Provision of Quality Management Consultancy to small/medium sized firms supplying to the Automotive, Aerospace and/or Domestic Appliance Industries and wishing to achieve approval to major customers' Supplier Quality Standards eg QS-9000 (Ford, GM, Daimler-Chrysler), ISO/TS 16949, etc and also to provide guidance in the development of the suppliers' own TQM programmes. This includes the provision of training in FMEA, Poka Yoke, SPC, Teamwork, Internal Audit, Advance Quality Planning, Problem Solving, Design of Experiments & Taguchi Methodology, Design for Manufacture/Assembly, PPAP, Environmental Control Systems, etc.

Frequently other services are provided when required including:
Interviewing techniques, Communications studies, Performance assessments, Environmental training,
Procedure Writing, Teamworking, Project Team facilitation, ISO 9001:2000 Transition, Mentoring etc.

A loose network with other management consultants is operated to provide additional or specialist support when required. A list of projects managed to date is available separately.

Registered as a Consultant to provide services to the National Business Link Service.
Joined CNA Ltd as a networked consultant in April 2000. This involved training and approval to IMC standards for Management Consultancy.

Major Management Consultancy Projects - Quality Assurance Services
- Period 1987 to 2008

1. Project Co-ordinator, Design FMEA Study - Automotive

New Technology project involving a major supplier to the Motor Industry. Design team re-trained in FMEA and then guided through to a successful conclusion of the FMEA programme which had hitherto become log-jammed. Product now released and is in volume production.

2. Credit Card Issuer

As a supplier to most of the clearing banks this company wished to go for a TQM programme and BS 5750. Help was given to identify how to approach the subject, what should be considered as Quality of Service items and how their Quality System should be structured. Training was given to a team of 12 Facilitators on the key aspects of Quality Assurance in a service organisation, specific ISO 9000 requirements, problem solving, procedure writing, etc. Their TQM programme is now well established and the company has achieved ISO 9000 registration.

3. Electronics assembly *

Support given to a networked associate on Management Assessment of the key members of management teams at two firms in Mid. and South Wales. Training was also given on communications and interviewing techniques. The work was in preparation for the adoption of TQM, which has now taken place very successfully. One of the firms is now a widely known global supplier of power packs and other computer components.

4. Automotive Lamp Manufacture *

Survey conducted of this company's approach to suppliers and delivered quality. Recommendations made leading to many changes and efficiency improvements. Ford Q1 achieved shortly afterwards.
Assisted in running a Supplier Training Programme to encourage a more positive response to the lamp maker's TQM requirements. This firm now has QS-9000.

5. Packaging Industry

Consultant advisor on quality matters to one of the industry’s trade associations. This involved helping the Association get its arms around new developments and providing training courses to suit. e.g. Use of Bar Coding, Stockist's interpretation of BS 5750, German approach to bio-degradable packaging materials etc.

6. Quality Training

Regular lead trainer for a nationally recognised Certification Body’s open courses on Internal Systems Audit.
Regular lead trainer on Quality subjects for a Chamber of Commerce. Leader of several Group Training schemes provided for local firms working towards ISO 9001 with support from Midlands area Business Links. Lead trainer for three QS-9000 courses for automotive suppliers in the Dudley area, and one in the Redditch area sponsored by local Business Link agencies.

7. Contract & Construction Management – Construction Industry

Assistance given to a nation-wide firm of Project and Construction Management agents who were having difficulty in making sense of ISO 9001 across three regional centres. After revisions to their documentation, staff training at each location and internal audits of their principal sites, they passed the assessment easily.

Responsible for ensuring that the quality levels of products delivered to the North American market (finished vehicles) and to Honda Motors' factory in Japan (components for their final assembly) met customer requirements.
Actions involved co-ordinating own resident staff at the receiving locations in USA and Japan to monitor the safe passage of product and to provide first hand feedback when problems occurred. Corrective action was generated on an urgent basis back in the UK with Product Engineering, Manufacturing, Service, shipping agents and port contractors, as appropriate.

QUALITY PLANNING DIRECTOR 1983-1986

Duties centred upon maintaining a product (and latterly service) quality awareness throughout all activities of the Company that were involved in new product design, development and manufacture.

This involved participation in Design Reviews at Senior Management level and, through own staff, having direct involvement in styling, product planning, design, development test, manufacturing planning, timing, reliability testing, in-process production quality planning, formal assessment and Final Buy-off of pre-production units.

New products brought successfully to the market place include Montego, Rover 200, Mk II Metro and 800 Ranges. This activity frequently involved collaborative work with major component suppliers.

Was involved during this period in persuading a very tough, autocratic management of the need to change to a more consultative approach involving teamwork and employee empowerment. This was the start of a long and painful journey towards TQM which became well established for all to see during the 1990’s. The Rover Group ultimately became a winner of the UK Quality Award and was profitable at the same time, before a change in management style was enforced by the (still autocratic) new owners, BMW.

Re-joined Chrysler UK, which very soon became the Talbot Motor Company as part of a de-centralising policy, to co-ordinate the quality monitoring activities which were required to keep management at Plant and Corporate level informed of existing problems and actions needed to improve product quality. Served as Secretary (with the major input, as a result of activities below) to the Company’s Product Recall Committee.

Directly managed three separate support activities through resident staff at each of three major manufacturing locations for cars and trucks as follows:

Product Quality Audit

Independent evaluation of outgoing quality levels of cars, trucks, power train units and machined components. Process audits were also conducted, as necessary, when major product problems occurred.

Reliability and Warranty Analysis

Statistical and technical analysis of the warranty databank, physical examination of returned high-cost warranty material and publication of monthly technical and trend reports to local and senior management. A major part of this work was to generate corrective action from Design, Manufacturing, Suppliers, Service, Parts Division, etc and to monitor the effectiveness of such actions.

Materials Laboratory

Provision of a technical (chemical/metallurgical) service to all manufacturing plants for special processes and routine process monitoring, including effluent control, plus investigative support when product defect or process problems occurred.

Responsible for Quality Assurance of the product design / development phases of the T45 Roadtrain truck and Titan bus. Both of these new projects resulted in major changes to manufacturing methods, which required the development of new quality assurance standards, techniques and training programmes for the manufacturing locations. These had to be defined, justified, planned and delivered.

Defined, set up and co-ordinated the company’s Safety/Legislation programme to ensure compliance with the proliferation of vehicle safety legislation that was taking place at that time in USA and Europe.

The work involved negotiations with all major manufacturing disciplines, Product Engineering, major suppliers, SMM&T and the UK Department of Transport. Served for three years on the joint Industry/DTp Diesel Smoke Working Party to obtain agreement on how to control, legislate and monitor production vehicle / engine emissions compliance with proposed legislation standards. The resulting procedures met with general approval from legislators, manufacturers and truck operators and continue to be used up to the present time.