Quality Corner

ISO 9001:2008 Certification

Micro Systems is an ISO9001:2008 company. We go through a rigorous semi-annual ISO audit which we pass with flying colors each time. This is always a ‘team’ effort and everyone is to be congratulated for this significant accomplishment we all feel proud to be apart of. Specifically, the following departments/programs came through the audit without any findings:

Management Review
Internal Audits
Corrective and Preventive Actions
Human Resource Management
Engineering
Purchasing
Receiving/Inspection

For those of you new to the company, our registrar is British Standards Institute, Inc. (BSI). They are recognized world-wide as one of the leading registrars’. In other words if you are certified through them, virtually every company in the world will recognize your certification.

So why do company’s seek ISO 9000 registration? To make them more competitive.

We also profess to be a Total Quality company. How does ISO 9001 tie in to Total Quality? ISO 9001:2008 is a Quality System. Total Quality is a management concept that employs ISO 9001 as one of the tools for accomplishing its’ objectives. ISO is from the Greek word ‘ISOS’ meaning “equal”. One of the reasons for developing ISO 9001 was to ensure company’s who wanted to participate in a ‘quality’ environment all used the same (“equal”) management system. Company’s who share this certification are confident their counterparts are structured alike and they employ the same method(s) for correcting problems and improving processes. It’s important to understand that just because a company is certified to ISO 9001 doesn’t mean the company provides the ‘perfect’ product, it means the company has methods in place to correct problems and improve their processes. Improvement comes through change and positive change comes from:
• A better workforce.
• Better planning up front.
• Better training.

Being certified to ISO 9001:2008 doesn’t make us a better company. It’s working together to build a quality product that makes us better, and competitive.

There’s always room for improvement but we’re headed in the right direction. There’s no perfect product, and no perfect process.

Again, for those newer people in the company, the ISO inspection results are posted on the bulletin board in the break room and the rework charts are posted over the copier on the production floor. If you have any questions about the report or charts please contact me.

Let’s keep up the good work.

OUR VISION:
 “To be the premier global supplier for target-related systems, software products, and engineering services that continuously exceed our customers’ expectations.”

OUR QUALITY POLICY:
 “Micro Systems, Inc. is committed to achieving the highest level of quality in every aspect of its’ business practices.”

Dan Christian
  ISO 9001 Management Representative