The Great Northern Appleton facility has recently completed and passed its three-day ISO (International Organization for Standardization) re-certification audit and will be re-certified for another three years. The ISO 9001:2015 certification ensures a world class management system where an organization demonstrates its ability to consistently provide a product that meets customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. This certification also applies to Great Northern’s Chippewa Falls, Twin Cities (MN), and Racine facilities.
The audit is an evaluation to determine if excellent management system activities and related results comply with planned arrangements and if these arrangements are implemented effectively to achieve planned objectives. Auditors review documented procedures and measured results to see if the objectives are achieved and once the auditor has a clear picture of what the plan is they prepare questions and go into the different areas and levels of the organization to get verification of activities and performance. The audit reveals the positives and negatives of our system and allows us to build on the positives and correct the negatives found during an audit.
Implementing a world-class management system based on this International Standard allows Great Northern to consistently provide products and services that meet customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, facilitate opportunities to enhance customer satisfaction, and demonstrate conformity to specified quality management system requirements.
“Our customers expect consistency, and having the ISO certification allows us to provide them with assurances that we have and follow a standardized process meeting the ISO requirements,” said Appleton’s General Manager, Mark Matuszak. We’re accountable to our customers to ensure we deliver the quality and service value Great Northern is known for, and we’re accountable to our team members to train and support the process equally.”