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Baldrige
Winners See Benefits of ISO 9001:2000
The
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) is given to US
organizations that excel in seven areas: leadership, strategic planning,
customer and market focus, information and analysis, human resource focus,
process management, and business results.
Many states, including Kentucky, have developed quality awards
based on assessments to MBNQA criteria.
The
2000 MBNQA winners for manufacturing are Dana Corporation and the KARLEE
Company; Operations Management International OMI) won in the service
category; and Los Alamos National Bank won in the small business category.
The awards were presented by President Clinton and Commerce
Secretary Norman Mineta. “As
the first group of winners in the 21st century, they exemplify
the Baldrige themes of excellence, global competitiveness, partnerships,
empowerment, innovation and lifelong learning.
They can proudly serve as role models for any organization wanting
to improve the way they operate,” said Mineta.
David
Briggs of the KARLEE Company says making ISO 9000 certification the first
stop on the company’s “quality journey” was a key decision that
eventually led to the MBNQA. “ISO
set the foundation for controlling processes in a way that enable you to
get the business results needed” (for the MBNQA).
However, KARLEE is not resting on it’s laurels – it is already
preparing for the transition to ISO 9001:2000 and working toward ISO 14001
certification of its environmental management system.
Briggs says the transition should be fairly easy since the new
standard adheres more closely to Baldrige criteria.
“Most of the things you would be putting in place (through ISO
9001:2000) match Baldrige criteria: the emphasis on customer satisfaction
and customer focus, the documented planning system , and the requirement
to measure/monitor processes and customer satisfaction come closer to
being criteria for the Baldrige.”
Vince
Morgillo of Dana Corporation says, “We are QS-9000 certified but the key
reason we won the Baldrige is leadership and fact-based management.”
Morgillo agrees that the new standard does move closer to the
Baldrige in its requirements.
Steve
Wells, president of Los Alamos National Bank, says that “while ISO 9000
was not a part of the plan that led to the Baldrige, the bank will be
registered in the near future because there are always ways we can get
better – Baldrige or not, we rely heavily on efficiency – I know that
was a large part of the decision to look into ISO.”
OMI
is the only Baldrige winner this year that does not see ISO 9000 in its
future. Rodger Quayle of OMI
says that “we have one project that is certified to ISO 9000, but most
of our projects use a quality system that works and has the same
intent.”
ISO
9001:2000, Quality Management Systems (QMS) – Requirements, and ISO
9004:2000, QMS - Guidelines for Performance Improvements, form a
“consistent pair” of documents that allow a company to design and
implement a QMS that not only meets international QMS requirements but
provides a sound foundation for continual improvement of an
organization’s overall performance and efficiency.
The linkage between ISO 9001:2000 and the Baldrige noticed by this
years MBNQA winners reinforces what authors of the new standard have been
advocating from the beginning – upgrading from ISO 9001:1994 to ISO
9001:2000 is the first step in the “Move from Conformance to
Performance”.
ISO
9000 registration is not the end of the “quality journey” – it’s
the beginning. Where
are you in the process? MTTC
can help with ISO and MBNQA based assessments, training and implementation
support. . For more info, call Mike Paten or Aimee Cecil at (502)
367-2186 or visit our web site at http://www.mttc.org.
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