QMS Training Module Companion

The QMS Training Module can be accessed via the SRI Employee Intranet as linked to our corporate home page: For questions about accessing the training module, please contact Mr.Idriss Fofana.

What is ISO 9001:2008?
What does it mean to SRI as a whole?
What does it mean for our program/project team?
What does it mean for me?
Processes
Procedures
Forms & Instructions
Training Completion

What is ISO 9001:2008?

ISO 9001:2008 is one of a family of standards established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). (We're not sure why that is not abbreviated IOS.) The ISO family of standards establishes quality guidelines for different activities and industries.

The 9000 family of standards (formerly including ISO 9001, 9002, 9003) were originally developed for manufacturing companies. The original intent of the standard, for example, was to ensure that the Ford Explorer in your driveway underwent the same testing, inspection, and quality control processes as your neighbor's Ford Explorer. During the late 80's and 90's, however, more and more services companies, like SRI, were interested in documenting their internal operating processes and in certifying to their customers that they too were undergoing rigorous testing, inspection, and quality control checks. This was especially true for services companies wanting to do business in the international marketplace. For example, as a customer, you wanted to feel confident that your international consultants based in Indonesia operated under similar quality control principles as your international consultants based in Boston.

Consequently, the ISO decided to update the standard and eliminating the "manufacturing-only" sections of the standard and presenting a more global standard that would apply to manufacturing, services, not-for-profit, Federal, international, public, or private industry.

What does it Mean to SRI as a Whole?

SRI has established a Quality Management System (QMS) that meets the requirements outlined above. We have chosen to document all aspects of the way we do business and the way that we ensure that our customers always receive the highest quality products and services available in the marketplace today. More information about the structure of the QMS will appear in the following sections, but for now, what does ISO mean for SRI?

SRI has established corporate quality objectives, outlined in our Quality Policy Statement, that are based in our vision, mission, operating principles, and goals. The Quality Policy Statement will be printed and distributed to every SRI location to be displayed in every field office throughout the world.

SRI has committed itself to four fundamental quality objectives. They are:

Budget: SRI will remain at or under target budgets for every proposal, every contract, and every corporate functional area.
Schedule: SRI will remain at or ahead of schedule for every proposal, every contract, and every corporate functional area.
Quality Standards: SRI will maintain 100% compliance with all established quality, customer, and industry standards for quality performance.
Customer Satisfaction: SRI will always strive to achieve an overall customer approval rating of 5, as measured by the Monthly Customer Satisfaction Report and as reported at monthly Program Review.

What does it mean for our program/project team?

The day-to-day activities of every program/project team impact SRI's success or failure in achieving the objectives outlined above. However, in addition to these overarching objectives, each program/project team has quality objectives (as developed by the Program/Site Manager) that apply specifically to ensuring quality performance on his/her contract. If they have not already communicated objectives to you, they will be doing so in the coming days.

Each program/project team has the responsibility for working together to ensure that they deliver the highest quality product and/or service to their customer and that they are continually striving for corporate and program/project team goals.

What does it mean for me?

As an individual employee, you impact the achievement of both overall corporate and individual program/project team objectives. As a services-based company, one employee has the ability to positively or negatively impact a customer's perception of our performance. For example, SRI has maintained longstanding relationships with some of our customers based solely on the performance of the one employee that supports their operations. Never underestimate the impact that you personally can have on SRI, on your contract, and on your customer.

You interaction with ISO 9001:2008 will be in the context of the QMS. In order to get paid, you fill out an Employee Timesheet on our online Deltek tool, in order to apply for a position you fill out a QMS form (Employment Application), as a new employee you receive QMS documentation (Employee File) that outlines your position responsibilities and provides you with an employee handbook. The QMS is posted to the Employee Intranet site and each employee is provided with a unique login and password that provides him/her with access to all QMS information and documentation.

Processes

The QMS is divided into processes that generally describe how we do business. There are four kinds of processes:

Business Development (BD): In the business development process we seek for new business opportunities, identify which opportunities are a best match for our capabilities, and develop proposals and bids in pursuit of these opportunities.
Contract Implementation (CI): This is a brief, but critical process that takes place following a contract award and prior to the contract start date. During Contract Implementation, we rapidly staff, procure and deliver necessary equipment and resources, and establish program documentation that will guide the program throughout its life.
Program Management & Technical Support Solutions (PM): This is the process in which the majority of SRI employees are currently involved. This is the process that actually delivers the products and/or services we proposed in the business development process, and prepared for in the contract implementation process. It includes the management of activities and the performance of actual contract requirements.
Operational Support Processes: All other SRI processes fall into this category. These are the processes that support operations in all other processes. They include:

Accounting (AC)
Administration (OA)
Contract Management and Administration (CM)
Customer Feedback (CF)
Human Resources (HR)
Improvement (IP)
Quality (QC)
Security (SE)
Training (TR)

Procedures

Within each process there is at least one, but often more than one procedure. The procedures provide more specific details about operational activities. For example, the Accounting Process will state that we perform accounting operations. However, within the process are three procedures - Purchasing and Payables (AC1), Billing and Invoicing (AC2), and Payroll (AC3) - that more explicitly define what "accounting operations" we perform.

Each procedure is numbered and formatted in the same manner. By utilizing the contents section of the QMS intranet site, you can navigate through each process and read through all associated procedures.

PLEASE NOTE: the most current version of all SRI QMS Documentation is found on the SRI intranet site. If you download local copies to your hard drive or print hard copies to store in a file, you have "uncontrolled copies" of the documentation that may or may not reflect the most recent updates. While changes will typically be announced via email to all SRI employees, please always remember that the most current and accurate documentation is on the intranet site.

Forms & Instructions

Within each procedure are the forms/instructions that document or support defined activities. The old quality standard required that forms be numbered in accordance with the standard clauses. This made the numbering system almost indecipherable to someone who was unfamiliar with the standard. However, under the new standard, we now have the flexibility to number forms as we choose.

Consequently, we have developed what we hope will be an intuitive numbering system. As you noticed in the Processes and Procedures sections above, each procedure has an alphanumeric identifier. For example, the Payroll procedure is numbered (AC3). The forms and instructions have been numbered to correspond with the procedures. For example, the Employee Timesheet that is included within the Payroll procedure is numbered (AC3-1). Thus, any SRI employee at any location could pick up any form, look at the number and identify which procedure it is associated with, even if he/she had never seen the form before. The forms most commonly used by SRI employees are Accounting Forms that all begin with the letters AC and Human Resources Forms that all begin with the letters HR.

To make forms more "user-friendly," we now provide detailed "play-by-play" instructions for each form. The form instructions are the "A section" of the form. For example, the Employee Timesheet instructions are found in AC3-1A. The form itself is found in AC3-1B. The instructions outline from start to finish who is responsible for initiating, completing, reviewing, approving, submitting, maintaining, and filing all forms. They have been designed to clearly delineate responsibility and give you "just the facts" required to effectively complete the form. If you find that this is not the case, please submit suggestions to Mr. Idriss Fofana.

Forms can be accessed through each individual process page - i.e., Accounting Forms can be accessed by clicking on the Accounting link the contents menu, etc. However, we have also developed a comprehensive Index to Forms and Instructions. The link to the index is found at the bottom of the contents menu (located in the blue box on the left of the page). The Index is organized alphanumerically according to form number. You may run a Find on the page with the title of the form if you cannot remember the number.

THE QMS INTRANET SITE IS A FRAMES-BASED WEBSITE. What this means is that, essentially, the contents menu in the blue box the left and the index located in the gray area on the right are actually two separate pages that have been programmed to appear simultaneously in your browser. In order for a "Find" to work or for you to print what appears in the gray area of the page, you must click somewhere inside the gray area. Please understand that by clicking the gray area you are not activating a link or expecting a visible result. All you are doing is telling the browser that the gray area is the "active page."

Training Completion

Please complete the Training Attendance Roster Form (TR1-2B) after you have completed the Module and Companion and email or fax the completed form toAnita Lawson.

QMS Training Module CompanionPage 1 of 4
Rev. 4 - 8/20/10