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Articles
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QICID: 15156
Title: Widgetcraft for One Small Paint Company
Copyright: 2001, ASQ
Author: Brody, Andrew M.
Organization: Marcus Paint Co., Louisville, KY
Subject: Change management,Small business,QS 9000,Customer requirements,Continuous quality improvement (CQI),Case study;
Series: Quality Progress, Vol. 34, No. 9, September 2001, pp. 72-77
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Abstract: Marcus Paint Co., a small company specializing in the manufacture of custom formulated coatings for metal products in original equipment manufacturing, implemented QS-9000 to satisfy customer requirements. Despite initial misgivings, senior management decided it was important to commit the necessary financial and personnel resources to the registration process. The process was fairly simple, and although the work was often tedious and frustrating, the company is proud of their success. The greatest problem the company faced was that their product, paint, does not lend itself readily to statistical studies and other scrutinies common to the requirements of QS-9000. Marcus' process revealed that four QS-9000 elements - accountability, flexibility, reason and logic - were also applicable to the development and start of other processes. A core team of people who represented every aspect of the business was assembled to meet with management to establish long-range goals. Using the "keep it simple, stupid" (KISS) principle, a strategy was developed to keep the process on target. The process of documentation went smoothly until the sections dealing with metrology, process control, design, calibration, and inspection were encountered. Marcus' systems would need major changes to bring them in line with QS-9000, so it was decided to rewrite the operating procedures directly from the standards. For other compliance problems due to the nature of their product, the company sought waivers or modified the process to fit the standard. A preregistration audit yielded mixed results, with four disputed findings going before the registrar's review board for resolution. Today, Marcus Paint has come to the end of its two-year recertification cycle and has recertified without any findings. QS-9000 registration is an attainable goal for even the smallest of companies making the most nontraditional products. Sidebar articles state the Marcus Paint Co. Quality Policy and provide an example of one of the disputed findings.
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