Big W is now ISO 9001 Lead Implementer Certified

We're excited to announce that we have now received certification from PECB to display the ISO 9001 Lead Implementer badge! This demonstrates a high level of expertise in effectively planning, implementing, managing, monitoring, and maintaining a quality management system (QMS).

Small and fast

My work in manufacturing began as a fabricator at a local race car shop, Quick Performance in Gilbert, Iowa. Part time after college I was running band saws, grinders, drills, hydraulic presses, swinging a 2 lb hammer, whatever needed done. This was around the time that EBay stores began gaining popularity, and as a result I was fortunate to be there when they were just starting on the path to where they are today as a nationally-recognized brand. The bread and butter of the business was custom Ford 9" style axle housings for stock cars, drag cars, and hot rods. When I started there over 20 years ago they were shipping maybe 3-4 per week, but within a touch over 18 months they were up to 3-4 per day.

There were a couple things that I saw as key to this growth: 1) We were fast. When an order came in, it could be communicated on a post-it note and jigged up and tacked in hours. It was often ready to ship the next day. 2) In the rare event a customer complaint came in, we changed the process. The parts simply had to be good.

What the Aerospace and Defense industry needs today

20 years later as a supplier quality engineering manager for a major DOE defense prime contractor, I remembered these days fondly. The defense supply base was spread thin, and international uncertainty, not to mention the conflict in Ukraine had everyone spread thinner. The one message that I heard frequently in this role, whether it be direct from our customers or from the President of the US himself, was that we had to be faster and more agile.

Big W's QMS Implementation Philosophy

Big W's QMS philosophy is that a QMS will never be credible unless it's an organic component of operations. This means that it can't be cumbersome, it can't add significant overhead in time or effort, and it has to be built both into and around how work is done. If it creates roadblocks, people will create workarounds. These workarounds will probably impact quality performance.

Your QMS needs to be robust enough to ensure customer requirements are met while also being lean enough to be well-understood, useful, and adaptable to ever-changing needs. Excessive approvals and bureaucracy drive complacency and kill accountability. While it would take an awfully large post-it note to contain all the traceability and configuration control needed for critical aerospace parts, striving for this level of simplicity should always be the goal.

Whether your team is starting from scratch, scaling up, or simply need changes to your QMS to reflect a new strategy or scope, we are happy to help. Stay tuned for more announcements related to our QMS implementation services!