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Quality Management System Development and Implementation
With the help of: New York Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NY MEP)
About
American Douglas Metals, Inc. (ADM) is a premier metal service center for a wide variety of aluminum and steel products with over 40 years of experience in the industry. ADM provides the US manufacturing sector with complete service options, including processing, fabrication, assembly, warehousing and distribution.
The Challenge
ADM had established processes and had performed well with regards to productivity and quality. The challenge that existed was that these processes were not as formally documented as management would like. In addition, communicating this information with a growing workforce presented challenges.
Improving and implementing the quality management system to achieve the ISO 9001:2015 certification was the next logical step for our company’s continued growth. The dedication and commitment of the ADM team, guided by Insyte’ s experienced consultant, paid off. This is a milestone we are all proud of!
MEP's Role
To effectively develop a quality management system, ADM chose to partner with Insyte, part of the New York MEP and the MEP National Network™, to develop and implement the needed elements of the system. Management review meetings were established early to communicate progress with the management team. Documents were developed through discussions and review with ADM personnel. The quality management system documentation was introduced to employees in small groups. This provided opportunities to ensure that employees understood and were comfortable with the requirements. Internal auditors were trained, and audits were initiated soon after. The audits were purposely started in an informal manner to get employees comfortable with the types of questions that will be asked. The informal audits also provided them an understanding of how these questions verified the system.
There was a concern raised that members of the organization were not comfortable in developing corrective actions or going through root cause analysis to address nonconformities. A second project was initiated to provide training and application of these skills. In addition, this allowed for additional support for continuing internal audits. After several months of the system being in place and with regular internal audits, management review actions and corrective action activities, the company went through the certification audit and was awarded certification.