| Scope of study. This doctoral dissertation summarizes the use of the ISO 9001 quality management system within the North American chemical industry. Efficiencies of this system are measured against the use of other quality management systems used in conjunction with ISO 9001. The use of other quality systems incorporated into a company's quality program, after becoming ISO certified, gives an estimate of the value of an ISO program to each company that was surveyed and whether ISO alone could fill the needs of the surveyed companies. The hypothesis was that most chemical companies are using other quality systems with ISO. The survey was sent to 90 chemical companies listed on an ISO 9001 database, of which, 38.9% (35) responded. This data was then compared to a case study chemical manufacturer that was made up of 11 plants each producing their own particular chemical(s) at one central location. Each plant at this site was ISO certified, independent of the main company, thereby giving 11 separate business groups at one location. From this location, 500 employees were given the same survey as the other chemical companies, which resulted in 19.6% (98) return rate.; Findings, conclusions, and recommendations. The results show that most chemical companies are using another quality system with their ISO 9001 program. The hypothesis that other systems are being used with ISO was confirmed after a “z-test for Independent Proportion Samples” analysis was performed on the data. The hypothesis was also supported from the descriptive statistics, which showed 65.7% of the surveyed companies were using other quality systems with their ISO program. In addition, analysis of the data also showed ISO certification enhanced productivity, customer service, documentation, and reduced rework. Further analysis showed a positive correlation between ISO certification and gaining market share according to those surveyed. The system used most often with ISO was QS 9000, a system very much like ISO 9001. Based on the outcome of this research, it is the belief of this researcher that ISO 9000 not be used as a company's only quality system. |
