Maintenance of standards – if the standards are high enough – is most likely a sign of progress. We at Vanguard Products are very pleased to announce our recertification in accordance with ISO 9001-2008 standards for the sixth successive year, the fifth year without findings. We take this news in good stride as we enter 2012, confident that it heralds an excellent business year to come.
In order to earn an ISO 9001-2008 standard certification, a company not only must perform in accordance with its previous quality standards, but must constantly assess ways that it can improve its quality performance in the future and implement them on a continuing basis. It must also measure the effectiveness of these improvements and tweak them. In effect, a company cannot just achieve certification and “rest on its laurels.”
Firstly, one must engineer a plan of action, which – if followed correctly – can ensure successful quality management for one’s business. The plans necessarily involve meticulous bookkeeping: the standards must be clear, the quality objective guidelines must be focused, and the responsibilities of those entrusted with carrying out these quality standards must always be accurate. When it comes to selling custom manufactured engineered products, it’s a tight ship, not a leaky faucet, we’re running.
Beyond establishment of quality standards, there also lies implementation. One must effectively communicate all one’s criteria for quality throughout the company. A certified company must also be constantly aware of whichever factors are keeping one’s company at bay from its objectives. Ensuring the competent performance of company workers and managers is an absolute must. Providing the necessary infrastructure and then maintaining that infrastructure throughout the business year, are absolute necessities. If preventive measures need to be taken in order to correct the course of events, then they must be undertaken logically and without hesitation.
Communicating with clients clearly and objectively is – without a doubt – the absolute necessity of necessities. Customers must feel engaged and knowledgeable about the goods and services one is providing them, and must also regularly remain informed of any late-breaking updates in those products and services. In the end, customers must be satisfied that all their requirements were met, and, whenever possible, exceeded.
These are merely to sketch a few outlines of what it takes to be ISO 9001-2008 certified. From our humble beginnings in the 1960’s, our reputation has been centered around providing a package of the highest quality, precision, technical expertise, and service in the industry at competitive prices. We’re proud we’ve achieved this certification six years in a row. Here’s looking forward to a seventh.
