Management system

Make your management system work for you in 3 easy steps

Many organisations have a quality (or environment, or safety) management system. That’s a great thing- it’s like the hidden helper and decision-maker to make our work lives easier. But I bet you’ve sometimes felt like the system rules your life, rather than you ruling the system. How did it get to be this way? More …read more »

5 simple steps for meaningful management reviews

written by Maree Stuart The prospect of doing a management review is not exactly a cause for celebration. Unlike birthdays, which also come around annually, management reviews can be dull, life-sucking events that last way too long. But it is possible to turn your management reviews from boring to brilliant! Our 5 simple steps explain how …read more »

Plan for success

  It’s been said that failing to plan is planning to fail. But sometimes we’re paralysed by the prospect of getting started and the time it takes to plan. Besides, there’s that other adage of “the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry”. So you can only take these sayings with a grain …read more »

Can you rely on your suppliers?

written by Maree Stuart We’ve all been disappointed by our suppliers from time to time, especially in times of supply chain constraints. Imagine being the CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation a couple of days ago. You’re quietly minding your own business, basking in the last rays of glory that was Birmingham 2022 and looking forward …read more »

5 ways to deal with Complaints

written by Maree Stuart Oh Alan, I would give everything, not to be like him.   Would you want to be Alan Joyce right now? He’s the butt of many jokes, including this one from The Shovel:     With QANTAS seen to be the stand-out performer in poor customer service and failures to respond to …read more »

Total Control

written by Maree Stuart Would you sell your soul for total control like Martha Davis in The Motels? Sadly, your documentation system isn’t just a ‘set and forget’. They require reviewing, updating and managing to ensure they’re accurate, up-to-date, and available. And that’s where a document control system comes in. A good system allows your documents …read more »

Quality in the Spotlight

written by Maree Stuart Getting the basics right I’m sure if someone asked you what did “Quality” entail, you’d have a list of things that are done. Some of those things might be drawn from topics and requirements that appear in Standards like ISO 17025, ISO 15189, ISO 17020 and ISO 9001. Some of them might …read more »

5 simple steps for great management reviews

written by Maree Stuart The prospect of doing a management review is not exactly a cause for celebration. Unlike birthdays, which also come around annually, management reviews can be dull, life-sucking events that last way too long. But it is possible to turn your management reviews from boring to brilliant! Our 5 simple steps are here …read more »

New Year Resolutions

written by Maree Stuart Do you make new year’s resolutions each year? A survey found that in 2022, just 23% of survey participants intended to make new year’s resolutions. The most popular resolutions for 2022 were living healthier (23%), personal improvement and happiness (21%), and losing weight (20%). Anyway, who really cares? By the time we …read more »

12 Days of a Lab Christmas – Day 12

written by Maree Stuart As we head into the silly season we are delighted to present: The MAS Management Systems 12 Days of a Lab Christmas! On the twelfth day of Christmas we had a NATA assessment For many lab folk, the prospect of a NATA assessment is the stuff of nightmares. If you’re a little …read more »

12 Days of a Lab Christmas – Day 5

written by Maree Stuart As we head into the silly season, we’re delighted to present: The MAS Management Systems 12 Days of a Lab Christmas! On the fifth day of Christmas, we did our management review with our business planning session. Huh? You mean we can do a management review not just to tick the accreditation …read more »

12 Days of a Lab Christmas – Day 2

written by Maree Stuart As we head into the silly season, we’re delighted to present: The MAS Management Systems 12 Days of a Lab Christmas! On the second day of Christmas, our server went down! These days, most information and data are stored electronically. Apart from saving the planet, maintaining information in an digital format can …read more »

12 Days of a Lab Christmas – Day 1

written by Maree Stuart As we head into the silly season, we’re delighted to present: The MAS Management Systems 12 Days of a Lab Christmas! On the first day of Christmas, we found our procedures hadn’t been reviewed for 2 years. Lab documents provide essential guidelines and references for what we do. They allow us to …read more »