ISO 9001:2008 - The Latest ISO Quality Management Standard
AST Bearings received
ISO 9001:2008 re-certification in March of 2010 after an extensive analysis of
its quality systems by Perry Johnson Registrars, Inc. While AST was previously certified compliant to ISO
9001:2000, re-certification with this latest revision represents yet a further
commitment to quality and reliability that customers can expect from the
company and its many product offerings.
ISO 9001:2000 - No Longer Valid
Released in November of 2008, ISO 9001:2008 is the fourth and very latest release of the standard set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Of note: Unless a company complied with the more rigorous 2008 revisions, their previoius ISO 9001 certification (ISO 9001:2000) is no longer valid. A business seeks to attain this latest certification as recognition of efforts made to adopt a quality culture, continuous process improvement, to ensure consistent results and maintain peak customer satisfaction.
Key Components of ISO 9001:2008 for AST
ISO 9001:2008 provides a number of requirements that must be fulfilled to achieve customer satisfaction through products and services which meet customer expectations. This includes a requirement for planned and continual improvement of the Quality Management System. Specifically for AST, key components of their quality policy require:
- Verified customer satisfaction
- Continuous improvement
- Understanding and conforming to customer requirements
- Maintaining a compliant ISO 9001:2008 Quality Assurance System
The certification represents affirmation by a third-party registrar that when purchasing AST products and services, the customer is assured of world-class quality and reliability. The ISO audit of AST was carried out by Southfield, Michigan-based Perry Johnson Registrars, Inc., one of the world’s foremost authorities in quality certification.
Verified Improvement to Customer Satisfaction
Consistent with the latest ISO 9001:2008 standard, AST actually verifies its customer satisfaction. For the past three years, it sent out standardized surveys to its customers to determine its current performance in the following five key areas: Sales/Customer Service, Engineering, Quality, Shipping Delivery, and Overall while soliciting feedback on outstanding performance and areas to improve upon.
Design Services Also Pass Intense Scrutiny
Of particular note regarding AST’s recent ISO 9001:2008 certification, it also included their Design and Development processes. Most bearing suppliers don’t even have in-house bearing design and engineering services much less have them certified. Whether trouble-shooting an existing problem or help with creating new product specs, customers of AST should have greater peace of mind knowing that their processes have been scrutinized and passed inspection by the renowned auditing firm of Perry Johnson Registrars, Inc.
AST Bearings' Quality Manual is available upon request.
Have a Quality Question?... Just Ask!
Please remember, as questions about quality come to mind, AST’s tribology specialists, mechanical, and quality engineers are available to answer your questions. If you have a question, just ask!
