How Does ISO Play an Important Role to Integra Optics Customers?

Quality can be easy for a manufacturer to promise, but difficult to deliver. At Integra Optics there are two important ways we ensure that promise: A steadfast dedication to our quality management system and ISO 9001 certification.

Integra Optics’ Quality Management System (QMS)

How does a supplier assure a customer that they can deliver a product – with the promised specifications behind it – reliably, consistently over time, and in volume?

How do you, as a customer, know that a prospective supplier can deliver with the quality and reliability you expect?

This is where our QMS comes in.

A datasheet is only as good as all the design verification testing, product integrity testing, and ongoing production testing which is put in place to back it up. As a manufacturer, you want to know that you can take that initial prototype from a one-off to a successful, marketable product, and to do that you need an effective quality management system (QMS).

I like to think of a QMS as your recipe for success, not all that different from baking a cake. Assemble the list of ingredients, follow the steps, monitor throughout, and you will have a consistent end product.

Putting a defined QMS in place is all well and good, but how do you prove that you as a manufacturer are actually following it? ISO 9001.

ISO 9001: Say what you do. Do what you say.

It may not be in the formal ISO 9001 requirements and structure, but my first hardware design manager summed up ISO 9001 for me in the simple phrase, “Say what you do. Do what you say.”

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is an independent, non-governmental international organization that has been bringing experts together since 1946 to support innovation and develop standards and solutions for manufacturers of all sizes. The ISO has provided industry standards from the definition of standard measurement units themselves to dimension of freight shipping containers. ISO put in place a structure – ISO 9001 – to help guide organizations, big and small, to consistently provide products and services conforming to their requirements. And this success was to be based upon the organizations implementation of a quality management system, externally monitored and audited by ISO.

To be certified as an ISO 9001 manufacturer is a significant investment for an organization. It requires a commitment across all levels of the organization, with regular audits to assure that all elements of a company’s QMS are being followed, monitored, and documented.

ISO audits will hold an organization accountable for tracking QMS processes and metrics, but these objectives and metrics are defined by the organization itself and are meant to be updated as a company changes and grows.

ISO will work with an organization not just to track their adherence to their QMS, but to ensure that their system has the room to grow and evolve. At its very core, ISO 9001 focuses on an organization and customer satisfaction.

What does quality mean to you?

If it means having suppliers that provide products and services reliably, consistently, so that you can plan your network evolution with confidence, then ensuring that you are working with ISO 9001 certified suppliers is critical.

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and your network is no different. From the network edge to your core, every link is vital. If you are interested in how Integra Optics as an ISO 9001 certified manufacturer can help with your quality and supply management, please reach out to your nearest Integra Sales representative.