ISO 9001

[Steve]

Hey all. I'm looking at gathering a clear understanding of this certification and the real substance behind it. I'm having difficulty locating a clear source on the net so if any of you have a link or information, I would greatly appreciate it.
I've done a search and I understand that this has nothing to do directly with building a "quality product", but rather following steps or guidlines in a repetitive manner. I'm just unclear on what seperates them from any other spa manufacturer in this regard?

Also, what's your opinion on ISO and why? Thanks,

Steve

[Mendocino101]

Steve,

I strongly believe that pure and simple it only exists for marketing purposes ....It does not mean you build a better product nor is it a safety standard of any kind like UL or ETL ....it can be argued that is helps in maintaining product consistency ....but if it did not offer a marketing angle, it would be something that none of us have ever heard of......its not a bad thing it is just in the big picture it is of very little substance value....I hope that this does offend any dealers who product has this but I feel the same way about consumer digest which the product I represent uses in its marketing as well....

[tkruel]

I agree with mendocino.  The company I work for is going through the ISO certification process now & in my opinion it is a sales & marketing tool only.  I deal with alot of different customers who are ISO certified & it sure seems like their procedures are lacking.  ISO cert. is basically having procedures in place to make sure you are doing what you say you are doing.  Honestly, I think it is almost totally useless.  Again...just my 2 cents.

[Bonibelle]

I don't know exactly what the ISO certification is but if it means putting guidelines and procedures in place to assure that every manufactured article for a particular model(type etc) is done the same, it may be a bit more than a marketing tool. I can only relate this to the things I am familiar with in the pharmaceutical industry. Basically what I imagine is that ISO certification  will enable companies to collect trend data and troubleshoot
manufacturing problems. In itself, the certification wouldn't indicate quality, instead consistancy.  A kind of "if this, then that".  If all teletubby tubs are manufactured of identical quality parts and assembled in the same order, then you would expect them to perform in a very similar manner. This could also help manufacturers to estimate warranty periods and streamline production schedules. You would think that most manufacturers already have process guidelines in place, so this may be just fluff for some.

[Bonibelle]

Steve try this
http://www.iso.org/iso/en/ISOOnline.frontpage

[Nitlion15]

I am a VP for a company that is ISO certified and have been for 8 years.  It is much more than a marketing tool.  It can be used as a way to run your business.  It helps define the structure with work instructions to ensure that you are consistently and reliably making product to meet your proscribed standards.  It also has a focus on customer complaint reporting and a mechanisim to self audit your processes to ensure you are doing what you say you are doing.  

It will not garuntee you a good product, but if you do it for real and not just as a marketing gimmick it will improve your business performance, your product quality and give you a stable environment for employees to train and understand their jobs.

[HotTubMan]

It will not garuntee you a good product, but if you do it for real and not just as a marketing gimmick...

I guess that is the wild card isn't it? How is the consumer to know if it is adopted as a marketing tool or a way of doing business by a mnufacturer (or in this case, assembler)

Steve! Where have you been? I hope ypur absence means you've been busy signing dealers up.

[Bonibelle]

Nitlion15, I am also guessing that it will help set standards for global manufacturing and marketing?
Who assures that a manufacturer is in compliance? Are there audits required to renew the certification?
The consumer is always looking for something solid to use as a comparison of products. I know I use tons of resources before I do a major purchase...this purchase was by far the toughest for me. If the ISO is an indicator that a company desires to improve it's quality, then it would be a good thiing for the consumer.

[East_TX_Spa]

I think I've mentioned it maybe twice in sales presentations over the years.  I'm fortunate in that I have so many other items of interest for the consumers that the ISO 2001 certification of my product is something I have rarely had to use.  It seems to be of interest to some of the engineering oriented spa shoppers, but everyone else could care less, same as me.  It is good to know that it's there if that is something that is important to the customer.

Terminator

[Pathfinder]

Nitlion15  pretty much expained it all

one example of  a company that is 9001 certified is Coast spas  not to bad mouth them but all I hear and read  is how many people have problems with there tubs with leaks and failure of components. Their production procedures may up to the standard but when you use poor products or poor staff appliyng these procedures the cetification becomes nothing more than an expensive marketing tool.

I ve dealt with distributors that are certfied and it definitely didnt make them better then the others.
It all comes down to who oversees quality control.
my rambling is done.

[Pathfinder]

Steve,  If you want to try and talk to someone about it first hand  I would suggest Gib-san pools in Toronto
they are the 1st pool and spa service company that is ISO 9001 certified they might be able to help you out with what your looking for www.gibsanpools.com

[Bill_Stevenson]

Nitlion explained the advantages of ISO 9000 very well.  I would like to add that any company that makes the investment to become ISO 9000 certified is bound to improve quality and customer service over time.  Done properly, ISO certification provides an excellent platform for doing business.

Regards,

Bill

[Steve]

Thanks everyone for your input on this.

I've always seen this as a marketing tool as well for the most part though I do strongly believe that consistantcy in manufacturing is important. The part that I'm having difficulty getting my head around is that every major manufacturer, certified ISO or not, has implimented a very thourough, consistant process in manfacturing and more importantly, a very high level of quality control.

Do we know the cost to become ISO certified?

Yeah, HTM, it's been busy and I haven't been around a whole lot lately. I guess I should post a bit more here over the next couple of days as I think I'm 3 posts away from joining the "elite 1000 post club". I can hardly wait for my new BMW. Do I get to choose the color?
See ya in Niagara Falls my friend!

Thanks again guys!

Steve

[Mendocino101]

Nitlion explained the advantages of ISO 9000 very well.  I would like to add that any company that makes the investment to become ISO 9000 certified is bound to improve quality and customer service over time.  Done properly, ISO certification provides an excellent platform for doing business.

Regards,

Bill

Bill and Nitlion,

It can help improve certain things but many many other avenues to do this are available things like lean manufacturing....without out the marketing angle of ISO 9001 it would fail to exist. maybe a company who needs help in some ways are sold "this" program as opposed to another but again there are many other available whose focus is more internal without the marketing of ISO 9001.

[Steve]

Interesting that you bring that up Mendo; Hydropool implemented the concepts of "lean manufacturing" this past September.

This concept was first created by Toyota in the 1940's and they have virtually perfected this proccess. We're very excited to have it as part of our manufacturing and combined with the many changes and improvements for '06 including a total rebranding of our company, we're looking for a very strong upcoming year.

Chat soon bud!

Steve