60 Seconds with Kevin Bayliss
New NQA Assessor, Kevin Bayliss talks to us about some of his most memorable audits, including a site inspection on a multi-million pound luxury yacht!
What standards do you audit
ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 & NHSS
Most memorable auditing moment
Auditing a large yacht company, to carry out a site inspection on a multi-million pound luxury yacht does open one’s eyes to how the other half lives! During my first visit I found myself looking down into the 155ft construction of the hull of Eddie Jordan’s £32m vessel.
The construction of the top of the hull / decking was very interesting, enormous blocks of polystyrene are glued together in a large machine shop (the size of a hanger) and the shape is then cut by the biggest CNC machine I have ever seen, the finished machined block then forms the base for the mould to be manufactured from composites. Once the mould is made the polystyrene shape that took months of work is taken out into the yard and smashed with JCBs.
It was also interesting how they build each deck of rooms out of plywood in full scale for the client to inspect and add personal touches or change the layout. Again once the client has sanctioned the design the model is destroyed, the real construction will be a mixture of composites and high quality woods.
Greatest client benefit gained from ISO certification
The company only received a bank loan to expand the business because they had ISO 9001. The company converts new VW vans into top of the range camper vans. They outsourced a number of services, the main being upholstery and they were keen to equip the workshop to carry out the activities on site; the loan was for the purchasing of the necessary equipment and staff.
It was unnerving to watch a new van come be driven inthe workshop and people attack it with jigsaws!
Top tip for getting the most from your management system
Keep it simple so staff can understand it. I have seen so many management systems written in ‘management speak’; basically it is what the client / consultant think we auditors need to see. Unfortunately in my experience members of staff start to read this type of language and give up or think it doesn’t apply to them. Simple is good!
Most common non-conformance
Waste control, either cross contamination in bins (no matter how many times a client checks them someone will always throw something in the wrong bin just before an audit!).
Incorrect information entered onto transfer / consignment notes. It is frustrating when the waste companies cannot get the documentation right.