The RSS has delivered its RSS18404 Lead Auditors course outside the UK for the first time, in Abu Dhabi.
The course is for certification bodies wishing to work with companies working to improve their processes to become 'better, faster and cheaper'. It has run for a number of years in the UK, but in May 2018, the first RSS18404 Lead Auditor course to run outside the UK was for certification company TUV NORD on behalf of the Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council (QCC), the body responsible for developing an infrastructure of quality in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
The course qualifies Lead Auditors to help other companies become ISO18404 compliant.
The Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council, established in 2009, empowers regulators to establish and implement product safety, legal metrology and conformity schemes. The Council also sets quality standards for products manufactured and traded in Abu Dhabi. This initiative is a part of a wider plan that QCC has adopted to raise the competency of the conformity Assessment Bodies working in Abu Dhabi.
Sultan Al Mehairi, QCC director of information services and engagement, said: 'At QCC, we are so proud to launch this pioneering training programme in the Abu Dhabi Emirate, organised by the Royal Statistical Society for the first time outside the United Kingdom. The programme is consistent with the council's mission to lead, facilitate and develop a standard infrastructure in Abu Dhabi that is globally integrated and highly efficient to enhance the quality culture, industrial development, competitiveness, and consumer safety.
He continues: 'This programme is considered very important because it enhances the provision of sophisticated tools and methodologies to help private and public entities, regardless of their field of action and services or products, to reach advanced levels of quality control with an error rate of less than 3.4 errors per million processes. It also aims to reduce waste of materials, time, procedures and costs in the operations and services provided to clients.'
This methodology, he concludes, is advanced and 'predicts a great future in the worlds of industry, trade and services'.
Anyone interested in Lean, Six Sigma and RSS18404 Lead Auditor courses running in the UK can find details on our Public courses page.
What is Lean, Six Sigma and ISO 18404?
Lean management and Six Sigma are concepts aimed at improving processes, in order to help an organisation become 'better, faster and cheaper'. ISO18404 is a management system standard, published in 2015, for companies and individuals practising Lean and Six Sigma.
The RSS has long had an association with Six Sigma; its Quality Improvement Section (QIS) provides a forum for statistical thinking and best practice in applying statistical methods to improve organisational performance. The section ran a Six Sigma Study group for five years, helping to influence the development of the new Six Sigma BSI and ISO standards, and now has strong links with both BSI and Chartered Quality Institute.