Horak

Editor's Note: This is the last installment in the monthly series on The F.P. Horak Co. and its quest for ISO 9002 registration. The opening meeting began as most meetings do—with introductions, handshakes and polite (albeit brief) conversation. However, the friendly atmosphere belied the underlying tension. It was Tuesday, Feb. 24, 8 a.m. Two men—two auditors—had come to The F.P. Horak Co. in Bay City, MI, to measure its quality system. As the auditors spoke during the opening meeting, the Horak executives in attendance listened with rapt attention. Their quest for ISO 9002 culminated in this moment. Months of preparation were about to pay

Editor's Note: This is the 14th installment in the monthly series on The F.P. Horak Co., a Bay City, MI-based printing firm pursuing ISO 9002 registration. During an ISO audit, one major non-compliance can mean the difference between success and failure. That doesn't leave much room for mistakes. Fortunately, The F.P. Horak has remained largely within compliance (knock wood) so far. A recent pre-assessment failed to uncover any serious errors in Horak's quality system. The company finds comfort in the fact that the registrar representative walked away from the pre-assessment without any worries. Still, Horak remains vigilant against major non-compliances. After all, the pre-assessment was only

Editor's Note: This is the 13th installment in the monthly series on The F.P. Horak Co., a Bay City, MI-based printing firm pursuing ISO 9002 registration. ISO expects certain things from compliant companies. One hundred and thirty certain things, to be exact. That's the number you get when you add up all of the elements and subclauses that an ISO-registered organization must follow. Some people refer to the 138 things as directives. Kevin Krzyminski, quality assurance manager at The F.P. Horak Co., prefers to call them "shalls"—as in "You shall do this" and "You shall do that." Auditors make sure that companies questing for ISO certification

Editor's Note: This is the 12th installment in the monthly series on The F.P. Horak Co., a Bay City, MI-based printing firm pursuing ISO 9002 registration. Two pieces of free advice. First, always schedule a pre-assessment before attempting an actual ISO audit. Second, never schedule a pre-assessment immediately after an internal audit. These words of wisdom come courtesy of Kevin Krzyminski, The F.P. Horak Co.'s quality assurance manager. He speaks from experience. Horak's pre-assessment, a mock audit conducted by a registrar representative, took place a mere two days after management review—the meeting where Horak's Quality Council went over the outcome of the internal audit. To give the internal

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