ISO certification matters in metal manufacturing

What is ISO certification for manufacturing? What does this mean for customers of certification bodies? Quality in sheet metal manufacturing is critical not only for safety, but also for product durability, cost savings, and supplier reliability. Read on to learn about ISO and what it means to you!

ISO definition

Iso is an independent international non-governmental organization with members from 167 countries. Founded in 1946, its goal is to "share knowledge and develop voluntary, consensus-based, market-relevant international standards to support innovation and provide solutions to global challenges" (ISO.org).

Today, ISO maintains more than 24,000 documented international standards covering areas such as quality management, environmental and energy management, food safety, health and safety, and IT security. Its certification is one of the best-known in manufacturing.

What is an ISO 9001 certificate?

The most popular ISO certificate is ISO 9001, which addresses quality management issues (last updated in 2015). The standard has been implemented by more than 1 million companies worldwide and involves seven core quality management principles (QMPS).

Customer focus - The organization is committed to meeting customer requirements and exceeding customer expectations. The ultimate goal is to increase the overall value delivered to the customer.

Leadership - Having a common purpose and direction to help the organization serve customers faster and more effectively. Everyone is working towards a common goal.

Employee involvement - Employees are fully competent and empowered to perform their duties. Everyone is doing their best work for the company.

Process approach - Organizations are concerned with achieving consistent and predictable results through a cohesive, optimized system. You know what you get every time.

Improvement - Every process is open. This allows organizations to react more quickly to change and take advantage of new opportunities that come with it.

Evidence-based Decisions - This approach is more likely to produce more objective and confident decisions because they are based on analysis and evaluation of real data. Although uncertainty cannot be eliminated completely, it is greatly reduced.

Relationship management - Maintain key positive relationships with suppliers and stakeholders to drive long-term success. Addressing these core influences can maintain positive momentum.

Together, these seven principles describe and govern an ISO-certified organization and allow it to better serve its customers.

How does an organization achieve ISO certification?

Depending on the scope of the organization's work, there are many industry-specific ISO certifications. ISO itself does not issue certification; Organizations must obtain certifications through third-party audits and have periodic reviews to maintain qualifications. The evaluation is based on specific objectives guided by the seven principles mentioned above. When all requirements are met, an organization becomes "ISO-Certified," with a specific certificate, such as the ISO 9001:2015 standard.

Why is this important to customers?

The core focus of ISO certification is to maintain high quality standards for products, processes and people in order to deliver better products to customers faster. Since ISO-certified organizations are focused on providing the best value for their customers, there are some obvious benefits to partnering with ISO-certified suppliers. Errors and rework are minimized, your requirements are actually met, and your product performs better than expected. By working with iso certification organizations, you can know what products you are receiving:

High quality - This is an obvious benefit and is likely to be expected, but ISO certification demonstrates the ability to consistently deliver high quality parts. The consistency of the results was tested, there was no cutting corners in the manufacturing process, and the measures taken to ensure consistency and standardisation of manufacturing processes and procedures were demonstrated.

Streamlining - Processes in an organization are specifically designed and maintained to deliver results as quickly as possible. Production time and cost inefficiencies are being reduced or eliminated. This will shorten project delivery times, meaning customers can get what they need faster without compromising quality. This includes hiring highly qualified personnel, maintaining top-notch technology, and focusing on customer needs.

On-time delivery - BECAUSE systems are designed to be reliable and have consciously eliminated hang-ups, ISO-certified organizations are better able to meet their commitments. Customers can expect parts and products to take longer than expected.

Cost effectiveness - High quality, streamlined production means significantly lower rework costs because things are done right the first time. This saves customers money and helps with faster turnaround. ISO certification ensures that customer needs are put first and customer satisfaction is the primary goal of manufacturing.

The QC in Zechin Industries

At Zechin Industries Design and manufacture, we are always looking for ways to bring value to the people we serve. One of the ways we do that is through our commitment to quality. Zechin Industries design and Manufacture is committed to quality - in our manufactured products, our standards and processes, and the quality of our company members. Zechin Industries Design is proud to be ISO9001:2015, the latter being manufactured specifically for our medical devices. We know that speed and quality are everything to our customers, and we strive to deliver both through three steps:

Planning - Quality begins with planning, in which we review customer prints and specifications to validate product requirements.

Design -- We then create documentation and instructions to ensure that these requirements translate perfectly to the production floor.

Inspection - At every step of the manufacturing process, our experienced production and inspection team implements established processes to ensure compliance and satisfaction to all customer requirements.

In addition, we utilize state-of-the-art technology to assist in this process, including the Hexagon RS6 laser scanner and FabriVision scanner. These tools allow us to check quality from start to finish with unparalleled accuracy.

We adhere to our practices not only to protect our ISO certification, but more importantly to continue to provide our customers with high quality products and services. Visit our website to learn more about how Zechin Industries' commitment to quality manufacturing can take your project to the next level. Contact us to get started!

Zechin Industries

Cell: +86 158 5810 2851

Email: steven@zec-industrygroup.com 

www.metalpartfabrications.com