by Larry Vonada
Imagine that as an owner, manager, or leader in
your company you have called your people together and told them they will no longer go
about doing “business as usual.” Instead of simply building the customary
“widget” they will now be held accountable to plan the means by which the
quality of the widget will be defined. They will document these plans into operating
procedures, monitor the effects and modify the procedures with the goal of improving the
ultimate end quality of the widget. You will find that the initial response you receive
may not always be a positive one.
A Daunting Challenge
Mike Hazzard, quality administrator at ACI Distribution’s mirror production
facility at Tualatin, OR, posed this challenge to the plant’s employees. When Hazzard
presented the ISO 9000 philosophy, comments ranged from, “But we have always done
things this way,” to, “This is obviously a way to increase our paperwork
tenfold.” Comments and objections aside, a valid question arose which was, “Why
are we doing this?” Part of the answer was that all of our primary glass suppliers
were ISO certified, indicating both a trend in the glass industry and with major
manufacturers. We believe ISO certification will soon be mandatory in order to conduct
business with many of our customers, therefore, we chose to meet this need in advance.
Additionally ISO 9000 provides an excellent opportunity to build quality assurance
throughout the entire production process versus quality control at just a few
workstations.
In January of 1998, ISO 9000 was introduced to all production employees. The term
“ISO” originates from the Greek word “isos” which means
“equal.” Thus ISO portrays the mission of the International Organization for
Standardization to facilitate the creation and voluntary adoption of worldwide industrial
and manufacturing standards which are consistently equal from site to site despite
differences in product characteristics. As such, ISO 9000 is a formal analysis of what
constitutes a quality-oriented company.
The Breakthrough was “Mr. Glass”
As the teaching process proceeded from general to specific an interesting
phenomenon surfaced. Veteran employees were intimidated by the content of certain ISO
elements. “Management responsibility,” “process control,” and
“corrective and preventive action” were some topics that caused more than a
little discomfort. People are generally resistant to change and feel new procedures could
be an indictment against existing methods or the individuals ability to perform. The
program was six months old before defensiveness and, sometimes, heated confrontations were
replaced by discussion and real implementation of ISO 9000. The breakthrough? The
introduction of none other than “Mr. Glass!” Instead of the ISO elements being
fodder for verbal jousting matches, the travels of a sketched character titled “Mr.
Glass” allowed the developing ISO elements to interact with the product from start to
finish. People began to optimally manage their areas of responsibility assuring that
“Mr. Glass” traveled through the elements to emerge transformed as the highest
quality “Mr. Mirror.” All the elements came into play and progress could now be
shown as a gently upward sloping arc instead of the fluctuations of a sine wave gone awry.
Value Received
By establishing the ISO elements in strict written parameters throughout the
entire production process immediate benefits were realized. New employees are now trained
to perform the task properly according to unswerving guidelines. Veteran employees do the
job correctly each time regardless of who is doing it. Written production and inspection
methods ensure product quality and uniformity—“good enough” is no longer
acceptable nor shipped. Should discrepancies occur, a tracking system of all products
throughout the facility assigns accountability to someone or something. Ultimately
customers may request corrective action on a substandard product and the issue is not
closed until they express their satisfaction with the outcome.
The most pleasant surprise was that ISO 9000 was not the paperwork nightmare many
envisioned. Initially extra forms were employed, however, these were to quantify and
organize those procedures which were valid and in place.
A Serendipitous Effect
An unexpected benefit realized was the building of self-esteem in the workforce.
As the ISO elements were implemented people realized their particular tasks are extremely
important and must be accomplished according to specification. This is crucial for the
total working body to operate efficiently with consistent unimpeachable accuracy. Once
these truths were internalized, product quality and morale increased.
The Finish Line
On June 14, 1999, ACI Distribution’s Tualatin production mirror facility was
awarded an ISO 9000: 1994-9002 certificate after an intensive three-day examination by the
Under-writers Laboratory. In joining a family of over 23,000 ISO certified companies
nationwide, ACI Tualatin becomes one of only a few mirror production plants to earn such
certification. All ACI Employees at Tualatin are proud to offer the assurances of this
process as added value to its mirror products.
Larry Vonada is branch manager for ACI Distribution’s Tualatin, OR, facility.
USG
© Copyright 1999 Key Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. No reproduction of any type without expressed written permission.