Quality Standards Update

Dubious Industry First

by Paul Scicchitano

AT&T Quality Registrar is the first
ISO 9000 registrar in the United States
to close its doors.

With so many firsts for the ISO 9000 industry-the first government agency to attain registration, first hospital, etc.-something was bound to dampen the party. Sadly, it has.

AT&T Quality Registrar has announced plans to close its doors as soon as its last customers have been transferred to another registrar or its last registration certificate expires.

This is believed to be the first accredited firm in the United States to take such drastic action. It has apparently caught some accreditors unprepared and raised questions about the industry's ability to respond to future closings.

With about 70 registrars operating in North America, the closing probably will not be the last. A number of experts are predicting an industry consolidation over the next five years similar to the one that took place in the personal computer industry and other industries marked by such rapid growth.

This means it is no longer enough to pick a registrar primarily on the basis of reputation, as many of about 9,000 ISO 9000 certificate holders in the United States have done. It is time to apply the same business logic to selecting a registrar that you would apply to selecting any supplier.

These are some of the questions you should be asking:

Is this company financially sound? How many clients does it have? What accreditation marks does it hold? How long has it been in business? Is registration related to the firm's core business? Does it have an agreement in place to accept auditing reports from other registrars and vice-versa? What percentage of the parent company's total revenue is derived from ISO 9000 registration?

The last thing any company wants is an interruption in its supply chain. Registration should be looked at as no exception.

Of course, production won't come grinding to a halt if your ISO 9000 certificate lapses, but it could threaten some contractual agreements or cost you additional time, money and aggravation. Fortunately, in this case, AT&T QR has made provisions for its 267 U.S. clients. Other firms might not be as considerate.

AT&T QR's client list was sold to DNV Certification Inc., the largest ISO 9000 registrar operating in the United States. Their clients have three choices: use DNV, keep their AT&T QR certificate and have it serviced by DNV as a subcontractor, or transfer it to another firm altogether.

AT&T QR is a casualty of the massive restructuring that has threatened the jobs of some 40,000 AT&T workers and resulted in a three-way split of the 100-year-old company. The closing appears to be less a reflection of the financial health of the registration activity than the fact that third-party registration was not really one of AT&T's core businesses.

A number of registrars are advising companies to consider a firm's core competencies during the selection process along with its financial health. You'll have to decide whether ISO 9000 registration is as closely related to the registrar's core business as some firms would have you believe.

As a general rule of thumb, make the same calls and ask the same questions you would make to check on a potential supplier of any critical component. Make sure your contract is flexible so you are protected in the event the firm goes out of business or is acquired by another registrar.

One thing is very clear from the recent AT&T QR situation. The industry does not appear very well-prepared to respond to closings. Some registrars say this should not be an issue. They point out that companies transfer registrations every day. But this leaves a lot to chance.

There is no requirement that one accredited registrar accept the certificates or audit reports of another even if they are accredited by the same organization. Registrars say this might be more of a problem for firms accredited by one of the lesser-known organizations or that have a credibility problem.

Nevertheless, the bottom line remains the same: Do your homework now and avoid problems later.

About the author . . .
Paul Scicchitano is managing editor of Quality Systems Update, a monthly newsletter and information service by Irwin Professional Publishing devoted to ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 issues. For more in- formation, telephone (703) 591-9008, fax (703) 591-0971 or e-mail isoeditor@aol.com.