In June, Sigma Technology (SK) Quality Manager, Ulf Nordstrand, visited SK offices in Shanghai and Beijing to prepare the staff and sites for the ISO9001 and ISO27001 certifications.
ISO9001 is for quality management and does not only relate to projects, but also to recruitment and personal development. There are still areas that need improvement, but things in China are looking positive according to Nordstrand.
ISO27001 is for information security management. It is more complicated, and the requirements are quite strict, demanding more work from the sites. The certification process involves the IT department in Gothenburg, but there are also local information security issues, in China, that need to be addressed.
Shanghai has more on-site work, while Beijing has more off-site work. On-site work reduces stress on the company’s part in terms of quality assurance (QA), since the customer handles more QA for the projects they do. However, both offices still need to maintain their QA responsibilities. Overall status is on track according to Nordstrand.
Although there is still a lot of work to be done, Nordstrand has a very positive outlook regarding quality management at both Chinese sites. He does not foresee any major problems, adding “On the contrary to what many people believe, ISO [certification] doesn’t require a lot of effort. Just follow the prescribed processes and use the applications at your disposal.”