A Case Study of a Quality System Implementation in a Small Manufacturing Firm

8/9/2019 A Case Study of a Quality System Implementation in a Small Manufacturing Firm

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A case study of a quality systemimplementation in a small

manufacturing firmNadia Bhuiyan and Nadeem Alam

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Concordia University,Montreal, Canada

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to present the findings of a case study conducted at ABC Structures(pseudonym), which is a small North American manufacturing company that has spent close to oneyear working on implementing the ISO 9000 standard. The main obstacles faced by ABC during

implementation are highlighted. Although the company was not actually seeking registration, it wasmotivated by an internal need to improve operations, and by a vision of expanding business globally,in which case it expected that registration would be mandatory.

Design/methodology/approach The case study method was used to achieve the objectives.Information obtained from the case study was collected from various data sources includinginterviews and informal conversations with the president, sales manager, engineering manager,operations manager, purchasing manager, manufacturing manager and technical personnel,attendance at project meetings, company documents, plant tours, and observations of themanufacturing process and product samples. These sources provided information that was usefulin developing and implementing a quality system.

Findings The case study conducted at ABC revealed a number of issues related to theimplementation of a quality management system in a small company. While studies have shown thatthe ISO standard may not be applicable to small businesses, this study shows that the implementation

of the standards requirements benefited the company significantly. However, it should be noted that,while the company did not invest in all of the costs associated with ISO registration, it did invest inimplementing as much as it could.

Practical implications This study will be useful to quality managers, quality assurance and/orquality control practitioners, as well as researchers seeking to further understand quality practices andissues surrounding them. The study will also be beneficial to organizations that are planning toimplement ISO 9000, are in the implementation phase, or already practising or registered with ISO9000. While some of the findings presented in this paper are not new, they confirm the results of priorresearch on the organizational barriers that companies face in the process of implementing a qualitymanagement system.

Originality/value The paper provides a description of steps taken by a small manufacturingcompany prior to implementing ISO 9000. It shows the hurdles it faced, and proposes how they couldbe overcome.

Keywords Quality management, International standards, Quality standardsPaper type Research paper

IntroductionThe ISO 9000 standard has had a great impact on manufacturing and serviceindustries by helping to establish the framework required for effective and efficientquality assurance and quality management systems. Numerous studies have beenundertaken on the experiences of ISO 9000 implementation globally, and they show

The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister www.emeraldinsight.com/1741-0401.htm

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Received October 2003Revised April 2004;November 2004Accepted December 2004

International Journal of Productivity

and Performance Management

Vol. 54 No. 3, 2005

pp. 172-186

q Emerald Group Publishing Limited

1741-0401

DOI 10.1108/17410400510584893


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that quality improvement initiatives such as ISO 9000, while successful in manyrespects, can also be accompanied by major roadblocks.

In this paper, we begin by discussing the existing research on the ISO standard. Wethen describe in detail the implementation of the quality management system through

a case study conducted at a small-sized manufacturing company, which we call ABC.Finally we conclude with a discussion of the results and key lessons learned.

Existing researchCountless companies have successfully become ISO registered, either due to externalpressures, such as customers demanding registration, or internal reasons, such asimproving or developing a quality system to improve overall performance, or amixture of both (Bhuiyan and Alam, 2004; Yahya and Goh, 2001). While the benefits ofISO 9000 registration are widely known and proven, numerous studies show that thereare many hurdles to obtaining registration (Bhuiyan and Alam, 2004; Yahya and Goh,2001; West et al., 2002; Samson and Challis, 2002; Salegna and Fazel, 2000; Chin et al.,

2000). In a survey of ISO 9000 implementation in companies in Singapore, it was foundthat devoting time to quality initiatives, lack of management support, and employeeresistance to change were the main obstacles in establishing an ISO 9000 qualityassurance model (Calingo et al., 1995; Quazi and Padibjo, 1998). Findings of anothersurvey for Greek companies by Lipovatz et al. (1999) revealed that changing employeementality was the main problem in preparing for ISO 9000 registration. These generalroadblocks were also pointed out by Yahya and Goh (2001) in their study of ISOimplementation in Malaysian companies, while Bhuiyan and Alam (2004) have pointedout similar ones in their study of Canadian companies. Fuentes et al. (2000) haveexamined the literature associated with the ISO 9000 quality assurance system inSpain. Organizational barriers such as cooperation among managers, resistance tochange, and employee involvement were found to be major obstacles to successful

implementation. Kim (1994) reported that understanding ISO 9000 andunderestimating efforts for the implementation played a key role in hinderingprogress to quality assurance system implementation. Carlsson and Carlsson (1996)investigated the experience of implementing ISO 9000 in Swedish industries, and foundthat the most difficult factors during implementation were the interpretation of thestandard, and the time and resources required in undertaking the initiative.

The benefits of ISO have also been well reported. Santos and Escanciano (2002)have investigated the benefits of ISO 9000 through a survey of Spanish companies, andfound that organizations experienced a better understanding of processes andresponsibilities as well as the awareness of quality among employees because of theimplementation of ISO 9000. Besides internal benefits, companies also enjoyed externalbenefits such as improvement in market reputation. Laframboise (2003) studied

empirically the link between quality practices and business performance excellence incentral Canada. His findings, based on a study of 280 firms, reveal that ISO 9000registration coupled with a high-level quality initiative, such as a national qualityaward program, has a very significant impact on the perceived performance excellence.Carlsson and Carlsson (1996) found that management commitment had a positiveinfluence on successful implementation of ISO 9000.

One of the major benefits of the ISO 9001:2000 standard is its structure, whichprovides compatibility with other management systems, including environmental,

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occupational, and health and safety systems. McDonald et al. (2003) discuss theplausibility of integrating management systems. After identifying similarities amongquality, environmental, and safety systems, the authors state that an organization canachieve a high return on investment by taking advantage of integration. Furthermore,

they point out some benefits to an organization from adopting integrated managementsystems, including:

. simplified systems (reduces confusion of documents);

. optimized resources (less time, money and man-hours required for a singlesystem that covers the requirements of all three standards); and

. improved performance (helps to identify and provide opportunity for improvingrisk, hazard, complaints, wastage, product nonconformity, accidents and illness).

Chin et al. (2000) found that the most critical issue in maintaining the ISO 9000 systemis corrective and preventive action. The top three measures that were found to beeffective in maintaining the ISO 9000 system are:

(1) strengthening of internal quality audits;(2) improving culture through teamwork; and

(3) management support and participation.

The applicability of the standards to small and medium enterprises has often beenstudied, since such companies are limited in resources (Boys et al., 2004). Most smallcompanies surveyed in a study in Northern Ireland perceived more benefit from theirTQM program than from ISO 9000 (McAdam and McKeown, 1999).

While numerous empirical studies have been conducted around the world on arange of companies that have experienced ISO implementation, the purpose of ourpaper is to discuss the details of one small manufacturing company that was preparingfor the implementation of the standard. Thus, we focus on the preliminary steps thatwere taken prior to implementing the standard, and we present specific hurdles thathad to be overcome and the benefits achieved as a result of the preparation, and weshed some light on things that could be done to make the transition to ISO registrationsmoother. The results of the case study show that for this particular company,implementing the requirements for ISO 9000, while accompanied by its share ofhurdles, proved to be beneficial.

Case studyMany companies avoid ISO implementation for fear of facing major organizationalroadblocks in the registration process. The case study presented in this paper

documents the experience of implementing a quality system in preparation for ISO9000 registration in a small manufacturing company. Over a nine-month period, thegoal of the study was to focus efforts on changing procedures and implementingstandards of quality that would not only be beneficial for the company internally, butwould also prepare them for the future ISO registration process. Through this study,the challenges and organizational barriers faced during implementation arehighlighted, and the results are compared to an empirical study that studied theissues surrounding ISO implementation in Canadian companies.

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About the companyABC Structures (pseudonym) is a small-sized Canadian manufacturing companyestablished in 1996. ABC designs and manufactures aquatic structures for recreationalpurposes, mainly for use in outdoor playgrounds. The companys primary market is in

North America, although it also serves markets in Europe. The company is privatelyowned, employing about 40 employees, and has been growing steadily, gaining areputation among its major customers by delivering its products on time while offeringhigh quality at competitive prices. ABC offers a variety of products related to aquaticrecreation. Their products use equipment such as water cannons and ground sprays toprovide spray effects and to create an interactive, automated playground. All productsare made up of a controller, a physical structure, a distribution system, watertreatment, and filtration systems. The majority of the parts are manufactured fromstainless steel, while a selected few are made of fiberglass.

ABC has numerous products of varying types, each with different processingrequirements. Their process flow varies between the receipt of raw materials to thedelivery of the final product to customer. Raw materials such as steel pipes and

components (assembly accessories) are received at the receiving dock, and go throughan inspection process. If they are unacceptable, a nonconformance report is generated.Raw materials that pass inspection are stored in a designated area until they are readyfor the next operation, which is metal preparation. This step includes cutting anddrilling, where the metal is prepared in the required dimensions and shape beforewelding.

Once the metal is cleaned and prepared, it is welded using two techniques:

(1) gas metal arc welding (GMAW); and

(2) gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW).

This step is the most important and crucial operation at ABC because it requires

trained personnel, special equipment, the right materials, the proper methodology andthe proper work environment. In some cases, ABC sends its raw materials tosubcontractors for welding due to the pressure of fulfilling order requirements. Afterthe joining process, an air-test is carried out for both internal and subcontractedproducts to check for weld-leakage, a critical defect. Visual inspection is also performedto check the weld quality. Welded products are stored in a designated area afterpassing through inspection and testing. These products are then shipped to thepainting subcontractor, and once the painted structures are returned, they go throughinspection and are crated and assembled in the next operation, where productaccessories are pulled out from inventories to build the final product. Finally, theproduct is shipped to the customer after a last check of the product. Water treatment isalso a part of the ABC business process it is not mentioned in the process flow

because it is required for a few products only. It involves a test of water flow throughautomation and can be incorporated after welding in a generic process flow.

Quality system implementationAt the time of the study, ABC was at a crossroads of improving its products, processes,and systems. As a young and steadily growing company, ABC was ready to streamlineits business processes, control nonconformances associated with the product, processand system, reduce rework, improve corporate culture, and set up an organized


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framework for quality. Both expansion and major reorganization of the company werebeing considered. The companys financial situation prevented it from actually seekingISO 9000 registration, but ABC decided that it would nevertheless be important toprepare for eventual registration. They therefore hired a quality expert to help them

put into place a quality system which would comply with ISO 9000 requirements andtherefore lead to smoother registration in the future. The company focused its effortson implementing what they generally called a quality system, a system whichessentially fulfills all the requirements for ISO registration.

ABC was driven by three main forces to implement a quality system and to preparefor ISO 9000 registration. The first is an internal force, while the other two are externalforces. First, as a young company, it was interested in putting a formal quality systemin place, and expected to gain benefits such as creating a disciplined work environmentand more consistency in operations. Second, fulfilling customer expectations was astrong motive. Although ABCs customers did not require the company to be ISOregistered, they did expect ABC to have a quality system in place. Finally, ABCbelieved that it could gain a strong market advantage in the future, expecting that it

could earn more business, specifically in European markets, by using ISO 9000 as amarketing tool.

Data collectionInformation obtained from the case study was collected from various data sourcesincluding interviews and informal conversations with the president, sales manager,engineering manager, operations manager, purchasing manager, manufacturingmanager and technical personnel, attendance at project meetings, company documents,plant tours, and observations of the manufacturing process and product samples.These sources provided information that was useful in developing and implementing aquality system.

Quality system implementation planAn implementation plan was developed to initiate the case study to provide asystematic approach to putting in place the quality system. The steps followed aredetailed below.

Gap analysisThe implementation began with a gap analysis to determine the discrepancies betweenABC procedures and the ISO 9000 framework. The analysis revealed that several areasin the company needed to be considered, including:

. engineering;

.

manufacturing;. sales and marketing;

. purchasing;

. inventory control; and

. customer service.

Management was aware of some of the gaps that existed, such as handling of customercomplaints, but they were surprised at finding certain gaps related to shopfloor

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activities, including a safe work environment, maintenance of the machines and tools,and investing time in rework and inspection activities. A meeting was then set up withthe president and the director of operations to discuss how to initiate filling in the gapsand how the project would be developed and executed.

Understanding the quality systemTo get the company initiated into the new quality system implementation, basictraining was provided to top management in ISO 9000. The training also addressed theissue of what version of ISO 9000 to prepare for (ISO 9001:1994 or ISO 9001:2000), adecision that had not been taken previously since management wanted a betterunderstanding of ISO 9000. They opted for ISO 9001:1994, since it is less demandingthan the new version.

Project team formationA project team called the Quality Council (QC) was then formed, consisting ofcross-functional members made up of key personnel including the president, the

operations, manufacturing, marketing, sales, purchasing, and engineering managers,and the floor supervisor. The mandate of the QC was to discuss issues of implementingthe quality management system, to set a timeframe for the assignments given to theresponsible functions, to provide resources, and to discuss the results of audits andmeans of resolving disputes that hindered project progress. It was decided that theteam would conduct management reviews every three months, and on an as-neededbasis.

Management representativeA management representative (MR) was designated to lead the change. The keyresponsibilities of the MR included:

.

ensuring the establishment, implementation and maintenance of the qualitysystem commensurate to the standard;. reporting the performance of the quality management system by presenting and

sharing results to top management and all team members as a basis forimprovement;

. liaising with external parties such as vendors, customers and calibrationagencies on matters regarding quality system issues; and

. ensuring awareness of customer requirements throughout the organization.

The responsibilities of the MR were given to the operations manager once the qualitysystem was in place. The responsibilities and authorities of the MR were made clear totop management, and signed in a formal document by the president to provide

objective evidence for one of the mandatory requirements of the system.

Quality policy and objectivesAn important part of the implementation plan is to develop a quality policy and setobjectives for the first three months of the project. The quality policy reflects thecommitment of top management to their quality goals. This commitment needs to becommunicated at the grass-roots level through managers and department heads insuch a manner that everyone clearly understands the quality management perspective.


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Although ABC could not come up with a quality policy due to their hectic schedulewith marketing and other business activities, quality objectives had been set for eachdepartment because of regular discussion in QC meetings. Department heads wereasked to translate all objectives into measurable items.

Documentation requirementsAnother important dimension of setting up a quality system is the documentation ofprocedures, which is important, as it is a mandatory requirement for ISO 9000. Thereare four levels of documentation requirements. The responsibilities of developing thesedocuments had been delegated to various people by top management. The Level Idocumentation is the Quality System Manual (QSM), which elaborates whatthe qualitysystem at ABC is all about. Each section of the document describes a particular ISOelement and refers to more detailed procedures when applicable. This manual formsthe basis for quality audits and can be seen by the customers where required. Level IIdocuments are the Quality System Procedures (QSP), which are detailed writtendescriptions of what is being done in the company, who is responsible and when thetask is to be performed. Level III documentation includes Work Instructions/TechnicalProcedures, Job Descriptions, a Quality Plan, and Process Flow. Level IV documentsform a basis for proof and evidence that an activity has been completed. Thesedocuments include forms, reports, check sheets, work orders, bills of materials,purchase orders, tests, reviews, surveys, audits, etc. Some of these Level IV documentswere already in practice at ABC and required numbers to control them. Some forms,which are necessary from the ISO perspective, have been generated to fulfill therequirements of the system. All documents were controlled by issuing each one anumber systematically, with revision levels and revision dates.

Training of shopfloor personnelThe next step in the implementation plan was to provide training to shop floorpersonnel about their work instructions, inspection sheets, workmanship manual, andthe filling out of nonconformance reports. Responsibilities in this area rest with thedepartment heads. A training acknowledgement sheet was developed to ensure thatthe shop floor personnel understand clearly the training material. The skill andcompetence of the workers and their supervisors have a decisive effect on the quality ofthe product.

Internal audit

Finally, at the end of the project, an internal audit was conducted to determine the gapsremaining and submitted to top management for review in the next QC meeting. Mostof the elements required were documented and implemented, although some needed tobe done more effectively (process control, control of inspection, measuring and testequipment, quality records and internal quality audits). At the time of the study, theworkers did follow the procedures but not very strictly, an indication that there was norush to do so. Understandably, their motivation was different from that of a typicalcompany working on registration.

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Quality system implementation issuesDuring implementation, ABC faced various challenges that needed to be addressed tocomply with the ISO requirements. The main challenges are discussed below.

Critical process: weldingDuring the implementation of the quality system, it was noted that the welding processis critical for the quality and timely development of the products. During the gapanalysis and the discussion with Engineering and the Operations Manager, it wasfound that controlling the process parameters for welding is more difficult than themetal preparation process (cutting and drilling). Without special training andexperience, a welder cannot operate welding machines efficiently and effectively;however, a semi-skilled person at ABC can prepare metal before welding with littletraining. Any nonconformances in the cutting and drilling processes can be identifiedand fixed, whereas a defective, weak weld could be dangerous. Relative to otherprocesses, welding contributes more towards the reliability and safety aspects of the

finished product. For this reason, ABCs management was keen on improving theprocess, specifically by developing standardized procedures for welding. In order to doso, Design of Experiments (DOE) had been performed to control welding parameters sothat the process could be optimized by reducing variation in the weld quality. Thisstandardized method of welding would then provide a guideline for all workers toobtain a good quality weld on structures.

The objective of introducing DOE was to integrate the technique with ISO 9000.Many researchers have attempted to combine ISO 9000 with other techniques such as

just-in-time and TQM. Perez (1993) presented a cost-effective model of ISO 9000 byusing DOE for a company involved in friction welding. Therefore, an experiment wasperformed for the shielded metal arc welding process as a part of the implementation.Results of the DOE determined the optimal current, wire-feed rate, and welding speed,

the three critical parameters required to obtain a high-quality weld. Once the resultswere verified, the method was standardized by writing up a work instruction for themachine set-up procedure. The exercise proved that DOE could be an effective andbeneficial part of the ISO 9000 standard.

Determination of the response variable and the control factors (critical parameters)was undertaken as part of the DOE. Based on historical data and with the involvementof process, operations, quality and engineering personnel, critical qualitycharacteristics and the response variable were selected for process improvement.Prior to using DOE, measurement system analysis (MSA) was conducted to themeasure response variable (weld quality) and control factors. Weld quality is anattribute variable and to quantify this attribute variable, a ranking system based onweld appearance, uniformity of the weld, weld ring continuity and weld leakage result

was used to give a number to the weld quality. Hence, a ranking system usingnumerical values from 1 to 8 was used, with 1 corresponding to a superior quality weld,2-4 representing good quality, 5-6 being given to acceptable welds, and 7-8 indicatingan unacceptable weld. For controllable factors such as feed rate and welding speed(measured in inches per minute), a simple calculation was performed by using astopwatch and inch-tape in order to ensure the accuracy of the measurement.

A 23 factorial design was successfully carried out with two replications. Theexponent 3 represents factors which have an impact on the response. Base 2


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represents levels of the factor, which are low and high, and 23 8 gives a number ofexperiments, and each experiment was performed twice, giving a total of 16experiments. Hence, after performing 16 experiments, an optimum factor-levelcombination was achieved to optimize the process. The results were verified by the

process owner through the monitoring of production. After verification,standardization was done by writing up a work instruction so that all welders had aguideline to follow the same procedure.

For the accountability of rework, a nonconformance procedure was invoked incompliance with ISO 9000 requirements. It is not mandatory to conduct a cost of poorquality (CPQ) analysis, and therefore a formal CPQ was not performed. However, rootcause analysis and preventive action were identified in the nonconformance report toprevent recurrence.

Preventive maintenanceABC does not have a set procedure for preventive maintenance of their machines. Some

of the workers perform maintenance checks, but not routinely. The company haswelding, cutting, and drilling machines that should be maintained with a regularfrequency. Establishing preventive maintenance for the machines had been plannedafter a discussion with the manufacturing manager. Machine manuals were controlledand the items specified for the maintenance had been considered to initiate routinemaintenance, which was the responsibility of operators. However, there were noemployees who could perform and implement a weekly and monthly maintenance plan.

ReworkRework of parts is a time-consuming, non-value added activity, but ABC has noaccount of how much time is spent on rework. As a result of the implementation

process, the manufacturing manager began to monitor rework activities through thedevelopment of a nonconformance-tracking system throughout the company. Anonconformance report (NCR) contains various sections such as problem identification,root cause, corrective action, preventive measure, and verification of the action takenfor the nonconformance. For the quantitative analysis of NCR, a report is generated atthe end of month to figure out which NCRs have been closed and which have not. Thisresulted in the improvement of reducing and tracking internal and external problems.

InspectionAt ABC, inspection is done at various stages in the process, but there is no supervisionof inspection activities. A bigger problem is that there is no independent qualityfunction, and as such, inspections are carried out by various people in the company,

depending on what needs inspection and when. The purchasing manager isresponsible for inspecting items that are received from suppliers, the manufacturingmanager supervises in-process or online inspection, the engineering manager controlsinspection for the water treatment and automation area, and final inspection of finishedgoods is monitored by the assembly supervisor. This demonstrated the need to have anindependent quality function, but management was not serious enough to establish aneffective quality department at the time of the study. In the future, they will considerthis, depending on business growth and available resources.

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SafetySafety is an important issue and should be given top priority, especially formanufacturing companies where heavy machinery or dangerous tools are used. AtABC, there were no safety procedures or a safety audit plan in place. Employees who

work on the shop floor were not restricted to follow typical safety precautions such aswearing safety boots, goggles, gloves for handling products, ear plugs, etc. Anyone,including visitors, could go into the plant without these protective items. To conform tothe ISO standard, safety procedures were put into place and every employee must nowfollow the safety rules described in the procedures. An audit plan for safety, to beconducted by trained personnel, is also included in the procedures. Now, nobody isallowed to visit the shop floor area without following the safety precautions.

Customer complaintsABC has a formal review board that meets once a month to examine returns andcomplaints from the receiving and marketing departments respectively. The boardcomprises the Purchasing Manager, the Director of Sales/Marketing, and the FloorSupervisor. Depending on the type of problem they are examining, appropriate actionis taken. The approach of the board has been of a quick-fix type, with very littlesupervision by the senior management. Handling of customer complaints is animportant clause in the ISO 9000 system, because responding to the customerpositively can rebuild customer relations and help maintain business. Therefore, aprocedure for handling customer complaints better was designed, and importantly, thecustomers input was included. The procedure was modified and a potential/existingcustomer satisfaction survey was also started. A weekly report is now submitted to thepresident.

Overcoming the challenges outlined above forced ABC to improve its operations.Whether or not the company opts for registration in the future, it has already benefited

from major improvements through the quality system implementation initiative.

Organizational barriers to implementationThe initial stages of implementation and the corresponding implications of changecreated a number of roadblocks that impeded smooth implementation. The followingitems were the key factors that slowed down progress:

. quality perception;

. lack of top management commitment;

. lack of resources;

. lack of training; and

.

resistance to change.

Quality perceptionUnderstanding the quality system, the implementation requirements and the benefitswas crucial to make the system effective at the grass-roots level. From the start, manyemployees misunderstood the perception of the quality effort. A number of key peopleconsidered the effort to be useless, believing that the status quo was good enough asthe quality of their products was considered best on the market. Furthermore, the


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assembly supervisor believed that tracking defects at the inspection stage meant thatthe company had good internal quality. As a result, not everyone seriously committedto making the changes needed to successfully implement a quality system.

Top management commitmentAlthough the president of the company was keen on fostering a quality culturethroughout the organization, his commitment was not reflected and communicatedfrom managers down to the shopfloor level. Some examples of this problemdemonstrate the difficulties faced in getting everyones buy-in.

The engineering manager felt that ABCs products and processes were sufficientlygood and well recognized on the market. As a result, he did not dedicate much of histime to meeting his deadline for setting standard instructions for his department. Oneof his responsibilities was to develop the sampling plan, which is a critical process ofthe business because if there is no effective control at the receiving dock, then theprobability of accepting wrong materials and components is higher. This took five or

six months to be completed and ready for use at the receiving station, when it couldhave taken one month.

Since ABC did not employ a quality manager at the time of the study, thepurchasing manager was responsible for receiving items. He was therefore delegatedthe responsibility of implementing instructions and sampling plans for the receivingactivity, but even after five to six months, he was unable to meet his deadline. Acommitment to this effort would have enabled him to complete this task within onemonth. The assembly supervisor was very dedicated to his job. However, hisperception of the quality effort also prevented him from changing his way of doing his

job. He also felt that the status quo did not need changing and put little effort incompleting his task of following the written instructions, thereby failing to meet hisdeadline.

Although QC meetings were conducted regularly, meeting minutes show thatdepartment heads were too busy to devote their time to setting their procedures andstandards. An independent quality function in the company had not even been set. Asa result, many managers adopted an attitude of all talk, no action, which became asymbol of disappointment for the rest of the organization.

Resistance to changeEmployee resistance to change was found in the organization. Manufacturingpersonnel believed that they would be overburdened with work and thus did their bestto defeat the improvement scheme. While some managers were supportive inexplaining the importance of the initiative, it was ineffective in assisting in

implementation. This resistance was due in part to the lack of top managementcommitment, and also due to the lack of training and understanding of how the qualitysystem would benefit the organization. People will accept or reject change dependingon how the change will affect them. A strategy that convinces employees is needed toovercome this hurdle through emphasis on teamwork, brainstorming sessions, andconsistent meetings. Employees participation and cooperation in the improvementprograms must be recognized and encouraged for effective implementation of theimprovement program.

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Lack of resourcesWhile many employees were not committed to the quality effort, a newly appointedmanufacturing manager was eager to implement the system. However, due to a lack ofresources, he could not develop the preventive maintenance procedure for the

company.At the time of the study, ABC did not have a resource committed solely to quality. It

was believed that the company needed a full-time quality manager to superviseactivities related to quality throughout the organization, and to assign inspectors forreporting problems related to the inspections. This quality manager would also playthe role of the management representative. In this way, quality would be expected to befree from bias, which could occur if the production head supervised quality-relatedissues. Since an MR is a mandatory requirement of the ISO 9000 system, it wouldbeneficial to have one in the event of future registration. Unfortunately, at the time ofthe study, due to budget constraints, a full-time MR was not appointed.

Lack of trainingABCs management was not convinced that allocating funds for training at all levelswas necessary only selected persons who were expected never to leave theorganization were trained. As a result, only a few people understood the system, and ifthey were to leave the organization, they would take the knowledge of the system withthem. Sadgrove (1994) pointed out the importance of training, since quality depends onemployees. This lack of training was translated into the resistance to change discussedpreviously.

DiscussionThe case study presented in this paper demonstrates major issues that were raised

during the implementation of an ISO 9000 management system in a smallmanufacturing company. An empirical study conducted by Bhuiyan and Alam(2004) on Canadian firms investigates implementation issues related to the emergenceof the latest version of the ISO 9000 quality standard, ISO 9001:2000. Results of theempirical study show that whatever the impetus for seeking registration, Canadiancompanies generally faced the same degree of difficulty in implementation. The casestudy was therefore compared to the empirical study.

The dominating reason for implementing ISO 9000 at ABC was internal, and theintention was to put a formal quality system in place on the basis of availability ofresources. During implementation, human resources were busy executing otherorganizational tasks, such as enterprise resource planning. Also, deliveringmanufactured products on time with limited resources was the priority at the time

of the study, which made implementation of the quality system difficult. Results of theempirical study show that most Canadian organizations seek registration to meetcustomer demand/expectations. However, a large percentage of Canadian companiesalso implement ISO 9000 in order to improve quality management practices aninternally motivated reason for seeking registration, similar to ABC.

Budget allocation, time devotion, and scarcity of resources have created obstacles inthe smooth implementation of ISO 9000 at ABC. The empirical study showed thatscarcity of resources was found to be the biggest hurdle for organizations. Other


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barriers such as lack of training, employee resistance, and top managementcommitment, were also found in respondent companies, similar to ABC.

The empirical study shows that companies that are rich in resources face a lesserdegree of difficulty as compared to small companies that have between one and 100

employees. This finding proved to be true with ABC, a small-sized company that had40 employees at the time of study. The unavailability of required resources was foundto be the biggest hurdle during implementation. Most employees were over-burdenedto fulfil their tasks. This is a typical problem that occurs in small companies.

Key lessons learnedThe case study conducted at ABC revealed a number of issues related to theimplementation of a quality management system in a small company. While studieshave shown that the ISO standard may not be applicable to small businesses, our studyshows that the implementation of the standard requirements benefited the companysignificantly. However, it should be noted that while the company did not invest in all

of the costs associated with ISO registration, it did invest in implementing as much asit could.At ABC, the lack of management support and training, inadequate perception of

quality on the part of most employees, resource constraints, and employee resistance tochange were the main obstacles in establishing ISO 9000 quality management system.As expected for a small business, lack of resources proved to be the major hurdle inimplementing a quality management system. These are implementation issues thatseem to plague a large number of companies pursuing ISO registration, as evidencedby a comparison to an empirical study that focused on difficulties that companies face.The results of the case study suggest that managers must focus their efforts andresources in a dedicated manner to the implementation of a quality system, andfurthermore, need to provide sufficient training to the employees and an provide them

with an awareness of the reasons and potential benefits of implementing a qualitysystem. With these critical prerequisites in place, the difficulties in implementing theISO 9000 quality standard can be minimized and should enable a smootherimplementation. Understanding the quality system, the implementation requirementsand the benefits was crucial to make the system effective at the grass-roots level.

Although this paper highlights key problems during the implementation of aquality system at ABC, it must be noted that the company also enjoyed a number ofbenefits from the exercise. Putting an ISO 9000 system in place helped to streamlinetheir business processes, set up procedures in a systematic framework, and adopt adisciplined approach in the work environment. Other noticeable benefits wereimproved documentation, improved quality awareness throughout the company, andmore consistent products and services. The benefits they enjoyed are similar to most

companies in the empirical study. The three greatest benefits achieved by thecompanies surveyed are:

(1) improved documentation;

(2) improved quality perception; and

(3) a disciplined work environment.

Before the implementation of ISO 9000, ABC did not have any structureddocumentation: quality perception and awareness had been increased through

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training and procedure implementation, and an increase in discipline was found in theworkplace due to employees following defined instructions.

ConclusionsMany studies have investigated the issues involved with ISO 9000 implementationaround the world. Implementation issues faced by companies during the registrationprocess are well documented, as evidenced by the literature. The case study presentedin this paper demonstrated issues raised during the implementation of ISO 9000 in asmall manufacturing company, and discussed the consideration of DOE in the qualityassurance model so that productivity can be increased by implementing a cost-effectivemodel.

This study will be useful to quality managers, quality assurance and/or qualitycontrol practitioners, as well as researchers seeking to further understand qualitypractices and the issues surrounding them. The study will also be beneficial toorganizations that are either planning to implement ISO 9000, in the implementation

phase, or already practising or registered with ISO 9000. While some of the findingspresented in this paper are not new, they confirm the results of prior research on theorganizational barriers that companies face in the process of implementing a qualitymanagement system.

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Further reading

Graves, S. (2000), Why do we need international standards?, Quality Progress, Vol. 33 No. 6,pp. 138-9.

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A Case Study of a Quality System Implementation in a Small Manufacturing Firm

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