OnLine
A Publication of MESA Products, Inc.
ON THE ROAD TO ISO 9002
In 1999,
MESA embarked on a path to become ISO 9002 certified by September 2000.
This initiative is the result of customer input and a desire to maintain
our position as the industry leader in quality. With only three months remaining, we recently took some time
to review our progress and define the areas still needing attention.
Our conclusion – “We’re on track but we still have work to do”.
Our Plant Manager in Tulsa, Greg Thomas, has been
leading the effort. There are 20
elements of ISO certification.
According to Greg, “We have procedures drafted for all
applicable elements and are in the 2nd or 3rd iteration of
several of them. The most difficult have been those dealing with Non-Conformance
and Corrective & Preventive Action. The
difficulty is in the detail of procedures and documentation rather than the
attitude or philosophy.”
Ann Hughes has recently joined MESA to assist in the
implementation and to administrate our ISO program when fully implemented.
She has a wealth of experience with ISO from another manufacturer in the
Tulsa area and we are excited about the immediate contributions she can make to
our effort. Our initial pre-assessment by the ISO auditor is scheduled
for mid-August. Ann’s task is to
make sure we’ve tied up all the loose ends before then.
Recently Greg was asked whether he felt this certification was worth the effort. He stated, “Initially I was skeptical that ISO could significantly improve our operation. I felt that the marketing value justified the effort. However, I’ve become convinced that ISO certification has lasting benefits that will improve our ability to serve the customer and become more efficient.”