Automotive Case Study
Metal Surfaces, Inc.
Metal Surfaces, Inc. (MSI) employs 130 people, with annual sales of approximately $9 million. MSI provides a wide range of plating services including
automated reel-to-reel continuous plating processes. The company is a leader in its field providing finishing services for the aerospace, electronics, medical,
automotive and various commercial industries. The company’s quality management system was third party registered to ISO 9002:1994 and the Aerospace
Standard AS9000.
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“Timely certification to AS9100 and
ISO/TS16949
has increased our competitiveness
and increased
our sales by 10%.”
Mr. Sam Bell
Director of Quality
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Issue/Needs
To meet current and future customer requirements, MSI needed to
update their aerospace quality management system from the 1994 based
standard to AS9100 based on the 2000 standard. Additionally, MSI had
built an automated plating line specifically to serve the automotive
connector industry. In order to position themselves in the automotive
market it was essential for MSI to meet the additional quality management
requirements of ISO/TS16949.
Implementation Highlights
The project began in February 2003. Implementation of the new aerospace
systems was scheduled to be completed by March 2004, coinciding with
the expiration of the existing certification. Comprehensive training was
presented to 40 employees representing all levels within the organization.
The key milestones developed during the training sessions were incorporated
by CMTC into a project plan enabling a smooth transition to the
new standard. A new Quality Manual was documented and the existing
control procedures were revised and implemented. Analysis of the
company production data was formalized into ongoing performance
reviews to identify and prioritize the opportunities for improvement.
Certification to AS9100 was achieved in March 2003 as planned.
Immediately following the aerospace certification audit, work began on
the ISO/TS16949 automotive quality system requirements. A supplement
to the Quality Manual was developed to cover the additional controls.
CMTC facilitated the application of the stringent automotive requirements
to the continuous plating line. Certification to ISO/TS16949 was
achieved in September 2003 as planned.
Improvement Description
MSI is now registered to the most current quality management standards
required by their aerospace and automotive customers. Registration to
ISO/TS16949 provided MSI with the ability to penetrate the automotive
market from a position of strength and recognition.
In addition to achieving third party registration, MSI took the opportunity
to embrace the “process approach” to management. Using the measurable
objectives set, the company is now able to review the performance of the
internal processes critical to meeting customer requirements. Corrective
action and improvement projects are prioritized and launched based on
internal impact, as well as customer satisfaction.
MSI estimates that their competitiveness has increased by 5%, resulting in
an increase in sales, the creation of 15 new jobs and the retention of 40.
Financial and Investment Impact
In addition to retaining $500,000 in sales in 2 years (2003/2004), over
the same 2 year period MSI has increased its automotive sales by
$300,000. A capital investment of $300,000 was made to further develop
the automotive processes.
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