All the technical journals are abuzz with the changes to ISO 9001:2015. One significant paradigm shift is to a risk-based management approach. Most companies already apply risk-based thinking in their planning process for organizational management. This article will take a narrowly focused approach to a key aspect of risk management: calibration.

The goal of every company is customer satisfaction

The reality is that if your customers are not happy, the long-term odds of your business viability are slim. There might be an exception if you are the only manufacturer of a product that everyone must have. However, that’s just not reasonable in the global marketplace.

To effectively manage risk, you must know what your customers need and want, and how to deliver that while maintaining a reasonable profit. If you use external suppliers you must communicate your customer expectations through the supply chain to ensure your risk is mitigated or managed as you produce your final product.

So what does calibration have to do with any of this?

Everything is manufactured to a tolerance: plus or minus some measurement so that component parts fit together.

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