Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

First Roofing Manufacturer In Nation To Do So

Christmas came early to Firestone in Prescott, as the company received certification for ISO 9002.

According to a release from Don Russell, division manager of quality assurance, ISO 9002 certification is awarded to companies who meet or exceed the standards of quality management and customer satisfaction set forth by the International Standards Organization.

Ceremonies were held at Firestone's break room, with the plant being shut down so employees could participate in the certification festivities.

Reg Blake, with British Standards Institute (BSI), told the workers he was delivering a Christmas present to Firestone. He thanked the company for selecting BSI as its ISO registrar.

"You should be proud of this achievement," he said. "This is a significant step forward in the search for quality.

"ISO 9000 is the most widely accepted standard in the world. More than 8,000 companies in the U.S. are ISO registered." Globally, Blake said, more than 100,000 companies have achieve ISO certification, with the numbers growing in all areas.

He said the Far East and the United States are currently the fastest growing regions in the world for ISO certification.

"Remember," he told those gathered, "registering is the easy part, maintaining it is the hard part."

ISO certification must be maintained annually through a strict method of quality control and record keeping.

Company president Paul Mineart told the employees this is an important award for them.

He said the timing of the presentation was off for the Japanese owners to be on hand.

Mineart said the Prescott Firestone plant is the third in the Bridgestone-Firestone line to achieve the ISO certification.

"Prescott stands out today," he said, "for what we've started. And, we've only started the process. Maintaining the process and growing the business will be the challenge."

Mineart lauded the Prescott workers, telling them it was no surprise they achieved the ISO certification and have reached the level of quality they have.

He reminded them the European customers view the ISO certification as the kind of quality they are looking for from companies and products.

Mineart told those on hand the Prescott plant is the first commercial roofing company to achieve the ISO status.

"It is Firestone's commitment within our TQM (total quality management) program to continually produce the highest quality products and offer unparalleled customer service," Russell stated in the release. "This certification illustrated that commitment."

BSI is the largest registration company in the world. Its auditing process consisted of checking 19 elements with the company against ISO standards.

These included areas such as: management; document control; product identification; process control; corrective action; inspection; testing; and training.

According to Blake, there are several companies worldwide who refuse to deal with companies not ISO certified -- especially in Japan.

Russell said the ISO certification will benefit Firestone in a number of ways, including building customer confidence in the product quality and the manufacturing process itself.

Additionally, the certification means increased savings for the company as waste is minimized due to higher efficiency.

Also, he said it helps employee morale because it symbolizes teamwork and completed The text of this article was not available to PCFA.ORG.

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