STI-CO is a premier supplier of custom antenna solutions. Headquartered in Orchard Park, NY, STI-CO designs and manufactures mission-critical communication systems incorporating leading edge manufacturing techniques. Their customers include government agencies, transit companies, as well as the military. Their products include robust and reliable antenna solutions custom made for specific program requirements.
SITUATION
STI-CO has been ISO 9000 certified since 2006 but customer growth and a desire to support additional markets lead them to pursue AS9100D certification. An added challenge was the existing ISO 9000 certification would expire prior to a reasonable time for the new quality system to be implemented and certified.
“The dual challenges of maintaining the ISO certification along with preparing for AS9100 certification were difficult to juggle. Insyte consulting kept us focused on the important aspects of these efforts.” – Rob Calhoun, Quality Manager
SOLUTION
To effectively upgrade their quality management system, STI-CO chose to partner with Insyte Consulting to develop and implement the elements needed for the system to meet the requirements of AS9100D. The initial step was to perform a gap analysis to identify areas of the quality management system that did not meet the AS9100D standard. Once complete, this analysis was reviewed with management. The tasks of updating the system documents were divided among appropriate personnel and the finished documents were reviewed by the quality manager and Insyte personnel.
Following this, members of the organization were trained in the requirements and process of internal auditing. As the new documentation was released, internal audits were initiated. While the documents were being updated for AS9100D, the ISO recertification was performed. There were several findings identified which had to be addressed to maintain the existing certification. This delayed the progress towards finalizing the AS9100D compliant system.
Once the existing ISO system was recertified, the focus turned back to implementing the new AS9100D system. Documentation was completed and introduced to company personnel and internal audits were initiated. After several weeks of addressing audit findings and improving the system, the AS9100D certification audit was scheduled.
RESULTS
The audit resulted in several nonconformances, but these were quickly addressed with corrective actions and STI-CO was awarded AS9100D certification. Once potential customers were made aware of the certification, STI-CO experienced an immediate sales growth of $75,000 in the defense prime market. There was also a 15% reduction in rework based on labor reporting.
