Multi-Site QMS survey

Introduction

Hello, my name is Eric Kriesch. Thank you for your time to participate in my thesis research survey on multi-site management systems, the risks and rewards.
Your answers will be processed anonymously.

Reward for participating
As a reward for completing this survey, at the end you will immediately get the 3 page summary of my literature research and the risks and rewards of multi-site management systems and certification.

- In November 2024 via this webpage link Multi-site certification you will get access to the summary of the final thesis, where I present the conclusions of the research and this survey.

- In January 2025 an article will be published in the Magazine – Kwaliteit in Bedrijf

For questions you can contact me via LinkedIn to discuss the topics or send your remarks/recommendations via Email .

Stay up-to-date
Leave your contact details here: Multi-site keep me up-to-date if you want to stay up-to-date and receive an email notification of the publication.

We will also inform you on future webinars and meetings which are organized together with experts on Multi-Site MD1.support and Comm'ant QMS.

The survey
The survey starts with 5 questions to understand your familiarity with the subject multi-site management systems. After that I present 23 statements that follow a mapping of ISO standards, combined with the IAF MD1 multi-site systems requirements and insights of my literature research.These statements are grouped per topic and you are asked to rate each statement on a 5 point Likert scale:1             Strongly Disagree
2             Disagree
3             Neutral
4             Agree
5             Strongly Agree

Tip! on a computer you can easily use TAB to move to the next question and answer by typing 1 - 5.

Remember at the end to safe/print a copy of your own results to PDF, use the print option from your webbrowser. This way you can compare your answers with the benchmark and analysis.

Important! Press the button [=> Doorsturen] at the top/bottom, when ready. You can also save your work this way and complete it later as long as you don't close your browser.

Confidentiality Statement
I assure you that no association is presented on participants and their answers. Care will be taken to unlink information and answers given by responders and their organizations. The register with personal & organizational information of invitees is not directly linked to the survey information.

1/14 General information to start

What's your situation?

My type of organization *

My position *

I'm an expert on multi-site management systems *

The number of sites involved in our multi-site management system *

My organization's capability/experience level on multi-site is *

2/14 General statements

The research on the IAF mandatory documents MD1 and ISO 9k/14k/45k/50k resulted in these general statements, that identify the risks & rewards of a certified multi-site management system.

Please rate these statements:

Knowledge of the MD1 document helps/has helped me to set-up, operate and assess our multi-site system. *

ISO should further develop specific guidelines for a multi-site system, to clarifying how specific requirements from the ISO standards are assessed in a multi-site system certification. *

Moving from a single to multi-site certification delivers/has delivered us direct & indirect savings. *

Divesting a part of the organization influences/has influenced the certification of both the remaining and the divested part. *

3/14 Scope & boundaries

The scope of a management system (ISO §4.3) is a statement about the organizations operations scope (what) and the application area /scope (where).

The change-over to multi-site requires alignment of operation’s sub-scopes of the different sites. *

The “multi-site management system” improves/has improved a clearer specification of the application area. *

4/14 Leadership, policy and responsibilities

ISO standards chapter 5 and §5.1, 5.2, 5.3 detail the expectations / requirements to leadership, policy and role and responsibilities. MD1 requires and sets clear (hierarchical) responsibilities for management levels and departments.

Using a specific viewpoint, i.e.
1. Requirements view,
2. Strategy view,
3. Organizational view,
4. Process view,
5. Compliance view,
delivers/has delivered more clarity for us to define roles, responsibilities, and authority in multi-site (matrix) organizations. *

Our dominant viewpoint is

The policy from our top management directs/has directed our local policies and objectives. *

5/14 Central control and documented information & registrations

The MD1 assigns central control and responsibility for the management system (def.2.5) and responsibility for data collection and analysis (Ch5.6) to the Central Function. ISO standards require a number of documents and registrations, §7.5 states requirements about managing this “Documented information”. (review/revision, control, distribution). Documents and registrations we want you to consider are i.e.:
- Local & Central context and interested parties’ assessment. (stakeholders, workers e.g.)
- Risk and Opportunities assessment (ISO9001).
- Environmental aspects & impacts registers (14001).
- Hazards identification and assessment of risks and opportunities (45001)
- Legal Compliance assessments (14001/45001/…)

The assignment of (overall) responsibility for the management system to the Central Function has/will:

A. improve our compliance to the ISO requirements. *

B. enhance our comparability and connection of documents and registers. *

C. reduce our workload for registrations and reporting. *

6/14 Context & interested parties

When changing from a single site to a multi-site management system, the planning / controlling of the related processes/activities will move to the central function. (§ 4.1 context, § 4.2 interested parties)

Centrally documented and controlled information on Context and Interested Parties has/will improve the local understanding of this ISO requirement. *

7/14 (Management of) change, risks and opportunities–risk based-thinking

The interpretation of §6.1 of ISO standards on how risk & opportunities (SWOT) are mitigated & captured is perceived as being difficult.

A more detailed explanation by IAF or ISO to correctly interpret ISO §6.1 requirements, will improve the understanding and correct implementation. *

8/14 Strategic direction, strategic objectives & policy

The requirements in the ISO standards indicate a link between the Policy and the Objectives.

The goals of a multi- site organization, when set by top management, are/will be:

a. more aligned from strategic level down to operational level. *

b. more set to deliver customer satisfaction. *

c. deliver reduction of costs. *

d. increase long-term competitiveness. *

9/14 Performance measurement system

In a multi-site management system the central function collects and analyzes performance data. (§ 9.1 ISO, §5.6 MD1)

The collection and analysis of data by the central function improves/has improved our performance analysis. *

10/14 Internal audit and management review

- In a multi-site management system, the central function controls central and local audit planning and evaluates audit findings. Online audits can be a part of the in and external audit program. - Multi-site / MD1 requirement findings can be difficult to recognize and understand as findings are often only linked to ISO clauses.- A multi-site management system requires a single management review (for the whole multi-site)

The multi-site audit program delivers/has delivered a reduction in our audit efforts. *

Explicitly linking the findings coming forth from a multi-site / MD1 requirement to the MD1 clauses make these better recognizable and understandable. *

The required “cross analysis” of (audit) findings (MD1 §7.7) to other sites / departments delivers/has delivered improvements or prevent similar findings. *

A single (group) management review delivers/has delivered a better insight, overview, and comparison about the performance of the whole system and between sites. *

11/14 PDCA cycle, continuous improvement

A risk-based approach to set up and operate the management system and Continual improvement following a PDCA cycle are essential ISO recommendations. In a multi-site system the central function should initiate organizational change.

A risk-based approach in the setup of the multi-site management system delivers/has delivered a lean system. *

Using a PDCA approach improves/has improved the existing (multi-site) management system. *

Central function responsibility improves/has improved the drive for continual improvement. *

12/14 Barriers for multi-site implementation and operation

When moving from single site certifications to one multi-site certification, there are factors of influence that can create a barrier for the implementation and operation of the management system.

Please rate the influence of these factors/barriers:

There is misunderstanding of the multi-site concept, due to unavailability of a formal multi-site ISO standard, support scheme or guidance documents. *

There is an increased bureaucracy with more + different regulations & stakeholders. *

There is a lack of resources, specialized auditors, expertise. *

There are differences in local culture between multiple sites. *

There is a sense of distrust and resistance at the sites due to loss of autonomy. *

13/14 Use of management system

The change from single to multi-site certification leads/has led to an improved use of the management system (with its planning and control on centralized processes/activities) by:

Top management *

Middle management *

Local management *

Experts on QMS/ QHSSE *

Auditing of multi-site management system needs more coordination to apply MD1 requirements in combination with ISO standards. *

14/14 Final question

Following completion of this survey and rating these statements, would you consider changing the capability rate set as in question 1? (your answer to question 1 was copied into this field)

Our capability/experience level on multi-site is: *

This survey addressed interesting topics and raised questions. It provided me insights about the risk and rewards of multi-site management system. *

My remarks/recommendations for Eric - Send me a separate Email

Reward for participating

Thank you for participating
As a reward for completing this survey you can download here the 3 page summary of my literature research and the risks and rewards of multi-site management systems and certification.

In November 2024 via this webpage link Multi-site certification you will get access to the summary of the final thesis, where I present the conclusions of the research and this survey. (please open and store this link in your agenda)

In January 2025 an article will be published in the Magazine – Kwaliteit in Bedrijf
To receive the magazine (in Dutch) you can easily subscribe here

If you like, you can also contact me via my LinkedIn page to discuss the topics.

Stay up-to-date
Leave your contact details here: Multi-site keep me up-to-date if you want to stay up-to-date and receive an email notification of the publication.

We will also inform you on future webinars and meetings which are organized together with experts on Multi-Site MD1.support and Comm'ant QMS.
- MD1.support offers advice on set-up, optimization and certification of multi-site management systems and the audit time calculations according MD1, MD11, ID14.
- Comm'ant QMS offers a unique integrated software platform, training and support to digitalize your single/multi-site management system.

You can directly sign up here for the webinars and meetups.

Remember to safe/print a copy of your own results to PDF, use the print option from your webbrowser. This way you can compare your answers with the benchmark and analysis.

Thank you once again. I look forward to a professional meeting of minds and hope to meet you there.

Kind regards, Eric Kriesch

Important!Press the button [=> Doorsturen] below when ready, otherwise the survey results can not be completed.