Back from the Jungle/Desert/Middle of Nowhere

Hi folks. I have returned from the "boonies" and I have much to share!

Having spent the last 2 years in the mining industry, I have learnt a great deal about, not only how organisations manage Quality (or don't!), but also a steep increase in my knowledge surrounding work management systems, reliability, and, planning and scheduling.

More importantly, I've been going it alone (tough in the current environment) as a business solutions designer and process performance analyst. There is a LOT to learn when you're marching to the beat of your own drum. I've been spending some time looking at new capabilities on the market which make it easier for companies (of all sizes) to move to "the cloud".

Obviously, that investigation led me to Office 365 which has revolutionised the accessibility of Microsoft Office suite tools and applications. Curiously that also led me (back) to NETBASE SOLUTIONS, where their director, Terry O'brien continues to innovate with his Business Management Systems. NETBASE Solutions, based in Queensland, now have QMS, OHS (including WHS) and EMS systems, either individually or as one hollistic package, ready to bolt on to ANY organisation that currently has Office 365 accounts set up with Sharepoint access.

Even if your company hasn't made the jump to Office 365, NETBASE is now a Microsoft Partner and can sign you up themselves taking the capability to collaborate on the development of your Sharepoint site to the next level.

Terry has refined the NETBASE product range to include a new stand alone small business management system which can be installed in less than a week for companies with around 10 employees. It's an ideal entry point into the features of Sharepoint and Office365, and, enables small entities to really leverage their new capability at a very low cost. Best of all, if that is all your organisation needs, you don't need to expand until your business does.

Don't forget, support for XP is on borrowed time, so now is a good time to upgrade to Office365. Have no fear. It's much easier than the days of yore, sitting there swapping discs for 8 hours. You can have MS Word 2013 on your desktop and running in 20 minutes (unless you're on dial up speeds)!

All in all it's great to be back on the Sunshine Coast ready for another Queensland summer. Here's a short video of just one of the lovely destinations I've seen.

I hope you enjoy it and I'll see you soon!

Cheers,

Mick

Quick Tip: Mind Your Language!

I just came across this little gem, and it reminded me of why anyone outside the sphere of Quality, finds the subject as interesting as toast. Not even the buttered kind, probably even toast that is a little bit cold.

"Suitably qualified entities are invited to register their interest in being invited to tender to undertake the role of design services consultant for certain services on the basis described in the Invitation to Register Interest."

I beg your pardon? Now this clearly isn't a quality related statement, but nonetheless, it is an etymological period point, highlighting the need for both sentences with commas, and, demonstrating the superfluous nature of generic statements. Was the author charging by the word?

If you want people to understand and engage in your Management System, then try to not put them in a coma when you are writing associated policies or procedures. If you are dozing off in front of your computer from reading your own work, then what hope does everyone else have?

Take Notes: There is ALWAYS a Pop Quiz!

There once was a time, before the Internet, before overly accessible annoying pop idols and their exploits, when people used to employ this old contraption called a note pad. I can imagine that your minds eye immediately becomes populated with some form of laptop computer, but what I am referring to was even MORE convenient than that! Yes it was so!

These notepads were the weapon of choice for flat foots and gum shoes alike, no doubt recording some of the most crucial pieces of information in the 20th century! Clues to a murder, the crux of a news story.... a long as you could find a pen and a fountain in which to refill it (I'm pretty sure that's how they worked...). More importantly, as per my mantra, that information was ORGANISED then ANALYSED to identify an opportunity.

They [notepads] are almost redundant these days, (though ink has been conceptually superseded by battery power) with the introduction of smart phones, tablet PCs and the like. In fact these days, many things that people hoped could not be recorded, suddenly are being aired across the globe in a matter of minutes for all to see. Thanks Youtube, Wikileaks, Wikipedia and co.

There is so much information out there that if you really wanted to know something or find an opportunity, it would just be a matter of looking in the right place.

The same thing can be said for your business intelligence (No need to look sideways when I say that. It isn't all cloak and dagger subterfuge). Where ever you are, you should be able to access, review and update customer data, and, record potential opportunities.

Satisfying customer expectations is the essence of Quality Management, but, how can you meet expectations with out knowing what the customer wants? That is where things like the smart phone have become so essential. Every little detail that you learn, contributes to your understanding, and therefore, your ability to prepare for and meet, your customers expectations.

If Customer X calls your company and your customer relations representative is about to transfer them to your phone, you have roughly 20 seconds to reacquaint yourself with their history, before they start to think that perhaps their business is not that important to you.

If your quality management system is worth what you pay for it, you should be able to get to that information before interest wanes. Ready? Start flipping through that note pad... NOW! 20, 19, 18....

P.S. I recorded the notes for this piece, verbally on my smart phone.

Are You Liable to Help?

So we just had a very difficult discussion at work this morning. We, as a company are trying to find out new ways to help our fellow Queenslanders. We have come up with a few ideas, which I will list shortly, but what is really bothersome, is considering what type of legal implications reside in the background of good will! I'm sure many people have had this issue since Brisbane was flooded last week and I have heard it addressed on the news as well. If you aren't working directly for the SES, good and help some relatives. Many have simply flipped the bird to that limitation, even as our Customer Relations Manager went through west end with baked goods yesterday.

Firstly, what we want to do is create a donation and distribution point for office excess. That is items like printers, chairs, phones, desks, bookshelves etc.

Secondly, we want to offer some of the space in our office for small business managers to come in and "hot desk", if you need room to come and do your books for example.

Lastly is a business management system so that as companies rebuild themselves, they can do so with an online hosted system. We can't make it free unfortunately since we pay hosting fees to another company, but hey a head start is a head start and we really have tried to make it as accessible as possible.

What we REALLY need to know before we pursue people that may want to provide transport or storage, or actual office furniture is, what type of legal hurdles should we look out for? Can anyone donate some form of legal advice?

Please pass this on to anyone whom you may know that can help!

Thanks in advance,

Mick
mmcwilliams@aeromarine.com.au

A new blog?

So ladies and gentlemen....and bloggers,

What is your favourite blog? I'm going to write a new one for NETbase Solutions and I need to know how to do it. If you read my posts below, you will know (aside from me being a beginner) that I prize external feedback, so hit me with your favourite blog of 2010, even (if you must) bang your own drum.

Critique my blog, state your own mistakes, any info is welcome!

I'll start off by saying Mack Collier provides invaluable #blogchat via twitter. But 22654 of you knew that already.

Improve your Business: Make a Mistake!

When was the last time your “yes” men said “no”? Have you ever thought about that? Are you that good?

This year, I have started full time with NETbase Solutions, a Queensland start-up which creates and implements business management systems, with the core product being cloud based ISO 9001 compliant Quality Management Systems. Part of my role involves helping customers to leverage the full capability of their QMS, beyond the tick (or cross) you get in the box from auditors.

More important than regulatory auditing, is the building of a Quality Culture within an organization. That is, ensuring that the regulatory and procedural framework, can operate efficiently, with a positive net effect on your business. Ultimately, you want everyone involved with your business, to want to participate.

There is no point having a QMS if no one ever uses it, so the first ingredient you need is an environment where your people are willing to be honest about performance (theirs, yours and that of the organisation). This primarily comes from you and your attitude as a manager. Being open is a great starting point, but let's be honest: you don't have time to wander around holding hands to see if everything is alright.
Some companies attempt the annual survey which is a great method for highlighting issues employees may have had in the last 2 weeks, but in reality, can you remember any specific issues you had in February 2010? How about the circumstances leading up to the issue or the order in which they occurred?

A better solution is a QMS which allows members of your organisation to communicate and record any issues, wherever they are, whilst it is still fresh in their mind. The QMS needs to be accessible (to ALL levels of your organisation) so that bad results/processes can brought to light, dissected and dealt with in short order.

That is one of the key strengths of the NETbase QMS. Because it is cloud based, you can access it anywhere, identify an issue (attach a photo if necessary) and it is immediately available for comment, review and discussion.

In addition to the problem being resolved efficiently, it is also readily available for future review guarding your organisation against making the same mistake twice, and that is dollars people! A dollar saved is a dollar earned.

When you quantify the value, make sure you communicate the positive impact that has come as a result of negative feed back, to encourage your people to become part of the process. That is how you foster a Quality Culture: through a user friendly mechanism that does not make the operator groan at the thought of reporting a problem.

Maybe you already have a solid Quality Culture, but how do you find out?

That’s the easy part. Make a mistake and see how long it takes for you to find out about it.

Evolution And Innovation: what's the difference?

When you see something new, how often do you really see it as innovative? These days, technology makes our whole world smaller, and, chances are that when you see something new, it has been done before in one form or another. Does that make it any less innovative? Is most modern innovation really just evolution?

One impending product, which is being promoted as a great innovation, is the electric car. Electric cars aren't exactly new, in fact, I had one when I was about 10 years old. Sure it could only carry 6 gun brandishing G.I. Joes, and the battery was about half the entire mass of the vehicle, but I had one nonetheless. In fact, at the start of the 20th century, almost a third of all automobiles sold in the U.S. where EVs (electric vehicles).

Geeting back to more recent times, in the U.K., the diminutive G-Whiz, which is apparently the world's best selling electric car, is more Golf Buggy than a modern car. In fact, if you have more than one friend, or want to travel more than 48 miles, you had best look elsewhere.

Japan, of course, have the iconic Hybrid Prius and Honda Insight (as well as a selection of other mild hybrid vehicles)which utilise energy normally lost through braking, to charge batteries, which in turn drive the front wheels. The wheels can also be driven by the petrol engine to add modest pep to progress, or take over entirely as speed rises, or battery charge drops.

The U.S. has a number of electric vehicles, including the cost prohibitive Tesla Roadster, which adds a bit of sexiness to battery vehicles (in fact it looks a bit like the aforementioned remote control vehicle that used to transport my G.I. Joes), which is, like the G-Whizz, solely dependant on battery power, and therefore, not really that practical. This is compounded by the fact that it is actually stupid fast, which is an energy hungry pursuit.

Then there is the Chevrolet Volt, which will be popping up across the globe in the next few years, under the Chevrolet, Opel, and possibly, Holden brand names. Similar in approach to the Hybrids from Japan, the Volt has both an internal combustion engine (or ICE, which is just like any contemporary petrol engine) and electric motor with batteries. It differs, however, in it's preference to drive solely from the battery pack and electric motor. The ICE actually serves as a generator, creating electricity to charge the batteries. Pretty innovative, right?

Well, sort of. Submarines have been doing this for decades. Of course the Chevrolet Volt will also have the benefit being plugged into the garage wall when you are at home, which wouldn't be advisable for U-boat Captains.

So what is the difference between Evolution and modern Innovation? Application and time.

Innovation can be the start of a new process, so looking to other industries to solve your own problems, can make you an innovator in your own industry.

Evolution is the rest of the industry trying to catch up to you.