Westfield Steel Earns Prestigious ISO 9001 Certification
FOR RELEASE:
November 26, 2008
CONTACT:
David Ayers
(317) 554-6357 or (317) 502-8536
WESTFIELD, Ind. – Following a long and demanding review process, Westfield Steel Inc. officially became an ISO 9001 certified full-line steel service center.
“This certification tells our customers a lot about our quality,” said Westfield Steel President and CEO Fred Prine. “If a customer gives us an order we’re going to give them what they want. We are always working for their business.”
The ISO process began in 2006 when several managers wanted to see a quality program established.
Quality Assurance Manager Paul Edwards led the entire staff in preparing for the review by American Systems Registrar (ASR), an international registrar service located in Grand Rapids, Mich.
According to ASR, ISO 9001:2000 is a set of basic business principles written in a standard for quality management systems that is accepted around the world. Currently, more than 100 countries have adopted ISO 9001 as a national standard. The standard is intended for quality management system assessments and registrations to ISO 9001.
“We wrote out 33 quality procedures and defined 33 different job descriptions,” Edwards said. “The minimum requirement is six quality procedures, but we decided to take it further and define many more.”
Edwards himself attended a specialized audit school in Grand Rapids and eventually conducted training sessions for all of Westfield Steel’s employees.
“This is a complete quality management system. It starts at the top with Fred [Prine], but everybody has to be involved. Every process is checked, from the most trivial paperwork to the processes we use out on the floor,” said Edwards.
The ISO certification audit was completed in two stages. During stage one, an ASR representative reviewed and evaluated all documents and procedures. During stage two, the entire facility was audited to ensure that those documents and procedures were being followed.
“They talked to anyone and everyone they wanted to find out how our system works,” said Edwards. “They audited personnel, the steel workers, everything.”
After the rigorous examination that concluded on October 15, Westfield Steel succeeded by adding the ISO certification to its trophy case of other quality certifications. These include the Canadian Welding Bureau, the American Welding Society, and the NAHB NHQ Certified Supplier.
In addition to assuring Westfield’s customers excellence and value, Edwards and Prine agree that the certification process provides additional benefits to the employees.
“It’s made people work more closely together,” Prine said. “They take more pride in their work. Everybody was prepared for the audit; everybody was a part of this.”
About Westfield Steel
Westfield Steel is an independent, family-owned, full-line steel service center. Headquartered in Westfield, Ind., the company was founded in 1977 and has grown to accommodate customers’ needs and credits its success to quality people and the capacity to provide customers quality steel and processing. The company’s main processing center is in Westfield and a second facility operates in Terre Haute, Ind.
To learn more visit www.westfieldsteel.com.