QUALITY NEWS

                                                                               Quality Management: The Importance of ISO
By Michelle Bangert

Companies know ISO standards may be good for them, but they may need motivation to get certified. Manufacturing sectors have adopted ISO 9000 for three reasons: the value of the standard, the sales and marketing advantage, and company requirements.
 
Companies appreciate how the standard can improve their business processes and reduce scrap, rework and cost. Second, manufacturers with similar products, service and price use the certification to differentiate themselves from their competitors. “It gives you a marketing advantage over the competition. It’s a differentiator,” says John A. DiMaria, BSI Management Systems (Reston, VA) product manager for business continuity for information security management and IT.

The final reason manufacturers adopt ISO 9000 is that they were mandated to do so. ISO-certified companies may require their suppliers to do the same. “It’s hard to do business with anyone—especially in manufacturing—if you’re not ISO 9000 certified,” says DiMaria, who has 25 years experience in international standards.

However, the certificate alone will not improve the company’s business processes. The goal should be improved business, not a piece of paper. Done correctly, ISO standards can improve an organization’s business processes and add value. VIEW STORY

Manufacturing Output Grows in 2006

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Driven by a 0.7% jump in manufacturing output, the Federal Reserve reported that overall industrial production rose 0.4% in December 2006. “After three consecutive monthly declines, this upturn is a hopeful indication that the recent slowdown in industrial activity may be coming to an end,” says David Huether, chief economist for the National Association of Manufacturers. 

“For manufacturing, which accounts for more than three-quarters of industrial output, the 0.7% surge in activity was the strongest gain in six months,” Huether says. “It was driven by solid increases in computers and electronic products, machinery, aircraft and motor vehicles, as well as a number of nondurable products such as apparel and petroleum and coal.”

Throughout 2006, manufacturing production increased by 3.7%. And with overall GDP growth expected to come in at 3.1% in 2006, manufacturing has, for the first time since the late 1990s, outpaced the overall economy for three consecutive years. 

Survey: ISO 9001 Certification Makes Business Sense

MILWAUKEE—An informal survey of approximately 2,600 ISO-certified companies commissioned by the Independent Association of Accredited Registrars (IAAR), found that ISO 9001 certification produces positive returns on investment. Results revealed that respondents believe certification enhanced internal and external performance, and 84% of the companies realized a positive return on certification investment. The survey was commissioned by IAAR in cooperation with the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB).

Accredited certification of quality management systems, such as ISO 9001, began in the early 1990s as a key to trading with the European Union, but through continued improvement and increased awareness, the standard has become known worldwide and helps ensure the quality of global trade. There are currently close to 800,000 certified companies worldwide, including nearly 50,000 in the United States. www.anab.org

Call for Speakers Reminder

The nation’s largest design and manufacturing trade show and conference will be held on September 24-27, 2007 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL.   We invite you to be a part of a conference program that brings together solutions for Design, Enterprise IT, Assembly, Automation, Quality and Plant Management, Collectively in our major conferences:   Assembly Technology Expo, Electronics Assembly Show, National Manufacturing Week, and Quality Expo.

The presentations can be 50 minute paper, panel discussions or half-day workshops.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: February 15, 2007
Click here to submit your presentation: www.canonshows.com/CFP/Midwest/index.asp