Western Pacific Standardizes Quality Procedures in Drive for Precision Service
LOS ANGELES (PRWEB) February 07, 2018 -- Western Pacific Storage Solutions (wpss.com) is installing new quality standards and management policies in order to provide customers with the same impeccable service on all three of its campuses (California, Texas and Kentucky).
Led by Quality Assurance Director Jesse Hernandez, the initiative aims to meet standards of excellence certified by national and international standards organizations. According to Hernandez, the company will use the principles of lean manufacturing to ‘reduce the human flaw factor and provide first-rate service from order entry to shipment.’
They will also be leveraging extant lean manufacturing principles to constantly improve processes and cost-effectiveness.
As part of the drive for precision, WPSS is adhering to calibration standards for equipment set out by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an organization within the U.S. Department of Commerce. NIST standards can be applied to technologies ranging from nanoscale devices to global communications. WPSS will ensure consistent quality by measuring their services according to NIST-certified standards.
In addition to meeting NIST’s national standards of quality assurance, WPSS is committed to the consensus on global industrial standards agreed to by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which provides ‘world-class specifications for products, services and systems, to ensure quality, safety and efficiency.’
The most recent edition of the ISO manual (9001:2015) specifies ways for organizations to demonstrate an ability to ‘consistently provide products and services that meet customer and regulatory requirements.’ WPSS is aligning procedures with these specifications in a bid for continual improvement of their management system. The company is using the document, in part, to measure and formalize local standard operating procedures, as Hernandez explains:
“Delivering the highest standards possible means paying attention to what’s happening on the shop floor and turning that knowledge into procedure. For root cause problem-solving, we look to the guys on the ground, not in the boardroom.”
Announcing the company-wide installation of the new standards, WPSS President and CEO Tom Rogers says, “We’ve always maintained an eye on quality procedures, but now we are standardizing these quality procedures throughout our three campuses.”
Applying Root Cause Analysis techniques to identify the primary source of a problem is central to WPSS’ quest for excellence. By using Root Cause Analysis to determine the underlying details of a problem and why it occurred, WPSS reduces the chances of a repeat occurrence and increases the likelihood of achieving what Jesse describes as ‘flawless execution… perfection from order entry to order shipment.’
The combination of strict adherence to national and international standards, incorporation of shop floor knowledge, and the application of Root Cause Analysis techniques amounts to a practical framework focused on optimizing production while minimizing waste. WPSS has crystallized their interpretation of ‘lean manufacturing’ into their own Ten Commandments:
- Abandon fixed ideas
- Think of ways to make it possible
- No excuses needed
- Go for the simple solution, not the perfect
- Correct mistakes right away
- Use your wits, not your wallet
- Problems are opportunities
- Repeat “Why” five times
- Seek ideas from many people
- There is no end to improvement
“By keeping our team focused on the principles of lean manufacturing, we’re delivering a superior service to our customers,” says Jesse.
For his part, CEO Tom Rogers asks himself the same questions every day:
“How can we amaze our customers? How can we refine our processes? How can we support our clients and partner in their success? Utilizing Lean Principles helps keep us focused on the big picture, not the low-hanging fruit. It’s about creating maximum value for all of our customers.”
ABOUT WPSS:
Over the past twenty years, Western Pacific Storage Solutions has been serving the smartest links in the supply chain. They have experienced steady growth as a trusted supplier of industrial shelving and work platforms (mezzanines) to some of the world’s largest corporations. The company’s national operations in California, Texas, and Kentucky, include manufacturing plants, and three well-stocked distribution centers.
Sharon Beckett, Beckett & Beckett, Inc., +1 (626) 791-7954, [email protected]
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