Quality Management
The employee-owners of Macfadden stand behind their core philosophy of “Delivering Results. Exceeding Expectations.” Their commitment to excellence is reflected in the company’s dedication to customer service and satisfaction, and is evident in Macfadden’s rich history of delivering quality products and services to its customers for more than twenty years.As part of our strategic growth plan, Macfadden’s employee-owners are committed to formalizing the quality processes that ensure that every service and product delivered by Macfadden meets or exceeds all customer requirements and expectations. Macfadden began the process of becoming ISO 9001:2001 certified earlier this year, and anticipates full certification to occur in early 2008. With a rigorous quality management program already in place, we believed it was imperative ensure that we continue to control the quality processes to remain competitive.
In this Q&A segment, John Sparhawk, Macfadden’s Executive Vice-President of Quality and Standards, shares his knowledge about quality management standards and discusses Macfadden’s commitment to becoming ISO 9001:2000 certified.
With more than thirty years of management experience, Mr. Sparhawk is responsible for Quality and Standards, Corporate Positioning, and Policy Development at Macfadden. He works with the staff and other corporate officers in the formulation and development of certifications, policies, and procedures as well as special projects. Mr. Sparhawk holds a Master of Business Administration in Finance from Oklahoma City University, and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of Maryland.
Mr. Sparhawk welcomes the opportunity to discuss the importance of ensuring quality management processes are in place and how customers benefit from a quality management program. If you are interested in continuing this dialogue, please contact him at info@macf.com.
Q: Quality management is a "buzzword" in the business community. In today’s competitive environment, effective quality management is crucial. Why has it become so critical for businesses to establish an effective quality management program?
Mr. Sparhawk:
To remain competitive, businesses must demonstrate their commitment to providing products and services that are compliant with contract standards, specifications and requirements, and delivered as scheduled and within budget.
Macfadden’s clients are becoming increasingly aware of the international quality standard, understand its implications, and want assurance that suppliers like Macfadden effectively manage all business processes to ensure they receive the most “bang for the buck.” In addition, more and more government agencies are also requiring that contractors be certified in their specialty areas. At Macfadden, we recognize that only by actively managing quality processes can Macfadden find ways to continually improve our services and products and ensure customer satisfaction.
Q: The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has established a set of internationally recognized quality management standards that address how a company performs, manages and ensures quality products and/or services. What is ISO 9000 and why has it become so important?
Mr. Sparhawk:
ISO 9000 is an international model for a Quality Management System (QMS). The ISO 9000 standards have evolved over the last decade from a simple assembly line quality standard to one that now encompasses the management of the entire enterprise, which is to say every critical business process. The ISO standard allows a company to have transparency to its processes, track critical activities, and evolve better or more efficient ways of providing services and products to its clients, suppliers, partners, and its own staff. Companies that have achieved ISO 9000 certification have demonstrated that consistent business processes are being applied.
Q: What led senior management at Macfadden to pursue certification? Why is this a priority for Macfadden?
Mr. Sparhawk:
Our leadership team is committed to ensuring that our services and products meet or exceed customer requirements. We do not view this certification process as a “new” commitment to quality, but a means to provide evidence of our commitment as an added assurance to our customers. ISO 9001:2000 certification is only the first step in evolving the corporation to become a world class competitor. By fulfilling all of the requirements of the standard, we set the framework for more general improvement and establish a baseline from which we can gain additional certifications such as CMMI for software development and ISO 20000 for professional services.
Q: How will ISO 9001:2000 certification benefit Macfadden’s customers?
Mr. Sparhawk:
By defining what it takes to produce a consistent and professional level of services and products Macfadden will be able to adapt its processes to better meet the needs and requirements of our clients. The customers directly benefit by getting lower costs, more timely deliveries, and more consistent products and services.
Q: How will the process improvements at Macfadden benefit its customers?
Mr. Sparhawk:
As manangers, we feel we are currently doing a pretty good job at present, but there is always room for improvement. We look forward to a more detailed approach to quality management as we move forward. The ISO standard forces us to document and describe all of our processes and set metrics to ensure that they are followed correctly. By establishing performance goals and continually monitoring that we are as good as we say we are, our clients will continue to receive the best services we are capable of providing.
Q: What challenges do businesses face when seeking ISO 9000 certification and how can companies overcome these obstacles?
Mr. Sparhawk:
One of the biggest problems is getting people to analyze what they are doing on a daily basis and to understand how their activity impacts our critical business processes. Since the certification requires us to be independently audited, we have to document all of our business processes, detail the procedures supporting those processes, and document that we actually are following those processes. Evidence of all of these things has to be provided to the auditor before a company can receive an official certification from the International Standards Organization.
The certification process is extremely time consuming and requires the full support of senior management and the executive leadership team. It is imperative to educate employees about the process and establish a buy-in among them. The certification process requires committing needed resources and ensuring employees are properly equipped to perform their jobs. At Macfadden, our tagline speaks for itself. We “Deliver Results. Exceed Expectations.” ISO 9001:2000 certification is a key component of that commitment and is a natural extension of our core mission and values.
Q: What advice can Macfadden offer to other companies considering ISO 9001:2000 certification?
Mr. Sparhawk:
Anyone seeking Certification should not go into it blindly or expect that it will be a short-term and inexpensive process. Obtaining the level of quality management, business process management, and measurements required by the standard will require the participation of every member of the organization and the complete dedication of some. This is a critical step in improving a company’s operations. Unless top managers fully and actively support the effort it will never succeed.
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