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In n lion filtration products manufacturing firm,says corn- , V 1 a�k I n g i-t \A o r I� panies should initially focus on basic ISO certifica- V V tion."You need to get that infrastructure in place,"he Il THREE WAYS TO ENSURE YOUR QUALITY PROGRAM says."QS and TS are more on the`10'end of the quai- 1 • DELIVERS QUALITY RESULTS. I ityscaleandrequirealotofmoneyandtime." I Because of its size—the company has 9,000 employ- lI [TIP #1] ASSESS YOUR NEEDS ees—Donaldson can't put new quality systems in place In choosing a quality program,focus first and foremost on your as quickly as smaller companies.Tsuchiya says Don company's needs."The absolute number-one ironclad rule is that it aldson started converting from QS to TS in 2001 and must make sense from a business and financial standpoint,"says should be done early this year.But he adds that the II Mark Ames,president.of St. Paul-based AQS Management process will vastly improve his company's quality sys- Systems. tems,because the new standard focuses less on the Big While many companies find it tough to pin down an actual ROI number from quality system implementation,they do talk about Three automakers'individual requirements,for exam immediatelyseeingimproved qualityand efficiency. Many also sayple,and more on actual work processes."Under QS � p Y Y I I that a formal quality program helps win new customers and get we did department-by-department audits that never them into new markets."If you have a potential customer that covered the processes and linkages to other depart- won't talk to you if you're not ISO certified,how do you know menu,"he says."In TS,the auditors come in and start what that's worth to your business? Ames says. Landing new customers is one of the expectations for Dyne with the senior vice president,the CEO,and sales- Technologies,a Woodbury-based firm that tests industrial firefight- ' people,comparing the business plan,strategies,and ing foam.The company hopes to complete its ISO 9001:2000 cer- priorities,and[asking]how they in turn flow down = tification in May."I think ultimately it will lead to more sales," into the rest of the organization." says Joan Leedy,president."I think some people out there don't use us [now] because they don't know who we are or what we do." NO SIZE LIMITATIONS A quality management system should also return cost savings to companies within the first year,consultants say.According to With only five people,Dyne Technologies,a Wood- Anne Ochs,principal of Quest Analytical,an Edina-based quality bury company that tests industrial firefighting foam, specialty firm,a Deloitte and Touche survey done in the 1990s put . doesn't have the coordination headaches of a Don- the average annual domestic savings for quality management sys- aldson.Instead,it has the same struggles as many of teras at $25,000 for companies with less than $11 million in rev- enues: its mid-size counterparts—how to take on a quality . [TIP #2] MAKE SURE THE PROGRAM FITS organization project in addition to the full-time responsibilities of running the business. Company Talk to other companies in your industry and with experienced president Joan Leedy says her company began the ij quality consultants.They can help you get a feel for the basic j process of adopting ISO 9001:2000 last August and meanings behind quality standards and how they might apply to ' your business. But no matter how much or little you rely on out I should be finished by May.But she doesn't doubt the side help,consultants say,companies must expect to do the hard value of the process. "[Thanks to ISO] our employ- work of adapting quality standards to the way they do business. ees will know exactly what to do because it's all writ- "There are companies out there that will sell you the paperwork, j ten down,"she notes. "It will make us safer in deal- but if you don't at a minimum adapt that,then you just have a I � book of papers,""Ochs says. ing with chemicals, and it will make sure all our p p customers are treated identically,so they don't get a COMMIT TO LEADERSHIP phone call one day and a fax the next." [TIP #3] AND FOLLOW-THROUGH Leedy also expects the certification to lead to more Once you've determined which quality program best fits your budg- sales and perhaps new testing markets as well. "ISO et and needs,you need to commit your top leaders and a team of i will spell out how we look at testing,"she notes,"If we key people—or, if you have a small company,as many people as add a new type,we'll do it much more methodically." possible—to see the effort through.Often that means designating one coordinator as the quality lead,and reassigning many of his or BEYOND ISO her previous job duties elsewhere.While some companies will hire a full-time quality coordinator,or have a quality department, Once it's successfully in place,an ISO 9000 quality "quality"people should not be seen as proxies for management,or management system often leads companies to con- the program won't be as effective,says Frank Tsuchiya,corporate sider additional quality steps,such as the environ- quality assurance manager at Minneapolis-based Donaldson Co. In mental quality management system ISO 14001,or the past, he explains, management designated all quality initiatives to his and other quality departments;now a new process requires a more stringent systems such as Malcolm Baldrige,Six top-down approach. Doug Older of Techlogic,a quality consulting Sigma,or lean manufacturing.The Baldrige program, firm in Isle, M inn.,says reluctance or reticence from upper man- which bears the name of a former Secretary of Com- agement indicates a lack of commitment to a quality program."If merce,was established in the late 1980s as an acknowl- I can't see higher management at the initial meetings asking ques- edgement of the need for improved quality in the face • tions about what this can do,then I'm seeing they're probably being forced into it,and I walk away every single time.A cookie- of international competition.Six Sigma,named for a cutter model is anti-quality." measurement standard in product variation,can be —S.A. traced back to the 19th century,but got its start as a 14 MINNESOTA TECHNOLOGY I WINTER 2004