Established in 1973, ISCO Manufacturing Solutions (ISCO) is a precision machine shop and manufacturing facility specializing in CNC Machining, Fabrication and Assembly. Located in Bend Oregon, ISCO serves customers in many industries including Aerospace, Electronics, Medical Equipment, Industrial Manufacturing and Construction. Typical projects range from one-off R&D, to long term Production Contracts.
Because they desired to expand business to both new and existing aerospace customers, Wes Craig, Quality Assurance Manager, began the process of migrating from ISO 9001 to AS9100D certification. With the goal of becoming AS9100D certified by 2021, the team rolled up their sleeves and got to work. They formed a dedicated internal team, with Wes’ focus on ensuring procedures and processes became AS9100D compliant.
After completing a gap analysis to identify key areas for improvement, the team coordinated a plan that connected upper management with the dedicated AS9100D quality team. From the beginning, ISCO as an organization was aligned with achieving success to better serve their customers.
Along the way the ISCO team utilized local resources, including OMEP, who worked with third-party consultant Marcia Buser for support. Marcia had been involved in the development of the company’s ISO 9001 quality system, and as a result was well prepared to help ISCO take the procedures to the next level.
At times the process was challenging. ISCO’s existing ISO 9001 quality management system had been in use for many years, and was molded and customized to meet their unique needs. The new requirements took time to implement, it was sometimes a challenge to match documentation that was relevant to a particular segment of AS9100D.
Wes was surprised by how much was required to move from one certification to the next, even though the actual manufacturing and QA standards were well established under ISO 9001.
“I felt I was going to be able to move faster between the Stage 1 audit and the Stage 2 audit. There was more to do in between than I initially anticipated.”
Nevertheless, Wes and his team persisted and ultimately achieved AS9100D certification by January 2021. The increased focus on their internal quality system has already contributed to greater customer satisfaction.
The team is confident that they can now better serve existing customers, and attract more customers as a result of the AS9100D certification.
If you have questions about how your business might benefit from this certification, or if you are already in the process, feel free to reach out to OMEP.
