September 7, 2006 at 4:21 pm
· Filed under Education
For those readers who do not know, ISO is the acronym for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO 9000 standards started in manufacturing but now cover a wide range of other industries. I don’t want to get too deep into the technical aspects of ISO certifications and practices, because that is not the point of this post, but I do want to explain why I am considering getting certified.
Being ISO 9000 certified can be a mandatory prerequisite for dealing with government organizations and getting government contracts. Lack of ISO certification can immediately black list your company. While ISO 9000, to the best of my understanding, mainly has to do with the quality control side of things, ISO 14001 / 14000 concerns environmental regulation and protection.
The goal is to implement standards that will help maintain our environment without compromising trade or business efficiency. As with ISO 9000, standards play a big part in this. There needs to be a protocol to measure and understand whether trading / business partners are harming the environment. Similar to with ISO 9000 quality control, certification is not provided directly by ISO, but instead is awarded by third party organizations.
Feel free to comment if I am misunderstanding anything, as I am new to ISO standards and would not take offense, but it seems that the main motivation for obtaining ISO certification is business from governmental and foreign organizations. In the case of the government, this seems to be simply because rules seem to be an absolute necessity. With foreign organization, it is more likely because of the broad cultural, economic, and ethical differences that exist (ISO 14001), and also because of the fundamental difficulty of ensuring foreign products are of adequate quality.
Feel free to comment and let me know if you have any thoughts / input.
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September 6, 2006 at 3:55 pm
· Filed under Education
Contrary to popular and uninformed opinion, not everyone in Texas gets from point A to point B on horseback. Texas is filled with freeways overpopulated with vehicles and learning to drive a car in Texas is just as important as learning what size cowboy boot you take.
Driver education in Texas is best started at a young age. Children entering their teenage years are going to benefit the most if they are enrolled in a driver education course. Although they will be studying for only a learner’s permit, the knowledge they gain in their early teens can help them be better drivers throughout their lives.
Once they’ve gotten some supervised time in behind the wheel, parents need to start thinking about the child hitting the road alone. Granted this is a terrifying thought, but part of being a parent is watching your children drive the car alone when a certified and qualified individual says they are ready.
To get them to that point, a course in defensive driving in Texas can be beneficial. Most traditional driver education courses offer advice on how to handle basic traffic situations. However, most of us who have driven for some time know that traffic can be very unpredictable.
Once a person takes a course in defensive driving in Texas they are well prepared for many of the obstacles that might pop up. They are taught that calmness and control are of the first order and with the experience they gain, they are much better equipped to handle the car if something goes amiss.
Although most of us would say that we’re great drivers, the problem is that not everyone else on the road is. When you take a course in defensive driving in Texas you’ve got a better chance to stay safe when other drivers aren’t.
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September 6, 2006 at 3:30 pm
· Filed under Education
You can do almost anything with the aid of the Internet. For most of us we never could have imagined a few years ago that we’d be able to bank online or buy groceries all from the comfort of home. It’s amazing how the Internet has made so many things available to us including driver education online courses.
Driver education online is available in every state. There are courses for various different driving situations including learners and people who are required to take a defensive driving course. Much of the coursework is completed online with various quizzes and tests being administered. It may seem as though a more experienced driver could simply complete the coursework so the student can whiz through the course and onto the road. Fortunately there are precautions in place that prevent that from happening.
When you go to traditional traffic school you are often placed in a room with a bunch of others who have to take the same course. One instructor walks you through the material and you are expected to finish lessons in a prescribed time frame. It’s a bit different when you enroll in online traffic school. It’s as though you have one-on-one instruction as you can really focus on the coursework by yourself. If you are having trouble grasping a particular concept, you simply spend more time on it. Technology is advanced but still no one has been able to find a way for you to take the practical part of your driving test online. There isn’t an online traffic school that allows you to drive a car while sitting in front of your computer. Instead, you will have to visit a local traffic school for the behind the wheel portion of your course. Aside from that, you can log on to the Internet and start learning how to be a better and safer driver today.
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