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Enterprise Minnesota Magazine - September 2011
HELPING MANUFACTURERS GROW PROFITABLY
Committed to Quality
Zierke Built Manufacturing anticipates new customers and streamlined processes thanks to ISO certification.
BY ANNA TEICHROEW
On June 27th of Zierke Built Manufacturing’s 30th year of business, the company was formally recognized at a ceremony for achieving ISO certification, taking it to the next level of standardized, quality manufacturing. The ISO certificate provides proof of top-quality products through the careful scrutinizing, correcting and documenting of each step in the manufacturing process.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) created the first set of international quality management standards in 1987 (ISO 9000), which is now recognized as the world’s most widely known standard.
Zierke Built Manufacturing produces many custom built fuel tanks, trailers and structural metal products. Vice President Kyle Zierke says the company’s initial motivation for pursuing ISO certification was to expand its field of customers beyond power generation, mining, local job shops and agriculture, to larger corporations that require their suppliers to be ISO certified.
In order to qualify, Zierke Built Manufacturing began its 14-month journey to certification in December of 2009. Zierke says some employees were hesitant about starting the process because of the daunting prospect of documenting every step of every process. The company had to make several fundamental changes in order to meet the requirements of ISO. Specifically, Zierke says it had to ensure “that the process was being corrected all the way from [our] engineering [department] out to the floor,” and that each preventative and corrective action was (and continues to be) documented along the way.
Though Zierke admits that gaining a full understanding of the ISO standard and applying it to the company’s previous standard was a challenge, he is quick to add that the benefits have been plentiful.
“Through the [certification] process we have learned that not only does it open the door for [new] customers, but it also helps us as a company to get our processes and procedures in line. It makes our company better overall,” he says.
Specializing in custom-built products, Zierke Built Manufacturing benefits from the certification’s documentation requirements. Because every step in each manufacturing process is recorded, every one of the company’s custom built material records can now be referenced in the future, if needed.
The certification has also helped to ease new employee transitions. Rather than training new employees on the job, Zierke Built Manufacturing’s new process documents serve as instructions, explaining exactly what has been done, and what should be done in every step of production for each product. To companies interested in pursuing ISO certification, Zierke advises patience and persistence: “Expect that it’s going to take a while, and don’t expect changes to happen right away…If you can find someone that has experience with it, it helps immensely.”
©2011, Enterprise Minnesota. All rights reserved.Reproduction encouraged after obtaining permission from EnterpriseMinnesota. Additional Magazines and reprints available for purchase.
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