The objective of the project was for Mireaux Management Solutions to help TI Verbatim Consulting (TIVC) achieve ISO 9001:2015 certification via 100% virtual consulting – necessary due to stringent COVID-19 lockdown mandates imposed.
TIVC just as many other Mireaux Clients did achieve certification, however the results were undoubtedly of significance: TIVC had 0 findings in their Certification Audit and was recommended for certification on the spot. This was highly impressive for a company that had no prior ISO experience and who we helped build their Management System without ever visiting their site. The Auditor, who was very impressed with TIVC’s Quality Management System, commented that “in the many years he had been auditing, only a handful of companies had 0 findings.”
This Case Study aims to provide a detail overview of how the entire project was carried out, from beginning to end, and the factors that contributed to its success.
ABOUT MIREAUX
Mireaux Management Solutions is a Technology and Consulting firm headquartered in Houston, TX. Mireaux’s services focus on Turnkey Consulting, Auditing, Training, Managed Services, and Web QMS software for the implementation and maintenance of ISO and API management system standards.
During Turnkey Consulting projects, what sets Mireaux apart from other Consulting companies is our team approach. We dedicate a full team to work with our Clients to ensure their projects run smoothly from start to finish. TIVC was assigned a Management Systems Consultant, Technical Writer, and Lead Auditor, with the Consultant acting as a Project Manager to oversee the entire project.
ABOUT TIVC
TI Verbatim Consulting (TIVC) is a proven leader in the areas of Workplace Culture Assessment, Language Services, and Business Support Services. Located in Virginia, TIVC is a Small Business Administration 8(a) program participant, a CVE certified Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, and an Economically Disadvantaged Women Owned Small Business. Founded in 2014 by Jean Ibañez Payne, a multilingual Navy Veteran, TIVC is a responsive and client-oriented professional services company. TIVC’s mission is to help clients create a great place to work using workplace culture assessment by bridging the language divide using culturally accurate language translation and interpretation, and to support customers’ staffing needs to help them reach strategic and operational goals.
BACKGROUND
In January 2020, TIVC approached Mireaux to inquire about helping their company obtain ISO 9001:2015 Certification. After several conference calls and online meetings, TIVC officially selected Mireaux to help them obtain certification and decided to begin the project in April 2020.
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the United States of America had imposed various restrictions; from wearing masks and working from home to limiting travel by plane. Each state had varying degrees of the same restrictions. For example in Texas, lockdown at home was optional but highly suggested; while in Virginia it was mandatory. Some of these restrictions touched the core of Mireaux’s services – Turnkey Consulting, Auditing, and Training, where travel and face-to-face meetings were expected as the norm.
“TIVC retained Mireaux’s services for its ISO certification. It was the best investment and highly recommend if pursuing an ISO certification. There is no way we could have done it without them. They are/were flexible, professional and just a wonderful team to work with throughout the journey.” – Jean Ibañez Payne, TIVC Founder and CEO.
Facing the circumstances, Mireaux had to quickly adapt to the restrictions mandated by each local and state government. While Mireaux was not new at working remotely for Clients who were located outside the Houston area or even the US, there was no comparison to the new expectations brought about. In essence, we were facing the prospect that there would not be live meetings, face-to-face interviews, or even an on-site Internal Audit.
As the project got ready to start, plans were amended to accommodate COVID-19 travel restrictions and although the initial thought was that restrictions would be lifted by June of 2020; Mireaux preemptively set out a strategy to conduct the entire project virtually, if needed.
GETTING STARTED
Mireaux starts all Turnkey Consulting projects with a formal Kick-Off meeting at the Client’s site. However, since this was no longer possible, we arranged to have a virtual meeting with TIVC’s core personnel instead. The meeting was a huge success as we were able to train TIVC’s team on the ISO standard, go over the Project Plan, draft their Main Process Map, and begin mapping out the remainder of their processes.
Figure 1 – TIVC Opening Kickoff Meeting – Drafting the Main Process Map
TIVC’s engagement in the project stood out immediately, as everyone was onboard from the start and ready to do whatever it took to achieve certification. Equally deserving of praise, was their Top Management’s involvement at the Kickoff Meeting and throughout the remainder of the project, which set the stage for a successful outcome.
WEEKLY MEETINGS
Mireaux believes that a key to the success of Turnkey Consulting projects is keeping in constant contact with our Clients. Even prior to COVID-19, part of our project control process is to set up weekly conference calls to touch base on pending actions, new project activities, and to ensure everyone is on the same page. The only excuse to cancel a call is if there is an on-site meeting.
This practice proved very effective during the TIVC project, as our weekly Zoom calls helped everyone stay engaged and gave us the opportunity to work step by step through the Project Plan. Michelle Smith, VP of Culture & Special Projects at TIVC, was assigned to manage the project and was crucial in helping the Mireaux team arrange meetings and keeping everyone at TIVC organized and on track.
One of the benefits of doing everything virtual was increased flexibility and availability by everyone. Throughout Turnkey Consulting projects, meetings are typically held during scheduled trips to the Clients’ site, which means we have to cram meetings within a very limited timeframe. For example, if we are on-site for 3 days, we would have to fit all meetings during the allotted time.
“Thank you for training us in the ISO 9001:2015 standard, helping us map our processes, define our risks, create our forms, procedures, work instructions, and excel tracking for all of it. Thank you for putting us through the paces of an informal assessment, a management review, and an internal audit, for holding us accountable and for walking with us right up to the very end!” – Michelle Smith, TIVC VP Culture and Special Projects.
Figure 2 – Another Zoom session hard at work with TIVC
Hosting virtual meetings not only spared us travel time and expenses, but also gave us the flexibility to hold meetings as needed and when needed, rather than grouping them all back-to-back during a trip. And of course, with virtual meetings, we were able to accommodate and work around TIVC team member’s schedules, with minimal wasted time.
Action items assigned to either TIVC or Mireaux were kept up-to-date and tracked through Mireaux’s Web QMS software. Along with our Project Plan and weekly meetings, the action items helped keep everyone informed and accountable to complete their tasks in a timely manner.
DOCUMENT SHARING
For Mireaux, being certified to ISO 27001 and having an Information Security Management System means that handling of Client’s information is always a top priority. Whether it is a Turnkey Consulting project, or an Internal Audit, Mireaux ensures that document handling and sharing is secure.
Working with TIVC’s IT Department, a OneDrive account was set up at the onset of the project to ensure that files were transferred easily, yet securely. This allowed both TIVC and Mireaux to seamlessly work on documents together for the entire length of the project.
“You set the standard of precise attention to detail and excellence for us to emulate. Thank you. Absolutely ‘worth every stinkin’ penny.” – Richard Payne, TIVC SVP of Finance, Lead IT & Security.
AUDITS AND MANAGEMENT REVIEWS
By the time TIVC’s Internal Audit rolled around in August 2020, Mireaux had already successfully completed several Remote Audits with other Clients, therefore our Auditors were very familiar and well-trained on how to perform an audit virtually.
The Internal Audit was conducted on Zoom and TIVC’s participation was exemplary, making the audit a huge achievement in the overall completion of the project. The results of the Internal Audit provided TIVC with several areas to improve prior to their Stage 1 Audit. TIVC, with the help of the Mireaux consulting team worked together to ensure all issues from the Internal Audit were resolved.
Mireaux also helped TIVC prepare and execute their Management Review. Several action items were noted as improvement opportunities and again, with the help of Mireaux, TIVC worked hard to address them.
As the dates of the Stage 1 and Stage 2 Registrar Audits approached, TIVC was feeling more than well prepared.
“This project was unique not because it was successful amidst Covid-19 restrictions, but because it was our first Turnkey Consulting project where we never visited the client on-site. Something that in the past would have been unheard of, is now a reality that opens up incredible possibilities.” – Miriam Boudreaux, Mireaux CEO.
THE FINAL HOUR
TIVC’s Stage 1 Audit took place on September 1, 2020 with registrar ABS, who found no major issues and gave TIVC the green light to move to the next stage. During the subsequent month, TIVC worked with Mireaux to iron out some last minute details and prepare for the Stage 2 Audit scheduled for November 2, 2020.
As the end of the Stage 2 Audit neared, the results were clear: TIVC ended up with zero findings and would be recommended for certification on the spot. This was impressive for a company that had no prior ISO experience and who we helped build their Management System from scratch. The Auditor, who was very impressed with TIVC’s Quality Management System, commented that “in the many years he had been auditing, only a handful of companies had 0 findings.”
CONCLUSION
Mireaux was able to complete the entire Turnkey Consulting project virtually via video conferencing, emails, phone calls, etc. This was the first Mireaux Client who was never met in person by any of our Associates throughout a Turnkey Consulting project. Everything from the Opening Kickoff Meeting to the Internal Audit was done remotely. TIVC received their ISO 9001 certification with zero nonconformities. All these great achievements were the result of, not only hard work by TIVC as well as Mireaux Associates, but also of everyone following and trusting the established process.
The process was managed as a project and used a Project Plan as well as Project Control practices, to execute and monitor the project flawlessly. Every activity in the Project Plan was accomplished and everyone understood and provided the attention to detail that the project demanded.
Leadership and Top Management’s participation was the primary key to the success of the project. Everyone accepted the circumstances, accommodated as best as they could, and worked as a Team, without being afraid to be held accountable –even if it was during a Zoom meeting.
Mireaux Management Solutions is proud to have been able to help TIVC achieve their certification goals and looks forward to support them in the future, as they continue their success and growth.
Miriam Boudreaux, CEO
Mireaux Management Solutions
Miriam Boudreaux, an Industrial Engineer with over 20 years in ISO and API standards, founded Mireaux in 2001 after holding positions as Process Engineering Manager, Senior Quality Manager and Corporate Quality Director for traditional and high tech manufacturing companies.
If your company is ready to achieve ISO or API management system certification by using a proven approach, contact Miriam Boudreaux at [email protected].
Jean Ibanez, CEO and Founder
TI Verbatim Consulting
Jean Ibañez Payne, a Navy veteran, with 25 years of experience in government and private industry, founded TIVC in 2014. Jean has led communications, marketing, diversity, translation and project management efforts in the corporate and government environment.
If you want to do business with a company with fantastic capabilities who is also ISO 9001 certified, contact TIVCs CEO, Jean Payne at [email protected].
