Should Distributors Seek ISO 9000 Certification?

John Wolz

Before Hayes Bolt & Supply of San Diego was audited for ISO 9000, the company thought it had about a 90% on-time delivery rate.
Mike Daigle told the Los Angeles Fastener Association the distributor was surprised to find out in an ISO audit that the actual rate was about 70%. ISO has brought the rate up over 90%, he said.
Hayes Bolt, founded in 1976, has 16 employees and distributes industrial and electronic fasteners and hardware.
Daigle said Hayes became interested in quality assurance programs during the recession of the 1980s. It was an especially competitive market and quality became an issue, he noted. Hayes started with a TQM program focused on process improvement and moved into ISO in the 1990s.
Daigle, who was in quality assurance for manufacturing before joining Hayes, said he initially doubted the need in distribution. But he has learned �regardless of whether it is high volume compression molding in manufacturing or filling orders in distribution, it is a process. It has materials going in and finished products coming out.�
Last October, in updating its ISO program, Hayes found 26 nonconformances. By following the ISO manual the problems dropped to 19 in January, seven in February and zero in March, Daigle reported.
�There is no doubt in my mind we had a culture change. It takes time for the culture to change, but in a short period of time it becomes second nature,� Daigle said.
� Sandy Wichelecki, an ISO 9000 auditor for Looking Glass Marketing of San Diego, described the change as �evolution from �fire fighting� to �fire prevention� as a result of early detection and corrective action.
�The journey itself forces the company and individuals to define and review their operations and responsibilities,� Wichelecki said.
Wichelecki emphasized that ISO �is not a product standard and does not contain any technical requirements. ISO 9000 is a quality system standard. ISO does not guarantee product quality, but requires that a documented quality system is consistently followed.�
�Under ISO, you follow the same process every time so that when something is out of whack, you can spot the problem,� she explained.
Some are leery of ISO because of paperwork, Wichelecki observed.
�ISO requires you document what you do, but that does not mean endless manuals,� she noted. �Manuals can even be pictures or other visual aids.�
What the manual does is �refresh your memory so that you are doing what you say you are doing.�
� Len Bost of Brighton-Best said ISO creates a formal goal and �employees know what they are supposed to do. It identifies and monitors the process in case of an error.�
One of Brighton-Best�s 35 branches � the export division � is ISO certified and six regional facilities are in the process. The six do more than 60% of Brighton-Best�s work.
� Kevin Wilson of American Bolt & Screw said his company decided not to spend the estimated $40,000 to $100,000 to get ISO certified.
�We don�t oppose ISO,� Wilson said. �Indeed we use several ISO guidelines.�
American Bolt doesn�t see ISO as a guarantee as they have had to disqualify several ISO suppliers, Wilson pointed out.
� David Palmquist of N-D Industries said the chief benefit of ISO has been including all aspects of the organization. �You get a better handle on relationships between departments. Every employee knows what is required of them.�
The result has been fewer errors at every stage from administration to production.
Initially there is a period of inefficiency, but soon there are fewer mistakes. �And you don�t repeat errors anymore.�
Customers like seeing the ISO logo on your advertising. �If they hear you are ISO they no longer ask questions about quality � whether that is right or wrong,� Palmquist finds.