We are excited to introduce a new quality mentor on support.jomo247.com, Alex Lackey. Alex is a Managing Director of Core Compliance, and develops powerful management systems to increase business performance. He is a qualified management systems consultant and auditor of an array of ISO standards including 9001, 14001, 45001, 27001 and 22301. Read on to find out more about Alex and his work in quality management systems, or visit his profile and contact him here.
How did you get involved in quality management systems?
During my early 20s I worked in warehouse distribution environments for items such as pharmaceuticals and electronics. Throughout my time there, I recognised that quality objectives in the traditional warehouse environment were trepid. The standards were not implemented effectively to enable growth for neither the business nor its employees.
This was where I noticed a significant gap in quality control and assurance. It is not just a box to tick, but it’s its own entity and discipline, which underpins a lot of other functions. My goal from then onwards was to fill this gap.
In a way, I fell into the career I now have today. I had experience with standards and following requirements as an employee, but quality was very much on the backburner for me. Once I implemented ISO 9001 as a quality manager, my perspective on quality and the role it plays changed. As a management systems consultant, I recognised where I could fill this gap and improve the lack of understanding of the holistic effects quality management plays for businesses in continual improvement.
What are your specialisms as a management systems consultant?
I would say that my speciality is project management as a whole; that is, deriving objectives from stakeholders, and defining them into a clear project path which will enable them to be achieved.
Data analysis, KPI’s, and metric monitoring are also guilty pleasures of mine. I get excited at the idea of developing really robust data analysis mechanisms that reveal trends. They often will show things that were never thought to be understood or quantifiable, identify issues that would not have otherwise been brought up, and also give some indication of the best path to take to solve issues.
I have worked with variety of industries, but I would say that I have the most experience with the manufacturing of consumables – for example: food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. I have however also worked with innumerable other industries such as steel and concrete manufacturing, software engineering, biotechnology, aerospace, defence, and automotive just to name a few.
What is your favourite thing about building management systems?
Quite simply, it’s the versatility of it.
At any one time I will be simultaneously implementing and running different projects across different companies, industries, and locations all at the same time. Each of these projects are implemented in a tailored way based on the organisation’s needs.
No one day is the same!
What does a typical day of work look like for you as Managing Director of Core Compliance?
My work day consists of a lot of zoom meetings, technical writing for procedures, and development of KPI’s and quality objectives. However, it depends on where in the life cycle each project is at as to what activities I am carrying out.
What interests you about becoming a mentor on Jomo247?
I am a big proponent of community awareness and shared knowledge. My knowledge and expertise comes from things I have learnt from other frameworks of mentors, whether officially or unofficially. I am excited to share my knowledge, and learn from others as I hope they will learn from me.
What do you think the next big thing as a management systems consultant?
A change in the ethic of how quality is viewed is coming. Quality is increasingly being defined internally, as what quality means to that business, as opposed to a static definition. It is relative to the company and industry it is being implemented in dependent on their needs.
Quality parameters are being internally defined, and moving away from those constructs of quality management. This allows a more tailored approach, and implementing standards brings more value rather than a sense that they have been imposed upon them. My most successful clients create their own quality requirements and parameters based on what that means for them internally, and I believe this will only grow.
