexplain in detail who does what, when andwhere. Procedures make reference to instruc-tions that define how an activity or part of aprocess is performed. Examples of instructionsmay include the teaching assistant's instructionfor conducting laboratory experiments, librarian/technician instructions, and so on.
Document and data control. Document controlensures that accurate, up-to-date documents arereadily available when and where required. Alldocuments and data pertaining to the qualitysystem must be adequately identified, prepared,reviewed, revised, approved and maintained.Thus, the issuance and approval of quality systemdocuments and data, including the preparation,updating and maintaining the Master List ofQuality System Documents, as well as the docu-ment and data changes are covered here. The scopeof documentation to be controlled includes theQuality Manual, procedures, instructions, recordsand course and research project plans. The needfor and use of each document must be clear andregularly reviewed.
Control of quality records. For the purpose ofproviding evidence that adequate quality assur-ance activities are being carried out, the faculty(department) must have a procedure in place forthe control of all quality records. This requirementof the standard applies to the identification, collec-tion, indexing, access, filing, storage, maintenanceand disposition of quality records. To maintain thescope of these records, a master list of all formsconsidered to be `quality records' should be kept.
Product identification and traceability. There is aneed to properly identify the product and providemeans for the traceability of related quality prob-lems to their causes. Therefore, adequate identifi-cation of all courses, research projects, students,faculty and staff, as well as the traceability ofnonconformancies in student academic progress,courses/programs and research projects are veryimportant. The following processes are addressedby this ISO 9001 element:
. issuing and safekeeping of student numbers andidentification cards;
. issuing and safekeeping of faculty and staffidentification cards;
. handling of department and course numbers;
. issuing and distributing registration calendars tostudents;
. assigning numbers and codes to researchprojects.
S. Karapetrovic et al.116
Internal Quality Audit. The objective of thiselement is to verify that the quality systemcomplies with planned arrangements, such asthe ISO 9001 International Standard, and toverify whether these arrangements are imple-mented effectively and are suitable to achievequality objectives. Internal quality audits serveto improve the quality system from the perspectiveof individual faculty and staff members, since theyraise official attention to shortcomings and pro-blems within the system. An effective internalquality audit system should be established on thebasis of ISO 10011 Guidelines for Quality Audit,with faculty members trained as internal qualityauditors.
Statistical techniques. In order to control andimprove the quality of education and research,statistical techniques should be used. This ISO9001 element requires that the need for statisticaltechniques in learning, teaching and research isestablished, and that the identified techniques areimplemented and controlled. Statistical processcontrol (SPC control charts), the seven qualitytools, analysis of variance, hypothesis testing,design of experiments (DOE) may be included. Itis advised that the need for the implementation ofthese techniques is analyzed in each of the fourteenquality loop elements of the quality system, as wellas appropriate supporting elements. For example,statistical techniques in contract review may beused for analysis of customer satisfaction throughsurveys and interviews. Also, the analysis ofindustry and government needs and specificationscan be included. In handling, preservation anddelivery, number of nonconformancies in class-rooms, equipment malfunctions and downtime,damaged teaching material, availability of soft-ware and computers, and many other qualityindicators can be tracked and improved usingstatistical techniques.
IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES
The establishment of an ISO 9001 quality systemin a university environment certainly requires aconsiderable amount of human, financial andinformation resources. However, this does notimply that universities or departments that areconsidering implementation have to start fromscratch and spend hundreds of thousands ofdollars in the endeavor. As suggested in the pre-ceding paper [1], engineering faculties across theworld have already encountered quality assuranceschemes in the form of accreditation of theirundergraduate programs. Examples include theCEAB accreditation in Canada and ABETaccreditation in the United States. Using the exist-ing CEAB or ABET documentation, faculties anddepartments can build a framework for an ISO9001 quality system. This approach will basicallyfill in the documentation gaps, rather than requirea total and unpredictable change of the processesand workings of an academic system. If the advan-tages of an ISO 9001 quality system for eachindividual member of an academic communityare set up front, and the executive management iscommitted to achieving this goal, the ground for asuccessful implementation of the system will be set.Ultimately, the benefits of having a meaningfulquality assurance system will certainly outweighunavoidable concerns.
CONCLUSION
The ISO 9001 quality system is interpreted forapplication in a university environment. The con-cepts of the University Production System and theQuality System provided the necessary frame-work for the interpretation of all twenty elementsof ISO 9001. Examples of processes covered by therequirements of the standard are given, followedby a brief discussion on some of the issues facultywill face during the implementation.
REFERENCES
1. S. Karapetrovic, D. Rajamani and W. Willborn, The University Manufacturing System: ISO 9000and accreditation issues, Int. J. Engineering Education 13(3), p. 180±189 (1997).
2. R. G. Lewis and D. H. Smith, Total Quality in Higher Education, St. Lucie Press, Delray Beach,Florida (1994).
3. W. Willborn and T. C. E. Cheng, Global Management of Quality Assurance Systems, McGraw Hill,New York (1994)
4. British Standards Institute, BS 5750: Guidance Notes for Application to Education and Training, BSI,Milton Keynes, UK (1994).
5. National Accreditation of Certification Bodies, Guidelines on the Application of the ISO 9000 Seriesto Further Education and Training, NACCB, London, UK (1994).
6. Mission of the University of Manitoba, General Calendar, 1997, University of Manitoba, p. 4.7. S. Karapetrovic and W. Willborn, Creating zero defect students, Total Quality Management
Magazine, 9(4), pp. 287±291 (1997).8. J. Velury, ISO 9000: Focusing on Quality Systems, Industrial Management, 38(6), p. 11±15
(1996)9. S. Karapetrovic and W. Willborn, The system's view for clarification of quality vocabulary, Int. J.
Quality and Reliability Management, 15(1), pp. 99±120 (1998).
ISO 9001 Quality System for the University 117
Stanislav Karapetrovic is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Mechanical and IndustrialEngineering, University of Manitoba. He holds an M.Sc (Industrial Engineering) degreefrom the University of Manitoba, and a mechanical engineering bachelor's degree from theUniversity of Belgrade. His experience includes working with large and small-sizedmanufacturers on establishing ISO 9000 quality systems, as well as quality assurance atthe university.
Divakar Rajamani is an Adjunct Professor of Industrial Engineering at the University ofManitoba. He received his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Windsor,M.Tech from IIT-Delhi and B.Tech from IT-BHU, Varanasi. His research interests are inmanufacturing systems, OR applications in manufacturing and logistics and ISO 9000applications.
Walter Willborn is a senior scholar in the Faculty of Management at the University ofManitoba. Dr. Willborn is the author of numerous books on quality auditing and qualitymanagement systems. His research interests include quality assurance and ISO 9000 qualitysystems in health care, education and small business.
