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Making it Perfect
Even after certification, ISO 9000 lives on.FORM Magazine, Dec. 1996
This is the final article in a 3-part series profiling companies that have achieved ISO 9000 certification or are working toward that goal.
In Search of Quality ISO 9000 part three
BY KATIE SWEENEY
You would think that officials at Mead Fine Paper's Carbonless Business Unit in Chillicothe, Ohio, would have been breathing easy this fall. The company had passed its ISO 9002 test for certification, called an "audit," a year earlier. But officials weren't resting on their laurels-they were preparing for another ISO audit.
If you think that the work ends after a company is handed its ISO 9000 certificate, think again. Unlike many other quality standards and awards, the ISO standard is designed to be an ongoing process, even after a company has been certified. Every six to nine months, a company must pass a shorter surveillance audit. And every three years there is a completely new audit to make sure companies are still following the standard. With each audit, companies must show that they've improved areas they were found lacking in during previous inspections, as well as demonstrate improvement of their overall system.
While it may sound like ISO 9000 is too time-consuming to be beneficial, Mead officials say the opposite is true. Bill Platt, former director of quality systems and now the division's technical manager, says ISO 9000's ongoing requirements are part of the reason why the standard works so well. "ISO forces you to continue to use the system," says Platt. "And it's the audits that drive the improvements."
For example, one of the areas Mead still needed to improve after its first audit was its system for instrument calibration. Before the company began the ISO process, it didn't have a formal system for making sure instruments were properly calibrated. The company created a documented system that requires all testing equipment to be labeled with its calibration status. Between its first and second audits, Mead completed the system by defining which people and departments were responsible for ensuring calibration of equipment.
Debbie Collins, a management representative who coordinates the company's ISO activities, says the key to maintaining control over all the ISO requirements is to keep the system simple. "You have to maintain your system, and yes, there's work involved," Collins says. "But we tried to keep it simple to avoid being overcome just trying to manage the system."
Employees Take the Lead
Mead not only made its system simple, but it did so quickly. It took the carbonless division a little more than a year to achieve certification, although Collins says that Mead already had some quality processes in place.The first thing Platt and other managers did when Mead began its pursuit of ISO 9002 in 1994 was form a core team of 40 employees. These employees were all considered process experts in departments such as purchasing, shipping, receiving and operations. Although Mead hired an outside consultant to provide some training, help with initial planning and review documents for the first six months, most of the work was done by employees. "I'm not a big user of consultants," Platt says. "We thought we could do it better in-house."
Instead of relying solely on a consultant, Mead sought help from arguably some of the best experts you can find-other companies that had been through the process. Officials visited other Mead sites that had been ISO 9000 registered and talked with customers who had the certification. The company also contacted a local university and formed a consortium of companies that were either ISO 9000 certified or working toward that goal. "That was of tremendous value," says Platt. "It saved a lot of time."
But Platt says the biggest key to Mead's ISO 9000 success was company commitment from top to bottom. "Initially there was some fear [among employees] that we were trying to take away their jobs," he says. "You have to earn their trust. You have to show them how the documentation will help them." Platt says Collins used to joke that, "The reason they call it ISO 9000 is that you have to tell people about it 9,000 times before it sinks in."
Following that theory, officials promoted ISO 9000 to workers whenever possible. They held employee meetings throughout the process, wrote approximately 50 articles about it in Mead's daily employee newsletter and even developed a crossword puzzle with ISO 9000 clues. The first two employees to correctly fill out the crossword puzzle received gift certificates. Prizes also were given to employees who could recite the company's quality policy statement.
Employees not only created Mead's ISO system, but they also continually improve it. For example, several employees serve as internal auditors, an ISO requirement. After completing a 2-day training class, the employees conduct a full internal audit of the company twice a year, usually about a month before the ISO inspectors arrive. Mead also created a Corrective Action Report system as part of ISO. Any employee who spots a problem related to quality can fill out a report and submit it to Collins. She then reviews it, assigns it a number and routes it to the appropriate department supervisor. At first employees had trouble with the system, often not including enough details in their reports. "We've gotten much better," says Collins. "It's proven to be successful."
For example, one customer complained that the carbonless rolls he received were wound the wrong way and were the incorrect footage. The field service rep filled out a Corrective Action Report about the problem and included the labels from the rolls so Mead could determine exactly where they were produced. The area supervisor discovered that the winder's operators were accustomed to receiving only standard orders, and they hadn't been careful about checking the rolls when doing unusual jobs. The supervisor reviewed procedures with the operators, who also began checking the rolls with CF detection spray to determine which way to load the roll on the winder. The supervisor also found that the footage meter was broken, and he promptly replaced it.
Collins reported back to the field rep, who in turn told the customer why the problem had occurred and how it had been fixed. "The customer was quite pleased," says Collins. "That's the way the system is designed to work."
Above all, Platt says ISO 9000 helps ensure that all employees follow consistent processes. If the same processes are always strictly followed, customers then can begin to count on 100 percent quality, 100 percent of the time. "There's no question the discipline that ISO 9000 brings is great for any manufacturing environment," Platt says.
Katie Sweeney is assistant editor of FORM Magazine.
What is ISO 9000?
ISO 9000 was adopted in 1987 by the International Organization for Standardization and is a generic name for a series of five standards for quality management and quality assurance. The type of certification a company pursues depends on whether it is involved in the manufacturing, design or service sectors of the economy. ISO 9002 is for manufacturers. Certification does not mean a company has a quality product; it means it has a quality system that meets the written standard.Companies that apply for ISO 9000 certification must pass an audit. During the audit, quality systems officials inspect the company and interview employees to make sure that procedures outlined in documents are being followed. The audit usually lasts 11/2 to two days. Certification must be continually renewed-every six to nine months there is a brief audit to confirm the company is still complying with the standard, and every three years there is a completely new audit to make sure companies are still following ISO standards. Although certified companies are not required to use certified vendors, many companies give preferential treatment to ISO 9000 certified suppliers.
Getting Started
Interested in ISO 9000, but not sure where to start? There are a variety of resources available to help you decide if ISO 9000 is right for your company and, if it is, how to achieve it. Experts recommend that you:
- Examine your goals as a company. To succeed with ISO, Bill Platt of Mead's Carbonless Business Unit and others say your company must be committed to it from the CEO all the way down to the receptionist. It can be an expensive, time-consuming process-for management and employees. Don't start the process if you're not intent on seeing it through.
- Talk to other companies. The best place to start is with your own customers and suppliers that have received ISO 9000 certification. Debbie Collins, management representative for Mead Fine Paper in Chillicothe, Ohio, says other companies often ask her for information about how Mead achieved its certification. But keep in mind that there's no one "right" way to obtain certification. Collins says Mead talked to companies inside and outside the paper industry and used ideas from several of them. In addition, if you're unsure whether your customers or suppliers are involved with ISO 9000, ask them. Their answers may help you decide whether certification is something your company needs to pursue right away.
- Consult a consultant. Demo Stavros, president of WDI Inc., a systems integration and ISO 9000 consulting firm in Ypsilanti, Mich., recommends that you talk with a consultant who's knowledgeable about the printing industry. "The standard is very general," says Stavros. "You need someone who understands the standard and how it applies to your business." To find a good consultant, talk with customers, suppliers and other companies in the industry and find out who they recommend.
- Contact the American Society for Quality Control. If you can't find a consultant through another company, call this association, based in Milwaukee, at (800) 248-1946 or (414) 272-8575. The association publishes Quality Progress magazine, which has a list of ISO 9000 consultants in the back. "The only problem with that is that you don't know their reputations," says Stavros. "And there are an awful lot of poor consultants out there." Make sure to ask for references-and check them, he says.