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Making your dream come true? That’s exactly what these brothers from Ghent are doing by racing across the ocean!

11 Dec 2019
On Thursday 12 December, two brothers from Ghent, Damien (29) and Bernard (27), will set off on the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, a race across the Atlantic in their rowing boat 'The Brothership'. The starting point is La Gomera, one of the Canary Islands, and the finish is 4,800 km away in Antigua, an island in the Caribbean Sea. The duo Atlantic Ocean rowing crossing record is 37 days, a time the ambitious brothers are aiming to beat. Taking part is not enough for them: they want to win and break the record.

A dream race

A few years ago, Damien heard about a rowing race across the Atlantic. After speaking to Bernard about it, they immediately decided that they would take part. Atlantic Ocean rowing crossing had been a fixture on their bucket list since they were in their teens. Back then, the brothers were a formidable rowing team from Ghent and had already competed in lots of races, both solo and together.

van durme

A family project

Obviously, you don’t simply row across the Atlantic Ocean on a whim. Sound preparation is essential in all kinds of areas, such as safety, scheduling and financing. Bernard and Damien might be the ones holding the oars, but this project has involved the entire family, with their sisters and parents taking on important tasks. The family is forming an ‘onshore’ team to determine the course on the ocean so the brothers can take advantage of the right winds and avoid storms. The race will demand a lot from the brothers and trust is essential. They have to be willing to do everything to help each other. “I couldn’t do this with a friend, but with my brother I can go to the limits, because our family bond is stronger than friendship.” In addition to the family, they have requested the assistance of a nutrition expert and a sports doctor.

Their ambition: the world record

“We’re aiming to beat the current world record of 37 days for duos. We’ve always been looking for challenges, both in competitive rowing and our personal lives. Our objective is to constantly push our limits, which is why we were looking for a new challenge after competing in rowing for so many years.”

Sponsored by Pauwels Consulting

At the Ghent marathon both brothers flaunted their boat and proudly told everyone who wanted to hear about their future adventure. Bert Pauwels, managing director, was quite impressed by the audacity and ambition of both brothers. Their adventure fits in perfectly with the values of Pauwels Consulting. They are ambitious and want to excel in their discipline. On the one hand, the Van Durmes show entrepreneurship and an innovative approach in this project, and on the other hand, there is the Ghent flair with which they do everything in their own way.

The Brothership

The boat was made-to-measure for Bernard and Damien, who weigh 105 kg and 108 kg and measure 1.98 m and 1.95 m respectively. Boat builder Koen Degezelle contacted them to make sure the project would be successful. The boat is called The Brothership and features a fast hull and aerodynamic design to minimise wind resistance and maximise the use of any tail winds. Sailing the ocean is different from somewhere like the North Sea, where currents intersect. On the ocean, the waves stretch further, so the brothers want to use these as much as possible by ‘surfing’ on them. Finding a route with the right currents and wind is therefore essential to win the race and break the record.

“We’ve got two rowing seats. There’s a small sleeping cabin at the rear of the boat and a storage area for food at the front.” The boat is designed to offer them protection in a storm and to automatically return to an upright position if it capsizes. The storage area with food and a water maker are essential, because the brothers have to take all their food with them. This is mainly dry food, but they’ll also be taking some goodies, such as dried apricots and chocolate. “If you row twelve hours a day, then food is the only thing to look forward to and it has to be tasty.”

A physical and mental challenge

To win the race in six weeks, they’ll have to spend at least twelve hours rowing every day. During the day, they’ll row together in blocks of four hours with a break. At night, they’ll alternate in shifts of two hours. While one brother is rowing, the other sleeps or carries out other tasks, such as repairs, cleaning, eating, etc. This requires a lot of both physical and mental effort from the brothers. To make sure they’re fully prepared, they’ve followed compulsory training courses, such as ocean rowing lessons and sea survival, first aid, navigation and seamanship courses. They were also given psychological counselling during their preparations.

The brothers are not afraid, even though the race is not without hazards. They will certainly come across whales, sharks, floating containers and storms on their journey. The heat and salt are additional tests, life on the ocean is certainly not for softies. For example, one of the brothers has to enter the ocean every week to clean the boat, while the other keeps an eye out for sharks and other unwanted visitors.

Handicap International

The brothers are using the race to support a charitable organisation. They chose Handicap International, which operates in 31 countries, offering children with disabilities the opportunity to go to school. Bernard, who works in the orthopaedic sector, is only too aware of this problem and how important mobility is for children. The decision to help HI was therefore a logical one.

The race in a few numbers

4,800 =                       length of the race in km
1.5 million =                number of rowing movements needed to cross the ocean
37 =                            minimum number of days on the sea during the race
250 =                         weight of food on board in kg
6,600 =                      calories each person will burn daily
12 =                            average weight in kg lost during the race
0 =                             number of toilets on board
2 =                             Christmas and New Year celebrated on the ocean

Start: 12 December

You can follow the race with the YB Races tracker app, which is available for iOS and Android.

Contact us

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maxime_van_belle
Maxime van Belle Content Marketeer
+32 9 324 70 80
contact@pauwelsconsulting.com

Insights

Important differences between ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 9001:2008

29 Nov 2019
Pauwels Consulting assists companies in Belgium and abroad in setting up and monitoring quality systems and continuously improving business processes. We have a number of experienced ISO 9001 consultants on board to achieve this. Luc Marivoet is one of our quality experts. We interviewed Luc about the publication of the new ISO 9001:2015 standard and the main differences between ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 9001:2008.
What is ISO 9001 ?

Luc: ISO 9001 is the world’s most popular and most commonly used standard for quality management systems.

A standard is not a law, but an agreement or best practice that an organization can apply voluntarily. A standard reflects a good level of professionalism. A quality management system is a tool with which an organization can determine how it can meet the requirements of its customers and the other interested parties that are involved in its activities.

What are the benefits of ISO 9001?

Luc: An ISO 9001 quality management system:

  • shows that you provide products and services of consistent quality;
  • shows that you provide products and services that meet the customer’s requirements, comply with the law and legislation, and meet the organisation’s own requirements;
  • can help you streamline your business processes and continuously improve them.

There are two additional benefits:

  • ISO 9001 helps you increase customer satisfaction;
  • ISO 9001 is positive for your image: you show that you comply with internationally recognised quality standards. This is often a requirement for customers and suppliers to do business with you.
What does the ISO 9001 standard specify?

The most recent ISO 9001:2015 standard is constructed around seven quality management principles:

  1. customer focus;
  2. leadership;
  3. engagement of people;
  4. process approach;
  5. improvement;
  6. evidence-based decision making;
  7. relationship management.

ISO 9001:2015 describes for each part which requirements your products, services and organisation have to meet in order to enjoy the above benefits.

Who determines, checks and manages ISO 9001?

ISO 9001 is managed by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) in Geneva, Switzerland. ISO is an independent membership organisation and the world’s largest developer of voluntary international standards. ISO 9001:2015 was developed by the ISO / TC 176 / SC 2 – Quality Systems Technical Committee.

However, ISO does not provide certification or conformity assessment. This is performed by accredited certification bodies. These are establishments that evaluate an organisation’s management system and certify them with respect to the published standards.

Are you interested in an ISO 9001 workshop by our Quality expert Luc?

Learn more about our ISO workshops
I understand that the previous version of ISO 9001 dates from 2008 and that there is now a new version?

That’s right. A new version of ISO 9001 appears about every seven years. It was first issued in 1987: at that time, you had to describe in detail what your business did. What applied in the 1994 version, was ‘say what you do and do what you say’. In the 2000 version, you had to focus on proper processes in order to continually improve and thereby increase your customer satisfaction. There was nothing added in 2008, but it was more precise about the interpretation of the standard. ISO 9001:2015 was published on 23 September 2015.

Do organisations have to move over from ISO 9001:2008 to ISO 9001:2015 immediately?

No. There is a transitional period of three years after the publication of each new version of ISO 9001, during which organisations can adapt their quality management to match the latest version. Organisations must therefore implement the new ISO 9001:2015 standard before 23 September 2018 in order to continue complying with ISO 9001.

What are the main differences between ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 9001:2015?

ISO 9001:2015 HAS TEN CLAUSES INSTEAD OF EIGHT

ISO 9001:2015 has ten clauses instead of eight. The following table shows the relationship of the ISO 9001:2008 clauses to those in the new ISO 9001:2015.

The first three clauses in ISO 9001:2015 are largely the same as those in ISO 9001:2008, but there are considerable differences between ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 9001:2015 from the fourth clause onwards. The last seven clauses are now arranged according to the PDCA cycle (Plan, Do, Check, Act). The following figure shows this.

ISO 9001 2015 plan do check act

 

Clauses 4, 5, 6 and 7 of ISO 9001:2015 come under PLAN, clause 8 comes under DO, clause 9 comes under CHECK and clause 10 is covered by ACT. With this new arrangement, the new ISO 9001:2015 strives to give additional momentum to the continuous and systematic improvement of processes within organisations.

ISO 9001:2015 HAS A HIGH LEVEL STRUCTURE (HLS)

As a result of the new arrangement in ten clauses, ISO 9001:2015 now has the same unambiguous structure as all standardised management systems, known as a ‘High Level Structure’ (HLS). The core elements of ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 22000, OHSAS 18001, etc. are therefore all the same from now on. This has made the integration of various management systems much simpler. If, for example, an organisation wishes to implement ISO 14001 in addition to ISO 9001, the parts that cover the same topic can easily be seen in the standards.

core elements iso 9001:2015

ISO 9001:2015 PUTS MORE FOCUS ON INPUT AND OUTPUT

The ISO 9001:2015 norm puts more emphasis on measuring and properly assessing the input and output of processes. According to ISO 9001:2015, you must closely monitor which articles, information and specifications are involved in the production process. You must also clearly check whether good articles come out of the production process.

 

ISO 9001:2015 focus

RISK-BASED THINKING IS AT THE CORE OF ISO 9001:2015

Risk-based thinking has a very important place in ISO 9001:2015. You are now strongly encouraged as an organisation to use risk analysis in order to decide for yourself which challenges you see in the management of your business processes.

Formal risk analysis, familiar to many organisations via FMEA or HACCP techniques, is now standard for everyone. To emphasise their dominance, the concept of ’risk’ occurs forty-eight times in ISO 9001:2015, compared with only three times in ISO 9001:2008.

The addition of risk-based thinking has made the ‘preventive measures’ of ISO 9001:2008 redundant. These preventive measures no longer appear in ISO 9001:2015.

CONTEXT OF THE ORGANISATION IMPORTANT IN ISO 9001:2015

ISO 9001:2015 requires an organisation to construct its quality management system from now on from the specific context within which it is active. This means, among other things, that, as an organisation, you have to take into account the needs and expectations of interested parties and that you evaluate and deal with internal and external strategic questions. You have to show that, as an organisation, you understand and respond to the expectations of all the parties concerned.

ISO 9001:2015 AND THE ENGAGEMENT OF INTERESTED PARTIES

In ISO 9001:2008, customers were often named as being the only interested party. This concept has been extended in ISO 9001:2015. Suppliers, personnel, shareholders, legislative bodies, society, internal customers, etc. are now included as interested parties, in addition to customers.

As an organisation, you have to be aware of the importance of these interested parties’ (changing) requirements and standards, and anticipate them in the features of your products and services.

This has always been part of the standard in another form, however. Therefore, it is not expected that organisations will have to implement major changes in this respect. You cannot make or deliver a good product without knowing the requirements and expectations of customers and interested parties in any case. This is the basis of a quality management system.

 

Are you a Quality or ISO expert looking for a new project?

Then we would love to hear from you!

Check out our opportunities

LEADERSHIP AND COMMITMENT IN ISO 9001:2015

ISO 9001:2015 also places more emphasis on leadership and management commitment. It requires greater involvement by top managers and business leaders in controlling the quality management system. This way, ISO 9001:2015 is intended to encourage integration and harmonisation with business processes and business strategies. The top management now has to take more responsibility for the effectiveness of the quality management system.

Because ISO 9001:2015 pays more attention to risk management, interested parties and the context of the organisation, the quality management system also fits in better with the needs of the top management. The quality management system is now more than ever a means for being strategically successful by addressing the needs of interested parties and by managing opportunities and threats.

The ‘management representative’ of ISO 9001:2008 was a member of the management committee who had the responsibility and authority for steering the quality management system along the right lines. ISO 9001:2015 does not mention this aspect anymore. The idea behind the change is that quality is a matter for everyone and for all levels within the organisation.

DOCUMENTED INFORMATION

ISO 9001:2015 no longer requires obligatory documented procedures or a quality manual. This is noteworthy. This is now referred to as ‘documented information’ in practically all clauses of ISO 9001:2015. The definition states that it concerns ‘information that the organisation has to control and maintain’. The information can be in any format and come from various sources and media. Diverse forms of evidence or documentation are therefore possible. There is no longer any mention of ‘records’ neither, but of ‘retaining documented information’.

DIFFERENT TERMINOLOGY IN ISO 9001:2008 AND ISO 9001:2015

The following table is a brief summary of a number of important changes to the terminology compared with ISO 9001:2008.

 

ISO 9001:2008 ISO 9001:2015
Products Products and services
Documentation, quality manual, documented procedures, records, instructions Documented information
Work environment Environment for the operation of processes
Monitoring and measuring equipment Monitoring and measuring resources
Purchased product Externally provided products and services
Supplier External provider

This is not an exhaustive list of the differences between ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 9001:2015, but it does show the main points.

How can companies transition from ISO 9001:2008 to ISO 9001:2015?

Assuming that a company is already ISO 9001 certified, I recommend taking the following steps in order to comply with ISO 9001:2015:

iso 9001:2015 7 steps to comply

1. Baseline measurement

Perform a baseline measurement in your organisation. Make a complete overview of the current status of your quality management system and your organisation’s conduct of business.

2. Plan of approach

Draw up a plan based on the baseline measurement. Thanks to this plan, you can take the time to make changes and to implement improvements step by step.

3. Implementation

Implement the changes in accordance with the plan of approach. Incorporate measurement points and milestones.

4. Auditing and process analysis

Measure whether the changes have had the desired effect. Measure the input and output of the processes you consider to be important because they are critical or risky, for example.

5. Certification

Have your organisation certified according to ISO 9001:2015.

6. Communication with interested parties

Show your interested parties not just the certificate, but also show them the results with pride. Let them see how well your organisation manages its processes and continuously improves them.

Is there anything else companies need to know before they get going with ISO 9001 or the new version ISO 9001:2015?

The requirement for formal procedures and a quality manual have been scrapped in ISO 9001:2015, as was stated above. Only relevant information has to be available now.

Organisations that already have an ISO 9001 quality management system do not have to discard their existing procedures and documentation, of course. A good system remains a good system and you will still need a proper structure for your crucial documentation.If something is no longer obligatory, it doesn’t mean that you have to scrap it right away, of course. It’s better to hang on to what you are happy with and what helps your organisation to progress.

Who is Luc Marivoet, our quality expert?

Luc Marivoet is Prevention Counselor & Quality Officer at Pauwels Consulting. He has over 25 years of experience in quality management positions. In these positions, he provided support and supervision in an international context (Europe and Asia). Luc now uses his experience to set up, implement, monitor and follow up certified ISO 9001 quality management systems and Supplier Quality Assurance activities. Luc is currently working at a Belgian engineering office specialized in rail infrastructure and technology for the implementation of an integrated management system (ISO 9001 & ISO 45001). He also teaches QHS Management Systems (ISO 9001 and ISO 45001).
Do you have a question or comment for Luc? Contact Luc here.

Contact us

Do you have any questions for us? Let’s get in touch!

"(Required)" indicates required fields

maxime_van_belle
Maxime van Belle Content Marketeer
+32 9 324 70 80
contact@pauwelsconsulting.com

Insights

What is Lean? What is TPS?

19 Nov 2019
On Thursday the back-office team of Pauwels Consulting was introduced to the basics of the Lean methodology in an inspiring workshop. In his workshop, the most important principles of the Toyota Production System (TPS), probably the most renowned systematic implementation of Lean principles were discussed.

WHAT IS LEAN, WHAT IS TPS AND WHY SHOULD I CARE?

What is lean? It’s a methodology for improving the operational excellence of organizations by:

  1. improving the efficiency
  2. preventing the waste/losses
  3. increasing the competitiveness
  4. stimulating innovation
  5. stimulating the involvement and support of all stakeholders

The Toyota Production System (TPS) is probably the most renowned systematic implementation of Lean principles. Since its inception in the seventies, TPS has been adopted and adapted by many companies around the world.

WANT TO BE EFFICIENT? CUT THESE LOSSES!

TPS focuses on reducing waste and losses that originate from:

Overproduction

Sometimes companies produce too many goods, or they produce their goods too soon. As a result, these goods require extra storage space and extra resources to store, find and retrieve them. This takes extra money and time which can have huge impact on a company’s bottom line.

Inefficient inventories

Stocks that are too large require extra storage space and extra resources to store, find and retrieve goods. Stocks that are too small hinder the production of goods. It is very important to have an inventory that matches the actual demand as precise as possible.

Needless transport of goods and people

Companies often move materials from one production plant to another without good reason. Extra transport requires extra time and resources and it increases the risk of incidents with the goods and the people involved.

Waiting times

Needless to say, if operators have to wait for the arrival of raw materials to start up their production lines, it can have a large impact on the production capacity and the bottom line of a company and the morale of its employees.

Rework

Similarly, if a company produces goods that are not in line with their requirements, it requires extra work, time and resources to make the goods compliant with the original requirements.

Overprocessing

Sometimes companies do more than they are asked for. Nice as it may seem, it can have serious impact on a company’s production and bottom line.

Motion

People often perform too many movements and/or movements that are ergonomically not correct. This can result in long-term injuries.

Not involving the people ‘on the floor’

If you don’t welcome the feedback and opinion of all people involved, you will never find the required support to successfully implement Lean principles in your company.

At the end of the presentation, Eddy gave us 5 important lessons to remember.

WHAT IS LEAN IN 5 LESSONS TO REMEMBER

Every business is a people’s business

It is important to involve everyone from the top management to the suppliers and the people on the floor. If you don’t, you will lack support. Since a company is only as strong as its weakest link, you’d better secure involvement and support from all parties involved.

Standardize your processes

The more you standardize your processes, the smaller the chance of flaws and incidents. Try to eliminate variation in your processes as much as possible.

Quality is the best policy

Introduce poka yoke (error proofing, solutions that prevent mistakes and incidents from happening) instead of numerous checks. Imperfections should be prevented or noticed fast so that remedies can be put in place as soon as possible.

Produce and deliver your goods ‘just in time’

Try to fight the urge to produce too much or too soon. As discussed above, (temporary) overproduction requires more storage space, resources and time. This can have a negative impact on your production capacity and your company’s bottom line.

There is always room for improvement

Always try to further streamline your business. Your employees, suppliers, clients and wallet will be very grateful.

WHAT IS LEAN, WHAT IS TPS AND WHY SHOULD I CARE?

Lean is a methodology for improving the operational excellence of organizations by:

  1. improving the efficiency
  2. preventing the waste/losses
  3. increasing the competitiveness
  4. stimulating innovation
  5. stimulating the involvement and support of all stakeholders

The Toyota Production System (TPS) is probably the most renowned systematic implementation of Lean principles. Since its inception in the seventies, TPS has been adopted and adapted by many companies around the world.

WANT TO BE EFFICIENT? CUT THESE LOSSES!

TPS focuses on reducing waste and losses that originate from:

Overproduction

Sometimes companies produce too many goods, or they produce their goods too soon. As a result, these goods require extra storage space and extra resources to store, find and retrieve them. This takes extra money and time which can have huge impact on a company’s bottom line.

Inefficient inventories

Stocks that are too large require extra storage space and extra resources to store, find and retrieve goods. Stocks that are too small hinder the production of goods. It is very important to have an inventory that matches the actual demand as precise as possible.

Needless transport of goods and people

Companies often move materials from one production plant to another without good reason. Extra transport requires extra time and resources and it increases the risk of incidents with the goods and the people involved.

Waiting times

Needless to say, if operators have to wait for the arrival of raw materials to start up their production lines, it can have a large impact on the production capacity and the bottom line of a company and the morale of its employees.

Rework

Similarly, if a company produces goods that are not in line with their requirements, it requires extra work, time and resources to make the goods compliant with the original requirements.

Overprocessing

Sometimes companies do more than they are asked for. Nice as it may seem, it can have serious impact on a company’s production and bottom line.

Motion

People often perform too many movements and/or movements that are ergonomically not correct. This can result in long-term injuries.

Not involving the people ‘on the floor’

If you don’t welcome the feedback and opinion of all people involved, you will never find the required support to successfully implement Lean principles in your company.

At the end of the presentation, Eddy gave us 5 important lessons to remember.

5 LEAN LESSONS TO REMEMBER

Every business is a people’s business

It is important to involve everyone from the top management to the suppliers and the people on the floor. If you don’t, you will lack support. Since a company is only as strong as its weakest link, you’d better secure involvement and support from all parties involved.

Standardize your processes

The more you standardize your processes, the smaller the chance of flaws and incidents. Try to eliminate variation in your processes as much as possible.

Quality is the best policy

Introduce poka yoke (error proofing, solutions that prevent mistakes and incidents from happening) instead of numerous checks. Imperfections should be prevented or noticed fast so that remedies can be put in place as soon as possible.

Produce and deliver your goods ‘just in time’

Try to fight the urge to produce too much or too soon. As discussed above, (temporary) overproduction requires more storage space, resources and time. This can have a negative impact on your production capacity and your company’s bottom line.

There is always room for improvement

Always try to further streamline your business. Your employees, suppliers, clients and wallet will be very grateful.

Contact us

Do you have any questions for us? Let’s get in touch!

"(Required)" indicates required fields

maxime_van_belle
Maxime van Belle Content Marketeer
+32 9 324 70 80
contact@pauwelsconsulting.com

Insights

Convenient correlation matrix for transition to ISO 9001:2015

21 Oct 2019
Pauwels Consulting assists companies in setting up and monitoring quality systems and continuously improving business processes. We have a number of experienced ISO 9001 consultants on board to assist companies all over Europe.

Luc Marivoet is one of our quality experts. Earlier, we interviewed Luc about the publication of the new ISO 9001:2015 standard and the main differences between ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 9001:2008.

Today, we talked to Luc about a correlation matrix that comes in handy if you want to transition from ISO 9001:2008 to ISO 9001:2015. An interesting conversation! You can download the ISO 9001 correlation matrix below in Dutch, French and English at the bottom of this article.

Luc, can you please refresh our memory? What is ISO 9001 again?

Luc: ISO 9001 is the world’s most popular and most commonly used standard for quality management systems. A standard is not a law, but an agreement or best practice that an organisation can apply voluntarily. A standard reflects a good level of professionalism.

A quality management system is a tool with which an organisation can determine how it can meet the requirements of its customers and other interested parties that are involved in its activities.

How often do they update the ISO standard?

Luc: About every seven years a new version of ISO 9001 appears. The previous version was ISO 9001:2008. The current version is ISO 9001:2015. This latest version was released on September 23, 2015.

Do organisations have to transition from ISO 9001:2008 to ISO 9001:2015 immediately?

Luc: No. There is a transitional period of three years after the publication of each new version of ISO 9001. During this period organisations can adapt their quality management to match the latest version of the ISO standard.

Organisations must, therefore, implement the new ISO 9001:2015 standard before 23 September 2018 in order to continue complying with ISO 9001. So it’s important for organizations to familiarize with ISO 9001:2015 as quickly as possible because there have been quite some changes to the structure and terminology of the ISO 9001 standard.

Are there many differences between ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 9001:2015?

Luc: Yes, there are quite some differences between ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 9001:2015. During our last interview, we already discussed those differences in depth. But there are many similarities as well. Such an overlap can be quite confusing to organizations. Usually, after some time, a correlation matrix is drawn up to help those organizations. Such a matrix shows the (extent of) consistency between the old and the new standard.

“Usually”? That was not the case this time?

Luc: Not really. At the moment, the ISO / TC 176 / SC 2 website is often used as a reference instead, but that website is actually quite difficult to find on your own. Some other organizations do offer a matrix, but this matrix only shows the extent of consistency with the FDIS of ISO 9001. Unfortunately, the FDIS are only a “Final Draft International Standard”. The matrix contains errors and skips quite a few paragraphs as well.

Is that why you decided to draw up your own matrix?

Luc: That’s right. We developed our own correlation matrix to show the (extent of) consistency between the old and the new standard. (laughs) This way, we want to help as many organizations as possible during their transition from ISO 9001:2008 to ISO 9001:2015.

Great!
Who will benefit from using this matrix?

Luc: The matrix is available in Dutch, French and English. You can use it if you want to set up a quality management system according to the new ISO 9001:2015 standard and if you want to understand how the ISO 9001:2015 standard can be compatible with the chapters and sections of the ISO 9001:2008. Next, you can determine what kind of gaps must be eliminated within your organization to meet the new ISO 9001:2015 standard.

Sounds great! Is there anything else organizations need to know before they start using the matrix and before they start their transition to ISO 9001:2015?

Luc: Yes. I would like to highlight two important things. First and foremost: ISO 9001:2015 does NOT require the application of the new structure and terminology to the documented quality management system of your organization. The main structure in ISO 9001:2015 is only intended to present the requirements in a coherent way.

Second, ISO 9001:2015 does NOT require you to replace the terms that your organization currently uses for the quality management system by the terms used in the new standard. So you can still choose to use those terms that best suit your organization, for example, ‘registrations’ and ’documentation’ instead of ‘documented information’, or ’supplier’ instead of ‘external provider’.

Download our correlation matrix:

Dutch – ISO 9001:2008 to ISO 9001:2015
Dutch – ISO 9001:2015 to ISO 9001:2008
French – ISO 9001:2008 to ISO 9001:2015
French – ISO 9001:2015 to ISO 9001:2008
English – ISO 9001:2008 to ISO 9001:2015 
English – ISO 9001:2015 to ISO 9001:2008

Thanks for this interesting interview and the convenient matrix, Luc!

Do you need some assistance with the implementation of ISO in your organisation?

Contact us

Who is Luc Marivoet?

Luc Marivoet is Prevention Counselor & Quality Officer at Pauwels Consulting. He has over 25 years of experience in quality management positions. In these positions, he provided support and supervision in an international context (Europe and Asia). Luc now uses his experience to set up, implement, monitor and follow up certified ISO 9001 quality management systems and Supplier Quality Assurance activities. Luc is currently working at a Belgian engineering office specialized in rail infrastructure and technology for the implementation of an integrated management system (ISO 9001 & ISO 45001). He also teaches QHS Management Systems (ISO 9001 and ISO 45001).
Do you have a question or comment for Luc? Contact Luc here.

Contact us

Do you have any questions for us? Let’s get in touch!

"(Required)" indicates required fields

maxime_van_belle
Maxime van Belle Content Marketeer
+32 9 324 70 80
contact@pauwelsconsulting.com

Insights

Time management: seven tips for more serenity and efficiency

03 Sep 2019
Time management... There are already plenty of books, workshops and self-help groups dealing with this issue. Perhaps even too many… Nevertheless, Luc Keppens from T&C managed to provide an unusually interesting, interactive and amusing Pauwels Consulting Academy session on time management.

Below, we’ve set out the key points of the session. Are you always short of time? Then read these seven tips about time management, which will help you start working much more efficiently right away.

1. Don’t let yourself be driven up the wall

We live in a complex and volatile world. Everyone is always available and has big dreams and wild ambitions. We work through our bucket lists, we want a fantastic career and, in our private life, we want to be happy twenty-four hours a day.

But guess what? Don’t let yourself be driven up the wall!

If you concentrate too much on all the things you don’t have, then you’re at a high risk of running into a brick wall, in your private life and at work.

That’s why you should concentrate on the things you do have and aim for realistic and healthy ambitious goals. This promotes serenity and focus.

“Concentrate on the things you do have and aim for realistic and healthy ambitious goals.”

2. Use the 80/20 rule to your advantage

The 80/20 rule, also known as the ‘Pareto principle’, states that 20% of causes will account for 80% of results for many aspects in life.

Applied to the business world, that translates as follows: most people spend 80% of their time achieving 20% ​​of the results and 20% of their time achieving 80% of the results.

In other words, there’s a mountain of ‘waste’, something that the supporters of ‘lean’ (and most people who simply want to work more efficiently) rightly want to avoid.

In the future, make sure that you are involved as much as possible with tasks that are urgent and with which you can achieve tangible results in a short time. Use the 80/20 rule to your advantage.

3. Eat that frog: start with the annoying tasks!

Those who have read Brian Tracy’s book ‘Eat that frog‘ will already know this: make sure that you always carry out the day’s most annoying and/or important tasks in the morning.

That will avoid you having these annoying issues at the back (or front) of your mind all day. It creates serenity and therefore also focus for the rest of the day.

“Make sure that you always carry out the day’s most annoying and/or important tasks in the morning.”

4. Always leave some space in your diary

As we all know, things don’t always go according to plan. So, always leave some space in your diary. Otherwise, you won’t give yourself any alternative ways to tackle unforeseen issues. Being ‘busy’ 100% of the time doesn’t mean that you’re also 100% effective.

Therefore, make sure that you set priorities well and leave space in your diary to deal with unforeseen issues (or plan time later). This will allow you to keep your schedule on an even track. Serenity and focus, remember?

5. Be SMART

When you start on a task or make arrangements, make sure that the goals or outcomes for everyone involved are ‘SMART’:

  • specific;
  • measurable;
  • acceptable;
  • realistic;
  • time-bound.

Otherwise, you run the risk that one of the parties makes other proposals and consequently extra work is needed to achieve a result that everyone’s satisfied with.

That extra work takes extra time, energy and money. The best course of action is therefore to first make ‘SMART’ arrangements, before starting with the implementation of a project. In other words: “Look before you leap.” Some old sayings remain true to this day.

6. Protect yourself

The above principles are obviously useless if you let yourself be interrupted all day long by e-mails, phone calls, WhatsApp messages and colleagues.

These distractions can really upset your schedule. Your serenity goes, your focus goes and your energy goes. The results go up in smoke.

Make sure you work with respect for yourself (and your diary) and with respect for your colleagues, instructing parties, customers, etc. who need your help:

  • If you have no respect for yourself, but only for the people around you, then you may well be nodding ‘yes’ too often and neglecting your own diary and appointments.
  • If you only have respect for yourself, but none for the needs of the people around you, you won’t make many friends. So that’s not a good option either.
  • If you have no respect for yourself or for the needs of the people around you, you’ll quickly end up in a manipulative situation. That’s something you obviously want to avoid as well.
  • If you have respect for yourself and for the needs of the people around you, then you can be ‘healthily assertive’ and maintain proper control over your diary and appointments.

Let’s do it! But how?

7. Be healthily assertive and respect your diary

Finally, some tips on being ‘healthily assertive’ and respecting your diary and appointments:

No means no

If you tell your colleagues that you can’t help them (at the moment), stick to your words. Otherwise, your colleagues will know in the future that they can always twist your ‘no’ into a ‘yes’ after enough insistence.

No means yes actually

If your colleagues keep insisting, you can also tell them that you can’t help them at the moment (because otherwise you won’t be able to do your own tasks and/or tasks for other colleagues), but that you can help them at another time, such as the day after tomorrow. This is a nice middle way that won’t wreak havoc with your schedule.

0, 1 and 2

You can also say: “I can’t solve your problem completely at the moment, but I can give you some quick pointers right now, then more detailed help on Friday.” Another nice middle way.

The broken record

If colleagues keep insisting that you listen to their urgent questions while you’re busy, your best approach is to continually refuse using the same words and intonation.

This avoids confrontation and allows you to respect your diary. Everybody will realise that you don’t have time right now. That is an objective fact, not an emotional decision.

“Changing behaviour and attitudes demands conscious efforts on your part. That takes time, energy and a lot of repetition.”

Bonus tip: don’t try to change too much at once

Finally: changing behaviour demands conscious efforts on your part. That takes time, energy and a lot of repetition. Therefore, don’t try to change too much at once. Instead, always concentrate on one or two working points.

Only when these working points become routine, can you choose a next working point. Don’t run before you can walk, otherwise you will again become agitated and frustrated (because you don’t achieve the hoped-for results) and lose focus.

One step at a time. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Conclusion

Effective time management is becoming increasingly important. Otherwise, your life will be dominated by your phone, e-mails and WhatsApp messages and you’ll get less and less done.

That results in agitation, stress, negative assessments and other unpleasant consequences, while serenity and focus usually lead to the best results and peace of mind.

Are you interested or do you have questions?

Do you have questions, tips or suggestions about time management or would you like to attend a Pauwels Consulting Academy session on time management? Céline, our learning and development coordinator, will be delighted to help you. You can also reach her by calling +32 9 276 31 43 or e-mailing celine.vanpuymbrouck@pauwelsconsulting.com.

Have you enjoyed this article? Please share it with your network. The more efficiently we can all work together, the better!

This article was based on a Pauwels Consulting Academy session on time management, provided by Luc Keppens from T&C Training & Consultancy. 

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The Dodentocht as a source of inspiration for OpEx

31 Aug 2019
People are capable of amazing things. Our colleague Kris Van Nieuwenhove, a senior OpEx expert, is a great example in this respect. This year walked the 100K Dodentocht in Bornem for the 3rd time to collect money for Rode Neuzendag!

Kris, can you briefly introduce yourself?

Sure, I’m Kris van Nieuwenhove, 48 years old and I’ve been working at Pauwels Consulting as a senior OpEx lead since March 2015. Currently, I’m working at Elaut NV and Metaco NV on a stock reduction project. Both companies would like to work with the so-called KANBAN-system.

What challenges you in these types of projects?

The challenge for me lies in delivering a tangible result that satisfies the customer in the foreseen time frame. Furthermore, it’s always nice to experience different companies and their unique company cultures. These experiences help me to integrate myself very quickly into a new team.

Which project has left you with fond memories so far?

Hm, that’s a tough one. There are several but if I HAVE to pick one, I would have to say my 2nd project for GSK. I was responsible for introducing reusable glasses that were sterilized by an external partner. During this project, I had to cover all the aspects that you can encounter in a project and find solutions for not only technical & logistic but also staff-related issues.

Very interesting! But what also seems interesting is the fact that you have walked the famous Dodenocht for the 3rd time! How was that?

Kris Dodentocht diploma

The Dodentocht is always a mix of emotions, but mostly positive of course 🙂 The journey is physically and mentally demanding.  Maybe, I should briefly explain the goal to people who don’t know the Dodentocht: You start your journey on Friday evening at 9 PM and you have to finish it before Saturday evening 9 PM.  Which means you have 24 hours to run and/or walk the 100K tour. The rules clearly state: “the usage of wheels, in whatever shape or form, is forbidden”. So, the time limit and closing hours of the checkpoints gave us a bit of stress at the end but luckily we managed to arrive everywhere in time! 🙂

How do you mean?

During these 24 hours, you can decide to take breaks for food, drinks, and self-care but the checkpoints close on fixed times. In 2016, I was having a very hard time by the end due to blisters. This meant I needed extra care along the way, so passing the last 5 checkpoints was truly a race against time. I think at one point we only had 20 minutes to spare, which seems a lot, but really isn’t! But when you are 75 km in, you just bite the bullet, quickly do a first-aid fix-up and carry on. Quitting is not an option anymore at that point!

I’m very proud to say we finished the Dodentocht in time for the 3rd time now!

Do you walk in team?

Kris finishes Dodentocht

In 2016 I started with a group of 4 people, including me and my wife. Together with her, I crossed the finish line on Saturday evening at 8 PM. Just an hour to spare, a beautiful moment that still gives me goosebumps when I think about it. Unfortunately, a team member had to quit at 60 km. In 2018 we started with three people and finished with two (incl. me) by 4 PM, so progress! This year, I took a different approach and I learned how to avoid blisters (hallelujah!). Together with my walking buddy, I walked across the finish line at 3.45 PM with a big smile on my face as you can see in this picture!

 

Why are you so motivated to finish the Dodentocht? 

I live by the phrase “A healthy mind in a healthy body”, which happens to be the motto of my employer as well. A knee injury (and operation) from 2017 is preventing me from running long distances, which I love to do, so I decided to switch to walking. Why long-distance? It’s a mental agreement and test with yourself.

Often, I think to myself when I run into an issue at work: “come on Kris, you’ve finished 3 Dodentochten, you will fix this too :)”. Furthermore, we raise money for ‘Rode Neuzendag’, children with mental and physical health problems, with the Dodentocht. Of course, this motivates a great deal as well when you feel like quitting!

Seems like the physical aspect is not to be underestimated! Do you rigorously train for this?

In 2016, I followed the 3-month training schedule provided by the organization itself. In 2018, I exercised with the 6-month plan hoping I wouldn’t have any more blisters (to no avail :)). This year, I used the 3-month training again.  I put my experience and knowledge of the previous editions to good use and taped my foot in such a way that blisters were impossible :)!

What were your best moments?

Kris van Nieuwenhove Dodentocht

Undoubtedly, walking across the finish line together with my wife in 2016! This year was also special because I had never finished the Dodentocht with my walking companion. For him, it was his 4th edition, after finishing the Dodentocht 2 times already. Last year, he had to quit due to mental exhaustion and heavy sunstroke. This year, he didn’t have a lot of time to train in advance, so I made it my goal to finish with him. Especially since this was, (for now), the last time we would walk together, but we did it! The Pauwels saying: “If you want to go fast, go alone but if you want to go far, go together”, definitely helped us!

What was your toughest moment? 

My toughest moments came after walking about 70 to 80 km’s and stopping to take care of my blisters. You sit down for just a couple of moments but getting yourself back into the same rhythm or flow is challenging! Meanwhile, the clock keeps ticking. Luckily, this wasn’t an issue anymore this year!

Did you ever think of quitting?

As I often say, ‘quitting is not in my vocabulary’! When I set a goal, I go hard an I give it 100%! It would also be a terrible waste of all the time you trained and the money we collected for Rode Neuzendag!

Kris & Floriane dodentocht Pauwels Consulting

Do you connect with fellow Dodentocht-walkers along the way?

Yes, it happens very naturally! Sometimes, you have friends or acquaintances that walk with you for a bit and sometimes you walk next to a fellow walker and exchange words of encouragement! You start talking to one another spontaneously. Everyone is there with the same goal and everyone experiences the same pain, that automatically creates a bond :).

The OpEx guy that you are, did you respect your ‘lessons learned’ from previous editions?

As a true OpEx lead, I, of course, drafted up some ‘lessons learned’ after my first edition :). So, in 2018, time limits weren’t really an issue anymore, the blisters on the other hand… So this year, I geared up with lots of tape and I think the evolution in my arrival times proves my progress!

Do you take these lessons learned from the Dodentocht with you on the job?

Yes, most importantly: never give up! However hard it seems at times and when quitting feels like the easy way out: don’t ever give up! Secondly, good preparation increases your chances of success!
And although the journey entails suffering for some hours, it also gives you ‘eternal Dodentocht fame’ and admiration amongst fellow walkers & others! That is also how I look at a project, hold on and bite the bullet so you can end up with a satisfying result that pleases everyone.

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Setting priorities using the ABCDE method

14 Aug 2019
Do you want to manage and spend your time as efficiently as possible? The only solution is to set priorities. Make sure you use the evening preceding any given working day to prioritise the tasks you have to carry out on the day in question.

Setting priorities with the ABCDE method

The ABCDE method works as follows. First, make a list of all the tasks you have to carry out. Then classify each task as A, B, C, D or E, whereas:

  • A stands for ‘very important tasks’: if you fail to carry out these tasks quickly, the consequences for you are serious. For example, if you fail to make a payment, you will be given a substantial fine or if you do not apply in time, you will never get the job.
  • B stands for ‘less important tasks’: if you fail to carry out these tasks quickly, the consequences for you are not serious. For example, failing to call a colleague before a certain time to update them about a meeting is not associated with lasting consequences.
  • C stands for ‘nice tasks to do’: these are tasks without consequences, such as having lunch with a former colleague. If you can free the time, great, but if you can’t meet up this month, it’s not the end of the world.
  • D stands for ‘tasks to delegate’: if someone else can carry out a task better than you can, it’s better to delegate it to them, so you can concentrate on the tasks you are uniquely good at. This is not always possible, of course, but it can greatly increase your productivity.
  • E stands for ‘tasks you can eliminate’: these are irrelevant tasks, but often the ones that we spend too much time on. Do you really need to go to the supermarket every day or can you go just once or twice a week for example?

Two crucial keys to success with the ABCDE method

The first and most important key to success with the ABCDE method is that you can only start on B tasks once all the A tasks have been completed. The same applies to C tasks, etc.

Tip: dealing with e-mails is a B task that you have to schedule in your diary every day. Choose fixed periods in the morning, afternoon and/or evening to deal with your e-mail, so you can concentrate during the rest of the day on more important A and B tasks.

The second key to success is to remain disciplined and not deviate from your schedule because of unexpected issues: colleagues with urgent questions, phone calls, e-mails, etc.

Are you interested or do you have any questions?

Do you have questions, tips or suggestions about time management or would you like to attend a Pauwels Consulting Academy session on time management?

Céline, our Learning & Development Coordinator, will be happy to help you. You can also reach Céline via celine.vanpuymbrouck@pauwelsconsulting.com. Did you find this article interesting? Do not hesitate to share it with your network. The more efficiently we can work together, the better!

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DevOps as a key component in your business strategy

02 Jul 2019
Last month we were happy to welcome the attendees of our first seminar in our new Brussels office at Avenue des Arts. The spacious venue, delicious cookies and fresh coffee got us started for a morning full of valuable insights on the technical side of digital transformation.

At Pauwels Consulting we see our mission in the IT market as twofold: bringing the right consultants to the right job and developing knowledge in the market by understanding how companies are organizing themselves in the inevitable digital transformation.

“Digital transformation means accepting
that you’re becoming a software company.” 

We learned that accepting this will not be enough. It requires hard work, strong governance, and the right tooling to create an environment where systems orchestration is automated as much as possible.

DevOps Software is eating the world

Marc De Leenheer, the founder of Tunitas, introduced us to the concepts of DevOps, the importance of testing and taking small steps. He brought cases and backed them up each with a theoretical background and some insights from the field.

Cloudalize Devops business caseBenny Willen, who is the CEO and founder of Cloudalize, took us further on the impact of DevOps in his company. Cloudalize is a Belgian Tech Startup that offers on-demand GPU from the cloud and desktop as a service. With investments from VH Horizons and a partnership with NVIDIA, they bring a story every tech-head gets enthusiastic about.

Having listened to all those insightful stories, we took the time to discuss and digest the information with our guests over lunch offered by our restaurant. Looking back at our first seminar and based on the feedback of our guests we are proud that this will not stay a single initiative.

You can download our business case & the presentation slides by filling out our form

Also interested in using DevOps as an accelerator for your business?

Get in touch with us!

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Two ISO 9001 myths we should quickly forget

26 Jun 2019
Prepare yourself for an excellent implementation of the ISO 9001 norm in your organization by reading our most common myths and misunderstandings surrounding ISO 9001.

ISO 9001: order and quality for large and small organisations

Every organisation has its own way of operating. That’s quite normal. However, in practice, we see that smaller organisations usually work less systematically than larger organisations. That’s also quite normal. In smaller organisations, the increase in knowledge, experience and procedures tends to be retained in the heads of the staff. As a result, there is no clearly-defined methodology. This can work well, but it becomes problematic when organisations grow.

The more employees an organisation has, the more important it becomes to document everything properly. Only in this way can its activities be carried out in an orderly and structured manner and its quality is guaranteed.

An ISO 9001 quality management system is an excellent tool for providing order and structure. It also ensures that time, money and other resources are used efficiently.

Nevertheless, many organisations have doubts about introducing an ISO 9001 quality management system. This is a pity because those doubts are often the result of two stubborn ISO 9001 myths we should forget as soon as possible.

Myth 1: ISO 9001 quality management systems are paper documents of little use

We often hear that ISO 9001 quality management systems are ‘paper tigers’: bulky documents of little use. That is nonsense, nothing could be less true. On the contrary, the ISO 9001 standard is very pragmatic. It provides order and structure, yet leaves enough room for every organisation to decide for itself what information has to be kept, how and for how long for example.

The ISO 9001 standard places the freedoms and responsibilities of the organisation using it. An ISO 9001 quality management system therefore does not have to be (too) extensive. You can match the system to your own requirements yourself.

That brings us immediately to a second stubborn ISO 9001 myth.

Myth 2: an ISO 9001 quality management system means you have to work in a different way

Organisations often think that they have to work in a different way when they implement an ISO 9001 quality management system. That is not necessarily so. Your organisation doesn’t have to work differently ‘because ISO says so’.

The ISO 9001 standard is only a tool for helping an organisation perform its activities in an orderly and structured manner. Although it does say WHAT has to be done, your organisation can decide for itself HOW that is done. Once more: the ISO 9001 standard places the freedoms and responsibilities of the organisation using it. It’s up to you to benefit from that.

An ISO 9001 quality management system for every organisation

The practical structures of an ISO 9001 quality management system are suitable for all types of organisation. Large or small, commercial, public or non-profit, a properly-implemented quality management system helps every organisation work more efficiently and with better quality.

You don’t have to expect ‘paper tigers’ and you do not have to change the way you work. ISO 9001 works for you, not against you. We would be pleased to help you get the maximum benefit from it.

Need help implementing ISO 9001 into your organisation?

Our quality experts are happy to help!

Contact us

Who is Luc Marivoet, our quality expert?

Luc Marivoet is Prevention Counselor & Quality Officer at Pauwels Consulting. He has over 25 years of experience in quality management positions. In these positions, he provided support and supervision in an international context (Europe and Asia). Luc now uses his experience to set up, implement, monitor and follow up certified ISO 9001 quality management systems and Supplier Quality Assurance activities. Luc is currently working at a Belgian engineering office specialized in rail infrastructure and technology for the implementation of an integrated management system (ISO 9001 & ISO 45001). He also teaches QHS Management Systems (ISO 9001 and ISO 45001).

Do you have a question or comment for Luc? Contact Luc here.

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Lean Management

28 Feb 2019
Pauwels Consulting Academy recently organized a lean management workshop to learn about process optimizing.

On Tuesday, February 18, a duo from the Refuelers shared their knowledge on lean management during an interactive hands-on workshop in Antwerp for the Pauwels Consulting Academy. They made us play a store – producer – customer game to show what could possibly go wrong in the process and to learn how to optimize by ourselves taking into account some of the lean management pillars: waste management, voice of the customers, pull strategy, continuous improvement, identifying bottlenecks, reducing idle time and creating an optimal flow, etc.

Below, you will find a few pictures of the event.

Pauwels Consulting Academy

Continuous learning is a trend that we encourage and facilitate. The Pauwels Consulting Academy is, in addition to our internal training, our one-on-one coaching and our Pauwels Acceleration Program, an initiative through which we invest in the training & skills of our consultants. During these workshops, your colleagues at Pauwels Consulting or field experts will tell you about a project, a technique, a methodology or useful tips and best practices you can use in your own projects.

Check out our upcoming sessions here!

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR PAUWELS ACADEMY?

Do you have any questions regarding this workshop, do you want the slides and/or would you like to learn more about networking in general? Contact Céline Van Puymbrouck, our Learning and Development Coordinator via celine.vanpuymbrouck@pauwelsconsulting.com.

 

Interested in joining a Pauwels Academy?

Check out our upcoming academies!

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