Cesar-Scott, Inc. is a sales, marketing and manufacturing company that manufactures wire harnesses and cable assemblies and markets electronic components and services worldwide.
During the latter part of 2001, Cesar-Scott owner and founder, Gustavo Farell, was looking for guidance in implementing ISO 9001. He chose TMAC as his service provider. When TMAC management specialist Conrad Soltero came to realize that Cesar-Scott was staffed with efficient and highly effective people, he proposed the simultaneous implementation of ISO 9001 and 14001.
The project was initiated in January of 2002. Registration audit was planned for November of the same year. In just seven months, all ISO 9000 policies and procedures had been written, the system had been entirely audited, and the vast majority of non-conformances derived from the internal audits had been effectively closed out. In order to meet the registration audit date, Cesar-Scott had two months remaining to implement ISO 14001.
At the end of September, Soltero performed an integrated audit to both fulfill the required internal audits for the ISO 14001 portion and to discern just how far from compliance to both systems the company was. As it turned out, all that remained was a full management review inclusive of both systems. That review was performed in late October and the successful registration to both standards was conducted on schedule.
The leadership shown by Mr. Farell and the teamwork displayed by his staff is a model for all organizations. Cesar-Scott demonstrated commitment to the registration process and the foresight to recognize the cohesive nature of both management systems. Using the knowledge of ISO 9001, the company focused on environmental issues embedded in ISO 14001 rather than on the mechanics of the two systems.
The registration has provided Cesar-Scott with valuable internal impacts. As a percent of sales, scrap has fallen 50%. Lead times have decreased from a high of 2 weeks to 2 days. The necessary discipline to maintain both systems has trickled down through all levels of the organization. Consequently, simple mistakes that used to cause big problems have been eliminated.
Since Cesar-Scott is a small company, many of the duties and responsibilities necessary for system maintenance had to be shared. This has translated into more cross training in many other areas. A University of Texas at El Paso engineering student was hired to assist with ISO documentation. Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) preparation time has been shortened from 8 to just 4 weeks.
It’s also not unusual for the company to process more than one PPAP at a time, something not previously attempted. Mr. Farell mentioned, “We’re now doing more with fewer resources.”
This project has also provided the company with sizable external impacts. The customer that had required ISO 9001 registration from Cesar-Scott communicated that the current $500,000 per year business was secure. The registration allowed Cesar-Scott to bid on new business with that customer. A twenty-five percent increase in business per year is now anticipated. In addition, the company has been awarded five new projects from this customer in the first six months since registration.