Custom Stamping Celebrates ISO Certification In Six Months!

The Custom Stamping Management Team Custom Stamping, a Carson City, Nevada, producer of precision metal stampings with a work force of just under 30, provides a telling example about the challenges that can come with seeking ISO 9001:2000 certification. Custom Stamping had been asked for many years about their intentions for becoming ISO certified but until recently it was never forced as a requirement for continued business with established customers. However, with changes in the manufacturing environment in the US, loss of manufacturing overseas, the need to break into new markets and the requirements imposed by TS 16949 from the automotive industry it became very clear that Custom Stamping needed to obtain ISO 9000 certification to remain competitive.

President Woody Wurster, a master tool and die maker, encountered problems outside his realm of expertise and turned to Nevada Industry Excellence for suggestions. Custom Stamping was referred to the AEM Consulting Group (AEM) – they provided a service that meshed with the needs and preferences of Custom Stamping. Former attempts at ISO certification were unsuccessful because of the perceived increase in documentation and record keeping supposedly imposed by the standard. Due to the limitations brought on by these requirements Custom Stamping never even reached the internal auditing stage. - Tom Rettura, Quality Service Manager Why was AEM’s approach successful for Custom Stamping?

• Paperwork was vastly reduced. The Quality Manual (24 pages) and 22 procedures (68 pages) were revised to just five procedures (32 pages). Note: Corrective & Preventive Actions were combined into one procedure.

• A key ISO requirement (Management Review) was integrated with CS’s regular Production Meeting by including a review of its Business System operations at those meetings.

• The Internal Audit began early and was used to implement and sustain the system, with audit results a part of the Production Meeting.

• A formal corrective/preventive action process was merged with ongoing improvement efforts with a simple method added to document the efforts put in place and now used routinely.

The company’s existing system was documented, reviewed for needed improvements and then compared to the ISO standard. Custom Stamping discovered that they were already complying with more than 80 percent of the requirements. The finished documentation includes the Quality Manual combined with the operating procedures as follows:

• 400 Quality System (7 pages)

• 500 Management Responsibility (8 pages)

• 700 Product Realization (11 pages)

• 760 Control of monitoring and measuring devices (4 pages)

• 822 Internal Audit (4 pages)

Each section has a “Scripted Flowchart Process”™ that begins with a concise policy section followed with a flowchart annotated by text that details the responsibility and necessary actions for the numbered flowchart blocks. “This time the manual made sense,” one CS team member said. “The flowchart became a key component of our system and really helped us use what Custom Stamping already had in place before ISO.” - Socket Type Contact Manufactured at Custom Stamping

The project began in July 2004 with a registration target of January 2005. A pre-assessment audit in December 2004 provided 12 observations, helping the team to further refine their system and to be well prepared for their mid-January registration audit. The closing meeting after the third day of the registration audit provided a well-earned cause for celebration: no nonconformities had been found and Custom Stamping was recommended for ISO registration. A process that at times had seemed improbable to Woody Wurster, in a remarkably short time had turned into reality through a combination of commitment, diligence and effort of a solid company team and a common-sense approach to ISO 9001. “Nevada Industry Excellence definitely helped Custom Stamping to achieve our goal of ISO certification. They understood our needs and listened to what was important for us as a small manufacturer in northern Nevada. We were quickly connected with AEM Consulting whose ideas and knowledge of the specification were crucial to our swift registration. Nevada Industry Excellence is very well networked and has provided helpful assistance and information on multiple occasions in the eleven years Custom Stamping has been in Carson City,” reports Tom Rettura, Quality Manager.