ISO CERTIFICATION: WHAT DO MOLD BUILDERS NEED TO KNOW? by Dianna Brodine, vice president, editorial, The American Mold Builder
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SO 9001 is the international certification for quality management systems. Available in over 170 countries and built to benefit any size of organization, certification proves that the company has a strong customer focus, motivation, managerial skills and an emphasis on continuous improvement, according to the ISO website (www.iso.org). However, ISO certification is a timeintensive process – and isn’t required by most customers. Is the return on investment worth it? Two mold building companies provided insight on their experiences in obtaining ISO 9001:2015 certification, including the process, challenges and ultimate payoff. THE PROCESS Concept Molds, Schoolcraft, Michigan, builds custom tooling for the automotive, medical and industrial markets. The company is ISO 9001:2015 certified, which Program and Quality Manager Michael Rochholz called, “the ground level of certification for ISO.” Rochholz has been involved in all facets of certification, from initiation and evaluation through to auditing and maintenance – “basically start to finish,” he said, “and it’s never finished!” Concept Molds chose ISO 9001:2015 because it’s geared toward tool shops. “There are other certifications that are more appropriate for medical and aerospace manufacturers, but the basic certification of 9001:2015 fits Concept Molds very well,” Rochholz said. The company’s first attempt at certification was in 2003, although it didn’t reach full implementation. “That certification was geared toward the needs of customers – the intended purpose was sales, rather than quality,” he said. “It didn’t have true buy-in from employees because it wasn’t geared toward our needs internally. Eventually, it was dropped.” Then, ISO certification was reinitiated as a quality management system (QMS). “The purpose changed – to help us grow, do the right things and meet the values our customers expect,” Rochholz explained. “Since then, we have buy-in internally because the certification has meaning to it. The people who are involved in maintaining the system see the opportunities.” These opportunities
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the american MOLD BUILDER | Issue 1 2022
include workplace autonomy, as employees can go through processes on their own – such as corrective action responses – and take ownership of the issues they see and the solutions they implement. At Legacy Precision Molds, a Grandville, Michiganbased company specializing in building high-precision plastic injection molds up to 500 ton, the ISO certification process began in June of 2020. “The first step involved meeting with consultants, asking for quotes, and doing our research” said Tyler VanRee, team leader. “From there, we overlapped that with the planning stage.” This included asking questions, such as: What should the QMS look like? How should it be structured? What are the objectives to be achieved? “Then we moved into implementation,” said VanRee, “which involved clarifying documentation, procedures and processes – and then implementing necessary changes in our organization and preparing for certification.” During the review process, Legacy Precision Molds received outside, third-party input before moving into the certification stage. “It was a 10-month process for us.” FACING THE CHALLENGES Any new or changed process will be met with some resistance or unforeseen complications. Employee Buy-In At Concept Molds, getting the employees to see the benefit of ISO implementation – especially when some of them had been around for the first attempt – was the biggest challenge. “It was originally viewed as ‘not meaningful to me’ and ‘more work for me’,” said Rochholz. “But, without employee buy-in, it’s difficult to have a meaningful quality management system because the system is everyone, not just one or two individuals.” The results changed their minds. “The primary thing we learned was that it was important to be sure our procedures were stated in a way that ensures we can fulfill our key performance indicators (KPIs),” he explained. “If the page 34
