We are currently certified to ISO9001:2015 (the most recent edition) for Manufacture and Supply of Pistons and Cylinder Liners for Internal Combustion Engines. As a forward looking business organisation, we have adopted the “Total Quality Management” (TQM) business model into our management and operations. Our business commitment to you our customers is defined by our Business and Quality Policy which states:
“To Consistently meet and Satisfy our Customers’ Quality Requirements and Expectations, and
To Continuously Improve our Processes and Systems”
The second part of the policy acknowledges our awareness of the need to constantly learn and improve with the ultimate goal of “total customer satisfaction”.
A historical presentation to illustrate our decades long experience with quality systems and certifications follows: –
Our early commitment to the TQM business model and our Quality Policy, resulted in the successful implementation of QS-9000 quality management system model into our operations. In July 2001, we were officially granted the “Certificate of Approval” from Bureau Veritas Quality International (a UKAS accredited certification body) to our quality management system, in accordance with the requirements of QS9000 (3rd Edition, 1998) and ISO9002 : 1994. We achieved this “dual” certification in “one sitting” instead of the more common route of “upgrading” from ISO 9001/2 to QS 9000, a reflection of strong management and staff commitment.
For those who are not familiar with the QS 9000 quality management system, we have included a brief write-up below. As a foundation, one needs to understand the ISO 9000 series of standards first (both 1994 and 2000 revisions). QS9000 includes all the requirements of ISO 9001 (1994 revision) plus additional requirements of the “Big 3” (DaimlerChrysler, Ford and General Motors) with input from the Truck Manufacturers.
ISO 9000 series of standards
1994 Revision – The ISO 9000 series of standards is generic in scope. It can be applied by any organisation (manufacturing or service, government or private sector, large or small) in any industry to develop a quality management system. Its purpose is to unify quality terms and supplier’s requirements so that organisations throughout the world can apply it. In very simplified terms, the standards require an organisation to:
- Say and/or write down what it is doing to ensure quality
- Then, do what is say/wrote, and
- Document or prove that it has done what it said/wrote
Most of the 20 elements require a written procedure of some sort. In practice, many organisations will have written procedures to cover every applicable element.
The 1994 revisions have five standards in the series, of which only 3 are “certifiable” by 3rd party certification bodies, namely:
- ISO 9001, “Quality Systems – Model for Quality Assurance in Design, Development, Production, Installation and Servicing”. This is the most comprehensive of the 3 certifiable standards. It contains 20 elements covering the need for an effective quality system, from receipt of the contract all the way through the design/development stage, and finally the servicing required after delivery.
- ISO 9002, “Quality Systems – Model for Quality Assurance in Production, Installation and Servicing”. This is the same as ISO 9001 but excluding element 4.4 (Design Control) – suitable for companies that do most of the processes in-house but do not have design responsibility (usually customers provide the specifications). It addresses the prevention, detection and correction of problems during production and installation.
- ISO 9003. “Quality Systems -Model for Quality Assurance in Final Inspection and Test”. This is the least comprehensive of the standards, covering only 16 of the 20 elements in ISO 9001. It is not a quality control system. It addresses only those requirements for the detection and control of problems found during the final inspection and testing.
2000 Revision – This revised ISO 9000 series of standards was officially released in December 2000. There is now only 1 certifiable standard, namely ISO 9001. The scope of certification and any “exclusions” to certain non-mandatory clauses must be clearly justified. Many of the basic requirements in the current QS9000 standard already incorporates much of this revised standard.
Next – how does ISO9000 standards tie in with QS9000?
QS 9000 (Revised March 1998)
This standard was first developed in 1994 by Chrysler, Ford and General Motors (“Big 3”) to define their fundamental quality expectations for suppliers of production and service parts and materials. The current revision of this standard is dated March 1998.
QS9000 uses the ISO 9001:1994 as its foundation, but adds much broader “Big 3” Automotive requirements. It is a harmonisation of Chrysler’s Supplier Quality Assurance Manual, Ford’s Q-101 Quality System Standard and General Motors’ NAO Targets for Excellence. The standard is now so widely accepted that non-Big 3 suppliers are also adopting it. There are two sections in the standard:
Section I: ISO 9000 – Based Requirements
All 20 elements from the ISO 9001 standard are included. QS9000 adds extra requirements to each of the 20 elements. Some of the key additional requirements are listed below:
- Emphasis on continuous improvement, defect Prevention, reduction of variation and wastes
- Need for a business plan
- Emphasis on use of data and facts for analysis and problem solving
- Inclusion of “Five pillars of QS9000”, totally new to ISO 9001. Each one has its own respective manual:
- Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP)
- Production Part Approval Process (PPAP)
- Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA)
- Measurement System Analysis (MSA)
- Statistical Process Control (SPC)
- Quality System Assessment (QSA) – a comprehensive audit checklist of all the QS9000 requirements, available as a manual.
- Sub-contractor Development
- Emphasise On-Time-Delivery (OTD) and preventive/corrective action to eliminate occurrence
Section II: Customer – specific Requirements
This section “customises” Section I requirements to meet those of the following organisations:
- Chrysler – specific requirements
- Ford – specific requirements
- General Motors – specific requirements
- Other OEM – specific requirements
The set of 7 manuals, including the standard (QS-9000 Quality System Requirements), may be obtained from Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) or Carwin. The official database of organisations certified to QS9000 is available for a fee at the American Society for Quality.
Reference: See International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) for details of ISO9000 series of standards.
- TSI6949:2002
In 2007 we were certified to this revised standard which replaced the QS9000 series
- ISO9001:2015
The current latest version of ISO9001 emphasises continual improvement and incoporate other elements of TSI6949 to further enhance the standard. We were recertified to this latest version in 2018.