From the beginning, quality was a core value for Swagelok, learn about how we recently became ISO 9001:2015 certified.
Swagelok has always emphasized the high quality of its components, from the raw materials to the fit and finish of the completed part. We put the same emphasis on quality when it comes to serving our customers. But we don't expect you to take our word for it. We've gone to the trouble of earning a certificate of registration from ISO, the international standards organization that measures how well organizations offer products and services of consistently good quality. We already had ISO 9001:2008 registration, and we just finished a nine-month effort to earn the upgraded ISO 9001:2015 registration.
What's behind that string of letters and numbers? Basically it means we needed to demonstrate our ability to consistently provide products and services that meet our customer's requirements as well as following all the laws and regulations that apply to our business. But that's only the start. We also had to show that we aim to enhance customer satisfaction by improvement on our systems.
Swagelok Northern California operates a Quality Management System which complies with the requirements of ISO 9001:2015
The ISO doesn't automatically renew certificates of registration, even when it involves the same version. And this time around we had to comply with some major changes from the earlier version. Where the older version focused on managing processes, the new version puts more emphasis on performance. It pays more attention to risk-based thinking in managing, and includes a process-based internal audit. It puts greater emphasis on leadership and management.
The ISO is giving companies three years to meet the new standard, but we didn't want to wait. We started working on it as soon as the new standards were published last fall.
To step up our game, we reviewed all of our processes from quotation through order entry, purchasing, custom assembly and shipping. We had to create an infrastructure to determine the risk — that is, the opportunities and potential downsides —for each process. Then we had to make a plan for accepting or eliminating each risk. And we created a process to implement changes based on that assessed risk.
Want to know more about our quality assurance? Visit our Quality page at http://northerncal.swagelok.com/quality
"The price of quality is eternal vigilance." Fred A. Lennon, Founder, Swagelok Company