Show staff what quality can do for them. You’re the new quality manager. You meet the management team and it seems committed to quality and fulfilling regulatory requirements.

Analyzing cause to implement corrective action. Organizations with quality management systems compliant to ISO 9001:2008 are required to take action to eliminate the causes of nonconformities.

Using probability to get to the bottom of the issue. A common challenge quality department staff face involves root cause analysis (RCA). While tried-and-true techniques to conduct RCA—such as five whys or fishbone diagrams—are effective, there are limitations.

Don’t overlook the importance of planning before auditing. Audits are conducted for many reasons. Sometimes, they’re conducted at the request of customers to ensure compliance to requirements.