September ISO 9000 UG Meeting  

There Is Nothing to Fear but Audit Fear Itself:

Tricks of the Trade to Survive Vendor Audits

Facilitator: Nelson Perez

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Location: Baltimore Aircoil Company (BAC)
7600 Dorsey Run Road
Jessup, MD 20794
 (Call Kerry Higgins at 410-627-5178 if you need additional directions)

6:00 - 6:30: Refreshments and Networking   
6:30 - 8:00: Presentation & Open Discussion
The event is free.  The experience is 'priceless'!!  See registration link below.

Summer is coming to an end, and it�s time to start up our Users Group again.  We had great discussions last year, and thanks to many of you who responded to the survey, we have scheduled some interesting topics for the upcoming months.

Registration: To attend this event, please register here.

Program Summary:
Audits are the bane of our existence.  The least glamorous of the quality assurance (QA) duties, they cause all to dread them if not strike fear in the hearts of those involved.  Unfortunately, even the QA professional is not immune from them.  External audits, whether for certification of a quality management system or yet worse, vendor qualification can lead to many a sweaty palm and sleepless night.  But there is help.  This presentation provides some helpful guidance on how to take back control of the external audit process.  After all, isn�t control what it�s really all about?  Every QA department prides itself on just how tightly a company�s processes are in control, whether procedurally, statistically or documentarily.  Extending this control to an area seemingly just beyond reach provides an opportunity to further the QA function�s credibility, agenda, and political capital.  With the right tools, taking control of external audits is not only possible but beneficial to the audit process in terms of increased efficiency and self-awareness.  The result will not only be more deterministic but greater respect for QA within the organization. 

Audit checklists, including an example vendor qualification questionnaire, summary  presentation topics, and other ways to take shared responsibility of the external audit process will be presented and discussed. Join us to swap scary audit stories, the inside scoop and tricks of the trade to help allay those fears.

Speaker Biography:
Nelson Perez is president of Sierra�s Edge, Inc., a process development and improvement consultant.  With over 25 years of work experience, he has worked the entire product development life cycle and held numerous management and engineering positions on such high visibility programs as the B2 Stealth Bomber; NASA Space Shuttle; and National Missile Defense.  He has worked a variety of other domains including security systems, information systems, computer integrated manufacturing, wireless communication, commercial software development, aircraft systems, and non-destructive testing.  He has co-authored 1 NASA-related patent, has authored several papers and is an active presenter at conferences, software process improvement network meetings and other venues.  Perez consults with companies in management, technology innovation and process and business improvement including ISO 9001:2000, CMMI, and ITIL v3, and can provide solace and comfort in the face of external audits.

Questions? Contact Kerry Higgins, Chair-ISO 9000 Users Group at