Documentation of our Quality Management System is not our goal, but instead is a means of achieving our goal. The purpose of documenting our QMS is to:
1. demonstrate to our customers our ability to consistently provide ready mixed concrete that meets their performance requirements;
2. achieve and maintain RMCCO Certification; 3. provide continuity and uniformity of processes;
4. enhance training and provide career enhancement to our employees; 5. improve customer satisfaction; and
6. establish a measurement system to facilitate continuous improvement through statistically-based concepts, when applicable.
2.2.1. Quality Manual (QM)
Defining and documenting our QMS is a part of our company-wide quality initiative. This Quality Manual addresses multiple functions which not only include the design and control of our company's product, but a number of activities indirectly related to the control of quality. Quality activities addressed in this Manual include, but are not limited to:
x sampling and testing of concrete and concrete materials;
x identifying the testing and evaluations conducted by Global and those services that we outsource, primarily for mixture performance for specification qualification;
x plant and field control of concrete production;
x personnel qualifications and training;
x facilities, plants, and equipment;
x purchasing;
x customer focus;
x order processing and dispatching procedures;
x concrete delivery and site control;
x concrete troubleshooting; and
Example Quality Manual NRMCA Guideline
Page 2-2 Date: Apr 07
2.2.2. Responsibility and Authority
The documentation for our QMS is the responsibility of the Quality System (QS) Coordinator and the QMS is monitored by the company Quality Committee, as discussed in Section 3 Management Responsibility. Each documented Section and all revisions to the Quality Manual must be approved by the manager(s) responsible for the tasks identified within the Section. The Quality Committee is responsible for assigning the Quality Manuals. Revisions to the Manual are approved only by the Quality Committee. Suggested revisions may be submitted by any employee of the company. Revisions to the Manual may be submitted in writing or verbally communicated to the Quality System Coordinator or any Committee member at least three days prior to a scheduled meeting of the Quality Committee. The Quality Committee also evaluates quality improvements, determines if the improvements are achievable, and determines the costs/benefit of the improvement.
The Global Ready Mixed Quality Committee consists of the following members:
x President and Chief Executive Officer
x Senior Vice President of Plant and Fleet Operations
x Technical Services Manager (Quality System Coordinator)
x Two (2) Plant Managers and two (2) rotating members – the Plant Managers and rotating members are assigned to the Committee for two (2) year terms
The Quality Committee meets quarterly. The QS Coordinator is responsible for preparing meeting Agendas and recording Minutes of the meetings. The Agenda must be prepared and distributed to each Committee member two (2) business days prior to the meeting.
2.2.3. Control of Documents
Distribution of the Quality Manual is the responsibility of the Quality System Coordinator as directed by the Quality Committee. Two master lists of the Quality Manual are maintained. One list contains the listing of all persons with a Controlled (assigned) Manual. This list contains the Manual number (for controlled documents), initials of the person receiving the manual, and the date reviewed. All subsequent revisions of pages or sections are made with a revision summary, which is initialed by the receiving person at the time that the Manual revision is delivered. The QS Coordinator maintains these initialed revision summaries as the control record of each Manual’s status.
Major revisions to this Manual are submitted to the Ready Mixed Concrete Certification Organization (RMCCO) for review and approval. The numbering scheme for the Manual facilitates revisions by page as needed. The Manual is numbered by sections so that a whole section may be changed without affecting the numbers of adjacent sections.
Routine updates to the Manual are accumulated on location until a significant revision exists. Tacit acceptance is concluded for routine updates and the company is only notified if the review is found to be unacceptable.
The second list kept by the QS Coordinator is a listing of the Quality Manual by page with the date of the latest revision of the page. This provides a listing of the most recent copy of the Quality Manual.
Page 2-3 Date: Apr 07
2.2.4. Control of Quality Records
Quality Manual administrative records are maintained by the Quality System Coordinator. These records include Manual correspondence; Quality Manual Distribution, Revision(s), and Page Reference; and the Quality Committee meeting Agendas and Minutes.
Additional records are prepared within each department of our organization. It is the policy of Global Ready Mixed to maintain complete and accurate quality records. These records meet the requirements of RMCCO.
Selected company records are illustrated within the various sections of this Manual. The record location and position (or person) responsible for maintaining the record are identified within each section of the Manual. Contact information for the responsible individual is available in the company directory. Many of our documents are scanned and retained electronically on our main computer server with appropriate backup procedures. Samples of the types of records maintained include, but are not limited to:
x Approved Concrete Mix Designs
x Project/DOT Specifications
x Plant Information and Certification
x Batch records indicating actual batch weights
x Scale Calibration Records
x Plant Inspection Reports
x Truck Inspection Reports
x Personnel Certification
x Laboratory Accreditation
x Material Certifications
x Delivery Tickets
x Reports of QC Test Results
x Statistical data and control charts for the following QC data
Fine aggregate grading
Coarse aggregate grading
Air content
Slump
Compressive strength
Other tests required by specification
To provide retrievable records, the project documents are stored in the Corporate Laboratory by job name and numbered in chronological order.
General quality records are retained for a minimum of 3 years and project specific records are retained for a minimum of 7 years, in accordance with the RMCCO record retention requirements.
Page 3-1 Date: Apr 07
3. Management Responsibility
3.1. General
The senior management of Global Ready Mixed has established the significance of quality in our organization and demonstrated their commitment to our company’s quality initiative. They are committed to the development and implementation of our QMS and to the continuous improvement of our quality processes.
The Quality Policy illustrated in Section 1 of this Quality Manual reflects the quality principles important to our senior management and subsequently to Global Ready Mixed. The level of our management commitment to quality is a reflection of our desired level of product quality. Although our Technical Service capabilities provide a high level of quality assurance and control, the overall (quality related) decision-making process addresses many other important aspects of our business.
3.2. Planning
The senior management of Global Ready Mixed understands the importance of business, financial, and quality planning. It is equally important to our organization to implement, monitor, and revise our plans, as needed. We conduct in-depth planning each fall for the following calendar year. Throughout the year, we review our performance compared to our goals and modify our expectations as required.
3.2.1. Quality Objectives
Before we fully develop our quality plans, we identify and/or review our quality objectives, which must be consistent with our Quality Policy. Our quality objectives are identified by the responsible manager and frequently change as we continuously improve our processes. Our quality objectives are measurable and the method of measurement is defined. Examples of our corporate quality objectives may include:
x achieving and maintaining RMCCO Certification;
x achieving and maintaining NRMCA Plant Certification for each of our ready mixed concrete plants;
x requiring all employees with one year of service to obtain industry certifications pertinent to their job functions;
x ACI Certification for all of our Concrete and Laboratory Technicians;
x achieving 90 percent on-time delivery;
x having an average fleet age of our ready mixed concrete trucks of not more than four (4) years old;
x achieving 95 percent customer satisfaction;
Example Quality Manual NRMCA Guideline
Page 3-2 Date: Apr 07
3.2.2. Quality Management System Planning
The senior management of Global Ready Mixed is responsible for identifying and subsequently allocating the resources necessary for the on-going implementation and continuous improvement of our company’s QMS. Although many of our quality initiatives actually reduce operating costs over time, initial quality expenditures are often budgeted for the following year.
Our senior managers participate as members of the Quality Committee and meet quarterly to review the status of the company QMS.
3.2.3. Product Realization
In order to manufacture and deliver the products and services we provide, we have identified and continuously monitor the sequence of processes (and sub-processes) that we employ. We have prepared detailed descriptions of the process steps and/or process flow charts for designated procedures. The interaction of individual and departmental processes is
periodically reviewed for effectiveness and improvement. 3.2.3.1 Planning
Based on input from sales, operations, and technical services, the senior management of Global Ready Mixed ultimately determines the products that we provide. In general, we provide ready mixed concrete products for residential, commercial and public sectors. We also develop concrete mixtures for high performance applications such as self consolidating and high strength concrete and pervious concrete.
As new products are evaluated for inclusion, the product planning includes identifying the materials and equipment requirements; determining the process sequence; and preparing a cost analysis.
3.3. Responsibility and Authority
The President of Global Ready Mixed is responsible for approving and signing our Quality Manual. The documentation of our QMS is the responsibility of our Quality System (QS) Coordinator, who is the management representative for our company’s QMS.
Implementation and monitoring of our QMS is the responsibility of our Quality Committee.