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When your customers include the high tech telecoms sector, medical, aerospace, military and security, quality has to be a way of life, not just a convenient bolt-on. Micron Precision already had a strong quality philosophy based on 13 years’ trading and more than 200 years’ combined experience, but felt that an externally audited certificate would help raise awareness and increase their customer base. With 3 new major customers, and Preferred Supplier status with 4 others, Quality Manager Steve Ride reports that the IMSM experience of implementing ISO9001 is “Excellent”.
The Ottawa-based company employs 14 staff and is predominantly a CNC machine shop, producing customized precision machine components to customers’ exacting specifications. As a small company, with a hands-on management team, the efficiency improvements normally realized through ISO9001 were pretty much in place, as necessities. Steve Ride, having been through several ISO Certifications and audits in previous settings, was concerned that the Auditor would not appreciate fully the challenges of a smaller business, where staff tend to wear more than one hat. “We cannot afford to spend days with the Auditor, explaining everything. IMSM’s Auditor, David Anger, arrived at the shop on time, and was fully prepared and focused on the job in hand. Through his professional demeanor, he showed us that he understood our business and challenges. He was also able to make some valuable suggestions to help us move forward.”
While IMSM was selected in part on value for money, Micron Precision also liked the transparency of the pricing system. “We know upfront the total cost to achieve ISO9001, there were no hidden costs, and the support from both the Auditor and IMSM was excellent. I would certainly recommend IMSM to anyone wishing to go down the ISO road, especially smaller companies that can’t afford the disruptions normally associated with quality audits.”
www.micronprecision.com
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