THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 26, 1994 TAG: 9409240141
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY J.R. BULLINGTON, SPECIAL TO BUSINESS WEEKLY
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
Hampton Roads companies looking for business across the Atlantic Ocean have a standard of excellence to aim for called ISO 9000.
European companies already have embraced the standard.
In fact, it's emerging as the preeminent global standard by which producers are judged for the quality of their goods and services.
ISO 9000 certification is likely to be a precondition for remaining competitive or even surviving in the global economy.
OPINION
Just what is this new business standard?
Perry Johnson Inc., a provider of total quality management training, calls ISO 9000 a series of standards sponsored by the International Organization for Standardization.
The standards specify the quality systems to be established by manufacturing and service firms to ensure the consistent quality of goods and services.
And ISO 9000 certification can be viewed as a tangible expression of a firm's commitment to quality that is internationally understood and accepted.
ISO 9000 quality and performance standards were adopted in 1987 by the International Standards Organization, based on a British model. The European Union has vigorously embraced the standards.
No company in the EU can bid for government business without ISO registration. And several categories of products (especially those related to safety and measurements) can be sold in Europe only by ISO 9000-certified companies.
European companies are increasingly requiring their suppliers to be ISO 9000 certified.
Thus, ISO 9000 is becoming critical to all companies that want to do business in Europe. In a world economy increasingly demanding consistent quality as a marketing prerequisite, ISO 9000-certified firms have a growing competitive advantage domestically as well as internationally.
For example, the U.S. Defense Department now allows its contractors to substitute this certification for its own longstanding quality standards. Moreover, as ISO 9000 gains increasing worldwide acceptance, companies seeking new customers will find they'll need ISO 9000 credentials.
U.S. firms have been slow to recognize ISO 9000's growing importance. According to International Business magazine, only about 3,000 of the 9 million companies in the United States are certified. This compares with 42,000 ISO-certified companies outside the United States, mostly in Europe.
Yet, according to a study done by ABS Quality Evaluation, a Houston firm licensed to register companies to ISO standards, about 100,000 larger U.S. firms and 270,000 smaller ones (with fewer than 20 employees) could benefit from ISO 9000 certification.
Why have U.S. companies lagged? Part of the answer is the length and expense of the certification process. It can take many months and sometimes years for firms that lack serious quality programs. And the cost can exceed $50,000 even for small companies.
But foreign companies have these same hurdles to overcome. A big part of the problem here may be what International Business calls ``the stubborn conceit that U.S. systems are already the best,'' a conceit that persists despite of the teachings of W. Edwards Deming and other quality advocates.
And while a global marketplace is developing, too many American business people remain provincial, relying on the domestic market and fearful to go international.
However, in a few years competition will make the full impact of ISO 9000 forcefully apparent to all but the smallest and most insular of firms. Those with the vigor to gain a competitive edge today while preparing for tomorrow's business environment would do well to channel their quality improvement efforts toward ISO 9000 certification. MEMO: J.R. Bullington, former U.S. ambassador to Burundi, directs the Center
for Global Business and Executive Education at Old Dominion University
in Norfolk.
by CNB