PROJECT TITLE:	QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS TRAINING FOR SMES
PROJECT CODE:	EL/PP/2002/114084
COORDINATOR (if there is): Complete elements: name of organisation, surmame and name, type of organisation, address, telephone number, fax number, e-mail, responsible person.	IDEC AE OF Tel: 210 4286227, fax: 210 4286228, e-mail: [email protected]
TYPE OF ORGANISATION:
CODE OF ORGANISATION:	OF
DESCRIPTION OF ORGANISATION (PROFIL):	IDEC SA is a consulting company with long-term experience in transnational co-operations. Its main activities are: - business consulting - implementation of quality management systems - human resources development and training - development of multimedia training CD-ROMs - applications of ICT in education
DURATION OF THE PROJECT:	30 months
SECTOR:
CODE SECTOR:	15, 17, 22
TARGET GROUP:	SMEs
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT:
During the last decades enterprises made an effort to achieve quality as a measure to increase their competitiveness. This quality goal was usually achieved by a trial and error procedure, costing to enterprises a great deal in terms of time and money, not to say anything about clients in the cases of error. To organise the procedure of obtaining and maintaining quality, a series of international standards were created in the form of ISO model. This way the improvement of quality could be obtained through a standard of procedure requirements already tried in many other enterprises. The whole procedure very often includes re-engineering of the company and always training of the personnel. The revision of the standard in 2000 version imposes more obligations. Yet SMEs, which represent an important percentage of the total enterprises’ power in Europe, have complained that implementing the ISO 9000 was expensive, as it required additional staff and paperwork. They also complained that its demands were irrelevant to SMEs operational dimensions. The project «Quality Management Systems Training for SMEs» comes to face this situation. It recognises that the secret of successful implementation of ISO 9000 comes from the correct interpretation of its requirements by the people asked to implement it, as well as from identification of the exact type of standards needed by each company in a non bureaucratic way. To achieve that, these people must have an easy and inexpensive way to learn everything of importance concerning the implementation of ISO 9000 in a SME. The aim of the project is to provide owners and quality managers of SMEs, a set of learning and practising tools for acquiring necessary knowledge and skills on how to implement a quality assurance system according to ISO 9000:2000 standards. The tools consists of (1) a book containing the necessary theory, (2) a multimedia CD-ROM with a presentation of the elements of ISO 9000:2000 standards, a database of examples of applications for different sectors and case studies for the practice of quality managers in the compilation of quality manual and procedures and internal audits, (3) evaluation tools in the form of a questionnaire and exercises for the assessment of knowledge and skills, (4) a web-site for the on-line access to all project results. The tools that will be produced will be shaped according to the special needs of SMEs (low number of employees, low capital). Other products of the project will be pilot courses addressed to SMEs owners and managers on the use of the tools, ongoing evaluation of the project process and products and the wide dissemination of the project results through conferences, press releases, brochures. The successful implementation of the project is assured by the participation of 9 partners from 8 European countries. The parternship includes companies with expertise in quality assurance and training organisations and also representatives of the target group, associations of enterprises and chambers of commerce and industry. All partners have previous experience in European projects.
OBJECTIVES:
The aim of the project is to provide owners and quality managers of SMEs, a set of learning and practising tools for acquiring necessary knowledge and skills on how to implement a quality assurance system according to ISO 9001:2000 standards. The tools consists of (1) a book containing the necessary theory, (2) a multimedia CD-ROM with a presentation of the elements of ISO 9000:2000 standards, a database of examples of applications for different sectors and case studies for the practice of quality managers in the compilation of quality manual and procedures and internal audits, (3) evaluation tools in the form of a questionnaire and exercises for the assessment of knowledge and skills, (4) a web-site for the on-line access to all project results. The tools that will be produced will be shaped according to the special needs of SMEs (low number of employees, low capital). Other products of the project will be pilot courses addressed to SMEs owners and managers on the use of the tools, ongoing evaluation of the project process and products and the wide dissemination of the project results through conferences, press releases, brochures.
ACTIVITIES:
The project consists of 8 workpackages which are: 0. Project management 1. Comparative study of existing training material 2. Training needs analysis 3. Development of training material 4. Development of CD-ROM 5. Implementation of pilot courses 6. Dissemination 7. Evaluation
RESULTS/ PRODUCTS:
Ø Training needs analysis of small enterprises on subjects of quality management systems. Ø a handbook Ø CD - ROM that will include part of theory and big number of examples of processes and records from various sectors as well as a glossary of terms. Ø Internet site that will be used for distant training and as a source of information on the application of quality management systems. Ø Dissemination plan and informative material. Ø Report of evaluation of project and its results. Ø Commercialisation plan which will include also agreement of partners on subjects of intellectual property rights.
PARTICIPANTS COUNTRIES:	Greece Austria France Spain Czech Republic United Kingdom Finland
PARTNERS:	IDEC Association of SA and Ltd Companies BFI Steirermark Chambre de Metiers de Vaucluse CREA DHV Eurep Business Services TRIFORMA