[oclug] ISO 9000 - what it really is.

[Charles MacDonald]

> so having good
>> QA is actually a good way to be competitive.  I got some internal hp
>> newsletter over a year ago which had an article about how a group that
>> manufactures printers had "closed the loop" -- analysed all the
>> returns from customers, figured out what was going wrong and fixed the
>> problems that were causing the majority of returns.
>> 
> 
> In Europe they have ISO 9000 to help them along with their quality
> issues. If a good quality system is in place, you naturally will have
> fewer returns which in turn translates into higher profits and greater
> customer satisfaction.
> 

The ISO 9000 series of QA standards are really just a requirment to 
thorughouly understand your business processes.  There are a series of 
them, depending on the type of Business.  They have caught on quite 
stongly in the Automotive sector where suppliers don't get to bid if 
they don't have the certification in place.

If you drive along March road, you will find many firms with an 
"ISO900x" banner out front, heck even the Scott Paper Tissue Mill- maker 
of all those Mcdonald Napkins has an ISO 9000 banner.

Formal ISO9000 audits are rather heavy on the paperwork, and so firms 
that don't need it may want to skip it.  The principles however are 
quite relivant.  and yes one customer return can loose al the profit 
from a dozzen sales.

Of course when i comes to commputer stuff, often the parts oare from 
anounyous factories in China who work though brokers who have just added 
a fanagle factor to cover the defectives they will toss away.  The 
feedback does not get back ot the maker who is making something 
completly different anyway, and so the junk continues to flow (Note I am 
using china as they are the latest source of mass producded stuff - next 
year it will probaly be someone else)

-- 
Charles MacDonald  Stittsville Ontario
  cmacd at achilles.net      Just Beyond the Fringe
            http://home.achilles.net/~cmacd/
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