Project Management for Management Systems Staff

I am often asked about training by the management systems staff that I regularly work with.  The question is typically: “I now feel competent with the ISO standards that I am working with, so what training should I pursue next?”  I almost universally answer with Project Management for these reasons:

• Management Systems staff have significant Project requirements since most of the management system activities are expected to be driven by them, but are completed by people that do not report to them, Including, but not limited to:
  • Completing internal audits
  • Preparing and conducting management reviews
  • Measuring effectiveness and efficiency of processes through metrics and KPIs
  • Completing continuous improvement projects
  • Completing a host of required tasks related to the management system over the course of a year (e.g. environmental and safety reporting…)

So being a competent project manager can help to accomplish these responsibilities more efficiently and effectively, reduce stress, and help to hold the process owners accountable.  It can make the difference between struggling and career success. 

With this in Mind, Management Solutions Group, Inc. had created a training workshop focused on Management Systems staff.  This course would be helpful for anyone with Quality, Environmental, Laboratory, IT, or safety management systems responsibility – including any who support these systems with technical tasks.

Project management is the process of planning, organizing, and executing a specific project from beginning to end, with the goal of achieving the project's objectives while meeting specific constraints such as time, budget, and scope. It involves identifying project goals, timelines, and required resources, as well as managing the risks and changes that may arise during the project's execution. Effective project management requires a combination of leadership, communication, and organizational skills, and can be applied to a wide variety of projects in diverse fields, including construction, software development, event planning, and more.

A management systems staff member can use project management in several ways to ensure that the standards are met throughout the project and management system lifecycle. Here are some ways management system staff can use project management:

1. Defining Management System Objectives: Project management helps managers to define and document quality, environmental, safety… objectives from the start. This includes identifying key quality indicators (KPIs), setting targets, and establishing the processes and procedures required to meet these objectives.
2. Developing System Plans: Staff can use project management to develop quality, environmental, safety… plans that outline the steps necessary to achieve the project's quality objectives. These plans may include quality assurance and control processes, testing procedures, and risk management strategies.
3. Implementing Management System Operational Control: Project management enables staff to implement control processes to monitor and control the quality of project deliverables. This includes reviewing and approving work products, tracking defects or nonconformities, and conducting audits.
4. Managing Change: Project management provides staff with a structured approach to managing change in the project and system. This includes documenting changes, assessing their impact on objectives, and implementing control measures to ensure that changes do not compromise the outputs, work products, and systems.
5. Ensuring Continuous Improvement: Project management helps management system staff to continuously improve the project's quality by monitoring KPIs, analyzing performance data, and implementing corrective actions as needed.

Overall, project management provides a framework for management system staff to plan, execute, and control processes throughout the lifecycle, resulting in more effective and efficient systems, a better quality product or service, reducing environmental impacts, and improving safety and security.