AUTHOR(s): Zuckerman, Amy TITLE(s): ISO 9000 skepticism. (International Standards Organization) illustration other Summary: Some US companies are enthusiastically adopting ISO 9000 standards to assure quality control on an internationally accepted level. Others are more skeptical of their value, believing the standards are not worth the effort to meet and are not needed for exporting. Industry Week p43(2) July 4 1994 v243 n13 DESCRIPTORS: Quality control_Standards CROSSING THE DELAWARE MEMORIAL BRIDGE HEADING SOUTH ON 1-95, THE FIRST THING THAT GREETS the driver is a sign emblazoned on Du Pont Co.'s Chambers Works plant declaring that the site has been ISO 9002 certified. If Du Pont is wearing its ISO 9000 registration on its sleeve, other members of the American industrial sector are more circumspect about the ISO 9000 international quality-assurance program. Among American industry leaders and trade-association chiefs from more than 20 industries polled by IW during the last six months, only chemical, petrochemical and some high-technology associations--whose representatives are working directly on ISO 9000 standards--appear to be active promoters of the ISO 9000 program. (The Big Three automobile manufacturers are weaving ISO 9000 standards into their new common quality system, but not requiring ISO 9000 registration outside of their system.) There is general sentiment that quality is important, but that ISO 9000 as currently designed may not be the ticket to quality or competitiveness that its boosters claim. They're concerned that ISO 9000 is just the latest management buzzword--a costly buzzword, at that. "ISO 9000 certification, for many companies, has a high probability of becoming a tranquilizer," says Richard Buetow, who became an ISO 9000 detractor after implementing the program at Motorola Inc., where he is senior vice president and director of quality. "... I am not a fan of ISO 9000, nor do I want to improve it. I believe it to be totally off the mark as to the reality requirements of today and tomorrow." "ISO 9000 is not necessarily a ticket to exporting, nor is lack of certification proving as much a detriment as earlier supposed," adds Dean Beachler, chairman of the National Tooling & Machining Assn. (NTMA) standardization committee. "It isn't true that you need ISO 9000 absolutely--to compete globally--and we can offer up thousands of examples." The Steel Manufacturers Assn. (SMA), which represents 57 minimills and 100 steel-industry suppliers, is finding mini-mill owners ambivalent about ISO 9000. Jim Collins, SMA president, has fielded complaints from members, as well as learned first-hand from his company experience that ISO 9000 is "laborious and expensive. It's not just the cost of registration, but employee time." And then there's the Dept. of Defense (DOD) which, in the process of streamlining its military specs, is starting to accept a number of alternate standards, including ISO 9000. Because of a slew of recent ads suggesting that DOD is making ISO 9000 its standard of choice, department officials thought it was necessary to set the record straight. "ISO 9000 will not be our standard of choice," reports DOD spokesperson Beverly Baker. "Contractors who want to do business with the military can use military, other national, or ISO 9000 specs." "The prevailing attitude--among private-sector groups--is that government--should stay out of the system," explains Stanley Warshaw, head of the Commerce Dept.'s National Voluntary Conformity Assessment Systems Evaluation agency. And that is despite the fact that Mr. Warshaw and other Commerce officials are disquieted by the industry that has developed around ISO 9000 and other standards programs. Many industry groups are choosing to deal with ISO 9000 in their own fashion: * Automotive-The Big Three automakers have set July 15 as the target date for releasing the official version of their new Chrysler, Ford, General Motors Quality Systems Requirements for global use. European quality officials are closely monitoring the Big Three system as a possible model implementation of ISO 9000. Auto officials insist they are encouraging, not coercing, suppliers into their new quality program, which has also been accepted by some major truck manufacturers. Training in the new hybrid system will be offered from Aug. 1 through the end of the year, though this may be flexible. The Big Three will request suppliers to conduct self-assessments based on their new system by Jan. 1, 1995. For now, anyway, the big three are attempting to work within the ISO 9000 system as currently designed, though they can "walk away from ISO tomorrow" if things don't work out as envisioned, says Dan Whelan, Ford's manager of quality systems standards, corporate quality. "We'll work through national accreditation bodies. If we have a problem with a registrar, we'll go back to the national accreditation body and complain. If they--the national body--won't play ball, we won't acknowledge them anymore. We're trying to work with the process." The car companies, Mr. Whelan insists, aren't changing ISO 9000. "We supplemented the standard and interpreted it to fit our business. ISO is out there as a mechanism. We recognized that if we didn't improve the ISO 9000 and make it value-added, the whole thing would collapse, and we didn't want that." On the other hand, he doesn't want to see ISO 9000 become an industry-specific program. He insists that the U.S. auto industry "is not making an industry standard or a new ISO standard. This is the Chrysler, Ford, General Motors Quality Systems Requirements whose foundation is ISO 9000." * Steel--Industry leaders say that reaction to the ISO 9000 series varies greatly from industry giants to minimills, from those companies very much interlocked with the Big Three automakers to those with overseas interests. Industry insiders agree that much of the interest in ISO 9000 among industry's giants is automobile-industry driven. Some of the major producers have become ISO 9000 registered in anticipation of auto-industry demands. * Semiconductors--Like the automakers, semiconductor manufacturers work under far more stringent industry regulations and quality requirements than those stipulated in ISO 9000. For this reason, industry leaders recommend compliance with ISO 9000. Rather than use ISO 9000 registrars, some companies are working with a pool of industry auditors on earning industry and ISO 9000 compliance at the same time. * Wood machinery--"Stalling on ISO 9000 isn't an option for those companies being coerced--into compliance," explains Ken Hutton, executive vice president of the Wood Machinery Manufacturers of America (WMMA). For most WMMA members--with the exception of those producing machines for the chemical or electronics fields--this hasn't been the case. "The WMMA looks at ISO 9000 as part of the whole quality movement," he says, and that includes Total Quality Management, the Malcolm Baldrige Award, and continuous improvement. "ISO 9000 by itself is meaningless. Continuous improvement by itself is meaningless. Only when you put them together do you get fruitful results ." * Aluminum--Mr. Hutton, who is also executive vice president of the National Assn. of Aluminum Distributors, finds his members' interest in ISO 9000 varies depending on the industries they serve. Those selling to the auto industry, for example, have felt less pressure to pursue ISO 9000 compared with those connected to aircraft manufacturing, with its emphasis on electronics. * Metal tooling--Once again, companies that service the chemical or computer industries may be pursuing ISO 9000 in fair numbers, but in general metal-tooling associations are not pushing their members into ISO 9000 compliance. The NTMA, for example, advises members to "conform" to ISO 9000 standards as best as possible. It has offered assistance to companies that feel coerced into ISO 9000. The Assn. for Manufacturing Technology, in the meantime, is teaching members how to earn ISO 9000 registration in as cost-effective and self-protective a manner as possible. The National Assn. of Manufacturers (NAM) has been split on the ISO 9000 issue. Some of NAM's large corporate members have been active boosters of the program, while some small manufacturers are among the most outspoken critics. Members of NAM's Small Manufacturers' Forum have created a cross-industry council to address ISO 9000 cost reforms for small businesses. While NAM administrators such as Stephen Cooney, director of international investment, are aware of the concerns of NAM's small manufacturers, they understand that some of their large-company members have vested interests in the program. What the multinationals like about ISO 9000, he explains, is that it allows them access into the European arena and cuts down on the use of standards as trade barriers. "As far as we're concerned, the purpose of this program is not to improve quality, since our quality is pretty good," says Mr. Cooney. "The program for our purposes should be a passport, which is how ISO 9000 started in the first place. The beauty of ISO 9000 is that it gives the U.S. access--to European decision-making on standards. We had a big fight and got that." Amy Zuckerman is a cofounder of IN / EX Information Export, Pelham, Mass.