Quality Standards Update

by Paul Scicchitano

Big Hoops


The Big Three automakers have become instant
policymakers in the ISO 9000 movement.

The nation's Big Three automak-ers-Chrysler, Ford and General Motors-have had the ISO 9000 community jumping through hoops for nearly two years now.

Detroit has found itself in the enviable position of calling shots for an entire army of third-party auditors, course providers, consultants and accreditors. By accepting and, in some cases, requiring third-party registration for thousands of suppliers affected by the QS-9000 requirement, the automakers have become instant policymakers in the ISO 9000 movement.

Indeed, the Big Three have wielded tremendous influence. Much to their credit, the car companies have introduced some positive changes in the way ISO 9000 registrations are conducted.

Early on, the Big Three realized they needed to address fundamental concerns to ensure the integrity of the third-party system. These included inconsistency of interpretation, varying rules by accreditation bodies and the perception of conflict of interest by registrars that also offer consulting services.

First, automotive suppliers seeking QS-9000 registration may only retain registration services from firms accredited by a Big Three approved body.
Even the auditors who do the work must complete the Big Three's officially recognized training program. And the audits must be conducted in strict accordance with a series of Big Three-sanctioned interpretations on QS-9000.

The Big Three also imposed a strict code of practice on registrars, barring suppliers from engaging the same company to perform their registration audit that consulted for them over a set period of time.

Now, the Big Three are looking to influence the international standards-writing process itself. And they may indeed succeed. Addressing U.S. delegates to the international committee charged with maintaining the ISO 9000 family of standards, Big Three representatives recently unveiled a list of suggested changes.

The automakers said they probably will not need to supplement the basic ISO 9000 requirements if, in the next revision, some basic needs are met. These include:
An enhanced quality planning element. The Big Three plan to devote time and resources to working with suppliers on advanced quality planning.
More emphasis on prevention. The automakers say the standards still appear to emphasize inspection, though prevention is addressed.
An enhanced process control element. Car companies want to see more notions on how to control processes. They point to capability indexes as an example.
More emphasis on continuous improvement. The Big Three have elected to impose their own requirements in this area.
More emphasis on customer satisfaction. The Big Three believe a company's entire metrics can be miscalibrated without regard for customer performance requirements.
Requirements that address parts qualifications. This is a concern because many recalls in the automotive industry are caused by suppliers making unapproved changes to parts or processes.
An enhanced delivery element. The automakers believe that existing ISO 9000 delivery requirements are inadequate.

As standards writers prepare for the next revision of the ISO 9000 requirements, now expected around the year 2000, they probably will try to accommodate the Big Three wherever possible, particularly if the requirements apply to all industries.

The message, as delivered to standards writers by R. Dan Reid of GM, was clear: "We're not necessarily committed to using ISO 9000 forever," he told them. "If ISO goes in areas we cannot support, we would have to go with another approach."

Standards writers have already wrestled with many of the concerns raised by the Big Three but were unable to reach international consensus on auditable requirements. That may change now with the weight of the Big Three behind such requirements. Nevertheless, standards writers are bound to strike a balance between the needs of a particular industry and the need for maintaining sufficiently generic requirements to accommodate a divergent group of companies.

Surprisingly, the entire QS-9000 program, incorporating ISO 9001 in its entirety along with additional automotive requirements and interpretations, has basically been determined by a three-member task force-one representative each from Chrysler, Ford and General Motors.

Collectively, the task force has done much homework in a relatively short time. It is critical that the ISO 9000 industry attempt to meet the needs and expectations of one of its largest customers. The mistake would be to let any one industry have the final word.

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 information, telephone (703) 591-0971 or e-mail isoeditor@aol.com.