Press Release — 89 North Announces Certification to ISO 9001: 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — August 30th, 2021
Williston, Vermont
89North, an award winning optical engineering design and manufacturing firm, announced that they have been certified under ISO 9001:2015 as of August 30th of 2021. International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001:2015 is the most updated standard of its kind and focuses on quality management systems and performance. It assists companies in developing a management system that aligns quality with their wider business strategy. There is a focus on risk-based thinking and accountability in all organizational processes that helps improve communications, efficiency, and implementation of continuous improvement.
“We are excited to earn certification to ISO 9001:2015 and feel it provides additional assurance to our customers that we’re focused on continuous improvement and customer satisfaction,” said Julie Martin, Vice President. “Our certification demonstrates our commitment to perform at the highest levels of quality and efficiency. It’s essential to delivering customer-focused solutions to our customers.”
“For any company, the road to certification requires time and commitment,” said Sonny Parrotte, a Process Engineer at the firm who guided the effort. “We first worked with our ISO-certified parent company, Chroma, to understand the ISO 9001 standard and garner insights to our approach. In June of 2020 we began outlining a systemic approach, starting with the creation of a quality manual. We went on to evaluate our processes and identify gaps in our existing practices. We then used these findings to create a roadmap to develop, implement, or improve. This resulted in a new quality policy we developed and communicated across the organization. Significant effort went into improving supplier management and communication, creating non-conformance processes and implementing quarterly management reviews.”
A constant theme throughout the development of our Quality Management System (QMS) was organization-wide involvement. To achieve this, the firm conducted ISO awareness training so that all employees understand the requirements of ISO 9001 and why a well-designed quality management system is critical to ensuring the firm meets the requirements and expectations of our customers.
Other key items of the firm’s ISO QMS journey include: the implementation of a Risk Management process and Risk Register; the development of a formal QMS documentation system; the establishment and communication of annual quality objectives; the implementation of a balanced scorecard approach to prioritizing the firm’s efforts; the development and implementation of a customer feedback program, the creation of Values, Mission, and Vision statements; and improved material handling procedures in production.
About 89 North:
89 North is an award winning optical engineering design and manufacturing firm residing in the Burlington Vermont area. Originally focused on products for the laboratory sciences market, the firm is now assisting an ever-expanding number of firms deploy optical engineering solutions across their industries. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chroma Technology.