Feb 4, 2019
Imagine a manufacturing company that has grown from an ambitious start-up to a thriving international exporter. How does a company that has grown in size continue to maintain consistency from a day-to-day and product-to-product basis? The answer for many companies is to institute a Quality System. Measurand itself is certified in compliance with the standards set out in ISO 9001:2015.
“When we talk about Quality Systems now, we’re really talking about Management Systems,” said Gil Roussel, Measurand’s Quality Assurance Manager.
The International Organization for Standardization’s ISO 9001:2015, the latest standard, is arguably the world’s most recognized and implemented Quality Management System (QMS).
“We took our time to transition across [From ISO 9001:2008]. ISO 9001:2015 looks more at decentralization of the day-to-day responsibilities for quality,” Roussel said. “Just prior to [ISO 9001:2015] the company was looking to solidify its business plan and strategic direction, understand its internal and external issues, broaden its comprehension of who our interested parties are.”
ISO 9001:2015 requires the collection of feedback and its reporting to management for review. Companies must be audited annually to maintain ISO certification.
What is an ISO standard?
In ISO’s words: “They give world-class specifications for products, services and systems to ensure quality, safety and efficiency.”
“If a company is certified to an ISO standard, you immediately understand what it is that their system is comprised of,” Roussel said.
For clients, it means systems of internal responses and elevations are in place when there is an issue. Certification to a standard also means that a company has control over the integrity and stability of supplies and materials used in the manufacture of all products in the facility.
Meeting the requirements of ISO 9001:2015 is not only reassuring for a company’s clients but for its suppliers as well.
“This particular kind of system requires us not only to make sure the supplier understands what our requirements are but also how we are going to evaluate their supplies that come into us,” Rousell said.
Suppliers are assured that all purchasing orders are consistent and that all technical drawings produced are expressive enough that the suppliers understand the requests.
ISO’s first standard was published in 1951, titled “1SO/R 1:1951 Standard reference temperature for industrial length measurements.“ Since then ISO has published over 22480 standards covering a number of aspects of technology, manufacturing, and business.