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December 2007 Newsletter

How Becoming an ISO Internal Auditor Provided Valuable Insight!
Shirley Mitchell, CHRP

I have been in the HR field for fifteen years now, and of all the training seminars and workshops I have attended, the greatest learning experience I have had to date is my recent two year assignment as the internal auditor for the company where I have worked for almost nine years.

I returned from maternity leave in December of 2004 and was approached by the President of the company. He asked me to consider taking on the role of the Internal Auditor and become the Manager of Quality & Compliance. I work for a Tire & Automotive Company that has 26 locations throughout the Maritimes. Five of these locations, Head Office included, are certified under ISO 9001:2000 Standards. We received certification initially in 2002.

Upon my return in Dec of 2004, I learned we were scheduled for an external audit with the company that approves our certification in January. It was also the year that our certification was due for renewal. None of our internal audits were done and various other items including a required Management Review Meeting were not done.

Unfortunately, the employee initially responsible for this task was assigned to other priority issues, and our Quality Management System (QMS) was in disarray and our certification was on the line, as we were facing some major Non-Conformances. We knew we would never be able sustain certification under the current system we had, without a lot of work and resources.

So we began to rewrite the entire Quality Manual. What once looked like a never ending list of standards and a less than exciting read at the best of times; was beginning to look and feel like a user-friendly document, and an interesting read about our company. The President/Owner and I took on the task together. After many brainstorming sessions, the President had his vision of how the Quality System should work.

This was our first step to realizing that Quality Management Systems are not intended for you to change your business to meet the standards set before you. It is really knowing the business you are in and applying those standards to your business processes and procedures. The one thing we knew for sure, the basis of our entire Quality System was quality people, our most vital resource.

Our audit results contained all the major Non-Conformances (NCR’s) that we expected, but because we initiated a rewrite of the manual, we were given 90 days instead of 30 to fix and close all the NCR’s. We were successful in keeping our certification when re-audited three months later and have been embracing the new QMS since, with continual improvement upon everyone’s mind.

As an HR professional being thrown into a challenging situation, I was able to utilize my ISO Internal Auditor training. By performing a few internal audits and being involved in the initial process for developing our first Quality Manual, I had skills that could help me to perform the task before me. I learned a lot about our various processes and procedures for the shop floors, retread plant and rim refinishing operations by being involved with the Quality System.

I also lent a hand to those responsible for the QMS during my pregnancy and training period for my replacement. I visited all of our locations and performed various functions associated with Company procedures (including safety), processes, documentation, maintenance schedules and equipment. What an eye opener to the world of tire work and automotive services. And many of the staff members I know wondered, “What is the HR Manager doing”? So, I told them. Communication and involvement with all employees is very important and essential if you wish to implement changes.

During my usually full days at locations, I had the opportunity to talk with all employees about their jobs. I got to observe and learn what it is they do. I got to learn about the paperwork involved and even received some training on our POS system. I learned about each piece of equipment used in the shops, even those in the mechanic’s tool boxes. I know more about vehicle hoists, diagnostics tools, torque wrenches and impact wrenches than most people ever need to know, but to me it is invaluable. And, yes, I did get my hands dirty.

So how has my experience as the Manager of Quality & Compliance helped my professional growth? It has given me a more in depth understanding of the entire company and more importantly it gave me a front row seat to what employees actually did so I could better understand their training needs and requirements.

While being in charge of the QMS, I was still responsible for Health & Safety/WCB and Training & Development. I was now in a position to have the best of both worlds. I had to ensure through my auditing duties that the key procedures and processes were being followed properly, so I had to learn what they were.

It was fortunate and helpful that I was still in charge of training and safety. Let me give you an example of why. Being employed as a Commercial Tire Technician is more dangerous than most people would think. Have you ever seen a tire blow up? Do you know what an exploding transport truck tire is capable of doing to an employee if he neglects to follow the proper procedure? Did you know there is a lot to know about tires? Well I do now!

I learned all about the proper licenses and permits required to operate as an automotive shop. I had dealings with Fire Departments, Labour Departments, Environmental Departments and Lawyers. And dealing with the Insurance Company is now a regular function of the HR Department. This opportunity to see, be involved with and influence the main operations of the Company was exhilarating as well as being one of the best learning opportunities I have had.

My last new and interesting challenge in Quality was to inform and educate our entire company on a new piece of equipment that the US Government has made mandatory in all new vehicles. And although Canada has no regulations on this new piece of equipment, many Canadians citizens are affected. What am I talking about? TPMS – Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems.

If you are driving a vehicle made in the US after September 2007, you my have it in your vehicle. Canadian–made vehicles do not have this system yet. Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems are computer sensors attached to the valve stem of your tires that warn you when the air pressure is low. There are various types of sensors and various re-learn or diagnostics tools required for resetting these systems.

And as it turns out it is the entry level employees that are going to deal with this new equipment the most. This is the normally the position with the lower skill based and/or educated workers. And they were about to be exposed to what is now considered the most advanced piece of equipment on a vehicle.

This introduction of new technology, a safety driven change by US Congress after the big Firestone Tire Recall in 1999, when tires were blowing out and causing major accidents, was and is going to affect our way of doing business significantly. Let me tell you how.

A customer needs a 4 tire changeover (putting on winter tires). This particular service should take a trained employee 20 -30 minutes to complete from start to finish. If the vehicle has TPMS, the entire process can now take up to 60 minutes or more, because of what must be done to properly service these TPMS units. And if these sensors get broken the cost to the company can run from $20 - $200 each and they are found in every wheel. So training is essential. And we have had few different training sessions and plan to have more.

A diagnostic tool has to be placed into the hands of tire technicians who normally only do tire work, oil changes and simple mechanical tasks. Our Automotive Technicians are not off the hook either. If they are doing brake work and the wheels are off for the vehicle for a bit, the system must be relearned when the wheels are reinstalled to ensure the computer system in the vehicle is reading the correct sensor and not giving false information to the customer.

Managers and counter sales staff must also be aware of the systems and what is involved, so they can explain to the customer the reason for the additional charge to the regular changeover price. Special service packs (valve stem assemblies) can increase the customer’s bill by $20 - $60 – depending on the type of vehicle they drive. And we haven’t even talked about the charge for the re-learn or diagnostic tool required to reset the customer’s system.

What an exciting and interesting dilemma to be involved with? In order to embrace this new technology, stay profitable, be a leader in the industry and stay out of any liability situations, we as a Company have to educate literally all shop staff and customers.

The only way to do this successfully is to begin with the front-line people, those doing the work and those dealing with the customer. It would be a disservice if we (the tire experts) were not able to educate our consumers. This must be done with clear communications with well trained staff members and through the use of reference and learning materials that can be provided to both staff and consumers.

And if I had not been in the position of Quality Manager for those two years, I never would have had the opportunity to be involved with this exciting & new opportunity for the Tire & Automotive Industry. I can now be a true influence in the training strategies of the company and be able to relate to the front line workers who really need to know about this.

In April 2007 I returned to the position of Human Resources Manager. I am happy to say that because of our involvement with ISO, it has shown the Company Directors and Executives there is a real need for continual investment in training and how Human Resources is tied to so many aspects of company operations.

We have recently dedicated a fulltime person to Health & Safety as this is essentially important to the overall success of the Company. We have four employees in total when you include Payroll that takes care of the various HR functions and issues for a company employing 300 people.

In this ever decreasing population of trade workers, all employers wonder how they will replace older workers and find dedicated and educated people to fill the voids. The challenges of getting the youth involved in trades is another whole article in itself and retention of good workers in this employee driven labour market is another big challenge. I think HR professionals need to be involved or trained in other departments of their company to truly find any of the answers they need to help their employer succeed in the 21st century.

In closing, the best advice I can give any HR professional is to seek out other learning opportunities within your company even if you are not ISO certified. What you learn when you start looking can be invaluable to you and to those you influence whether it be Senior Executives or Front Line Workers. I look forward to an exciting next few years as we try our best to accomplish what we need, to remain a successful company.

Shirley Mitchell, CHRP
Manager of Human Resources
Coast Tire & Auto Service Ltd.