Answer - "What is ISO?"

[Kelly Burhenne <burhennk -at- SMTPGW -dot- LIEBERT -dot- COM>]

Text item: Text_1

     ISO stands for "International Standards Organization" (note the word
     "standards").  It is a certification that companies receive.
     Companies pay *a lot* of money for ISO auditors (generally, people
     from other companies) to come to your business and audit your
     "procedures".  ISO requires that every department have specific
     documentation describing what you do and how you do it--you must do it
     the same every time.  It takes a lot of work.  Every department must
     have their own "Departmental Procedure Manual" which contains specific
     procedures on how to do your job.

     ISO does not ensure that what you make is good, safe, etc. (such as
     UL), it only ensures that you are _consistent_ in what you do, and
     that what you do is documented.  The auditors will ask you questions
     like, "how do you know to do it that way?"  You must go to the
     Department manual and show them the specific procedure that tells you
     that that's how you do it (this applies to _every_ job in _every_
     department).

     Another big thing ISO is concerned about is "controlled documents",
     which means that if you distribute a document (even a phone list), you
     must provide every person who received the original with an update as
     soon as one is available (if you do not, it is a non-conformance and
     reason for rejection).  You can still use uncontrolled documents as
     long as they are labeled as such.

     Also, you cannot _use_ any information that is not a procedure (e.g.,
     you cannot have a post-it note hanging on your wall saying, "new
     release memos go to John in Parts and Cheryl in Accounting"). Instead,
     you must have form #xxx in the Department Procedure Manual stating it.
     In addition, _any and all_ forms that you use must have a form number
     with a revision date and must be incorporated into your procedures.

     My company was recently ISO 90001 certified! Whew! What an
     accomplishment (btw, we are also the only service organization to be
     UL certified).  You can go for ISO 90001, 90002, 90003, or 90004.
     Generally, 90001 is for *manufacturing* facilities (i.e., where people
     *design* things).  Service organizations generally go for 90002.  But
     my company pushed for 90001 (argument=we *design* service contracts),
     and we got it.  We were rejected the first time, as most companies are
     (the auditors tell you what to clean up and come back in a few weeks
     or months and re-audit).  BTW, each time the auditors come out, it is
     a HUGE amount of money.

     In summary, if your company wants to become certified, it will take a
     huge committment from management, a lot of time to prepare, and a lot
     of money!  Is it worth it? If you bid on things like government
     contracts or have competitors who are certified, you better hope you
     are, too!

     If you have any questions, you can e-mail me!

     Kelly Burhenne
     burhennk -at- smtpgw -dot- liebert -dot- com
     Columbus, OH