A case study of a quality system implementation in a small manufacturing firm

Purpose - This paper aims to present the findings of a case study conducted at ABC Structures (pseudonym), which is a small North American manufacturing company that has spent close to one year working on implementing the ISO 9000 standard. The main obstacles faced by ABC during implementation are highlighted. Although the company was not actually seeking registration, it was motivated by an internal need to improve operations, and by a vision of expanding business globally, in which case it expected that registration would be mandatory. Design/methodology/approach - The case study method was used to achieve the objectives. Information obtained from the case study was collected from various data sources including interviews and informal conversations with the president, sales manager, engineering manager, operations manager, purchasing manager, manufacturing manager and technical personnel, attendance at project meetings, company documents, plant tours, and observations of the manufacturing process and product samples. These sources provided information that was useful in developing and implementing a quality system. Findings - The case study conducted at ABC revealed a number of issues related to the implementation of a quality management system in a small company. While studies have shown that the ISO standard may not be applicable to small businesses, this study shows that the implementation of the standard's requirements benefited the company significantly. However, it should be noted that, while the company did not invest in all of the costs associated with ISO registration, it did invest in implementing as much as it could. Practical implications - This study will be useful to quality managers, quality assurance and/or quality control practitioners, as well as researchers seeking to further understand quality practices and issues surrounding them. The study will also be beneficial to organizations that are planning to implement ISO 9000, are in the implementation phase, or already practising or registered with ISO 9000. While some of the findings presented in this paper are not new, they confirm the results of prior research on the organizational barriers that companies face in the process of implementing a quality management system. Originality/value - The paper provides a description of steps taken by a small manufacturing company prior to implementing ISO 9000. It shows the hurdles it faced, and proposes how they could be overcome.