C&D Assembly Celebrates ISO Certification

Quality control is essential to the success of an electronics manufacturing company, and C&D Assembly in Groton is no exception. Owners knew that the foundation for their two decades of growth was quality and customer satisfaction, but they wanted to deepen and expand that foundation throughout the company, and they needed a way to easily provide evidence of their achievement to prospective customers.

They won that evidence recently, receiving notice that an independent auditing firm had certified the company as meeting the requirements of ISO 9001:2008, an international standard that enables companies to ensure that their products and services reliably meet customers’ requirements, and that quality is consistently improved.

C&D is an electronics contract manufacturer specializing in rapid-prototype, low-mid volume printed circuit board assembly, product test, and mechanical/box-build requirements. The 30-employee team serves various markets, primarily industrial sensors and instrumentation, fiber-optic telecom, POS printers, bio-science, controls for HVAC, lighting, refrigeration, and coin-bill-card systems.

Several key people at C&D met with Michael Meador from AM&T to explain why obtaining ISO certification was a priority for the company. Participating in the discussion were the three owners -- Jeff Cronk, Mike Hammond, and Candi Dann -- who all work full time at the company, plus ISO Manager Maria McGuinness, Production Manager John Wolff, and Materials Manager Leslie Soos.

AM&T - What prompted your interest in becoming ISO certified?

Jeff - Mike and I became aware of ISO while working at previous jobs, so when we started C&D, we looked at quality manual templates from other companies to get a general idea of what might be useful to us. We created our own manual and used parts of it on an ongoing basis to guide our production operations. This gave us a basic structure for handling certain kinds of problems or suggestions, but our approach to quality didn’t cover all areas of the business. Ten years ago, we brought in Bob Mann from AM&T to help us upgrade our quality manual and procedures. While that helped improve our operations, we just didn’t commit to getting officially certified. Later, we asked Lloyd Johnson from AM&T to do a gap analysis that looked at how our business had evolved and identified what we needed to do to become ISO certified. We said to ourselves, “we’re committed to having top quality, We’ve been using it, we know the value of it, so let’s make it official.”

AM&T - So tell me a little about your experience once you started down that path -- after you and Lloyd explained to all the employees what would be happening.

Maria - We had a few people who were maybe skeptical at first, but when we got them engaged and they started thinking more about the detail of how their jobs interacted with others, they came up with some good ideas.

Jeff - Lloyd’s approach kept people from feeling overwhelmed. In playing the role of an ISO auditor, he stayed with the easy stuff until we got it, then he gradually changed to asking harder questions from different perspectives, until we all got up to speed.

Candi - Even though everyone knows their job well, human nature causes individuals to stumble when quizzed about it. All the practice Lloyd gave us made it easy for everyone to explain things in their own terms when the ISO auditor showed up. Creating that comfort level was very important.

Mike - Right. Understanding the concept of continuous improvement made people aware that they can actively participate in change and improvement instead of just following the existing practice.

AM&T - It appears that C&D was already in reasonably good shape with your customer focus and having the foundation of a quality system in place. What additional value was added by going through the training and audit process to get ISO certification?

Leslie - We’re a small company with a good group of core people who are very proud of what they do. They are all perfectionists, which is a good thing. However, it means that one obstacle to maintaining consistent quality is getting all of us to agree on a single right way of doing something, and then doing it. Now we have the procedures in place to consistently make that happen.

Candi - With our past focus on customers and employees, we often didn’t communicate enough as a management team. This process has helped us realize the importance of more frequent management meetings and the value the company gets from those. Individually, if one of us is struggling with something or has a great idea, we have a better way to present these topics to our entire team.

Maria - Right, the agenda for these meetings have enabled us to make sure that we discuss important issues, set goals, and be accountable.

John - I started working at C&D just three weeks before the scheduled certification audit and I was impressed at how well-prepared everyone was -- and anxious to get it done. The fact that our company already had a strong customer focus gave us a leg up on this process. Businesses that see themselves as being most important have a harder time.

AM&T - Now that you’ve achieved certification, what’s your sense of how the other employees view your enhanced quality system?

Maria - This process got all employees to understand the importance and value of implementing a complete quality system -- how it will wind up making their jobs easier and improve their job security by making the company stronger. They see owner and manager buy-in, which is crucial, and they know Lloyd will be back every three months to do an internal audit to keep us on track. We’ve also incorporated ISO training into our new hire orientation and training process to educate new employees to our Quality Management System, their role as it relates to ISO/QMS, and the company’s expectations.

AM&T - Can you be more specific about what you see as valuable? In other words, what are the tangible benefits to the company?

Jeff - Our motto has always been, “Do whatever it takes.” With a standardized quality management system in place, our focus on complete customer satisfaction has evolved into an organized method of achieving that. From my perspective, the biggest bottom line impact is having a structured way to collect and review data about customer perceptions. As a result of our certification process, not only do I know our level of customer satisfaction, but so does our entire team. Customer feedback is encouraged, reviewed and has become a catalyst for improved employee morale and dedication. It’s a Win-Win situation.

Mike - Having that feedback and the resulting corrective actions organized and accessible is very valuable. ISO has taught us how to close loops. If we open a corrective action, it’s monitored and assigned to an individual -- it doesn’t just disappear somewhere. The system insures that we address the concern, resolve it, and evaluate its effectiveness.

Candi - I like the fact that with these procedures and systems in place, owners can rest easier. We reduce our levels of stress by providing assurance that things are operating as intended, in a structured and consistent manner. It gives us additional pride in our company.

Jeff - The sales process is also easier -- some potential customers won’t look at you unless you’re certified. I can list customers who were ready to give us jobs but waiting until we were ISO certified -- now they can proceed.

AM&T - What advice do you have for companies that are considering becoming ISO certified?

Candi - The most important elements are management buy-in, along with an understanding of the amount of work that will be required.

Mike - Be realistic about the time frame, suppress your ego, and recognize that we all can improve.

John - Motivation is important. If your goal is just to get the ISO stamp of approval and you aren’t interested in making improvements to the way you work, then you’re in for a tough battle.

Jeff - Realize that it’s hard to do all the preparation for an ISO audit while you’re doing your regular job. But when it’s finished, the quality system becomes part of your regular job, making that job better.

AM&T - Any other parting thoughts?

Jeff - I suppose we could have done it without AM&T, but it would have been much harder. The value from AM&T was great because not only do you get the education, but you also have the added benefit of the consultant working on-site, on the production floor and throughout the company.

Maria - In particular, Lloyd was always very responsive, whether we needed information or just counseling. He helped us through some frustrating moments.

For more information about C&D visit www.cdassembly.com.

See this and other newsletter articles at http://amt-mep.org/files/8213/7034/7978/2013-06.pdf

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