A system for continuous process improvement in wood ... - Springer

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A system for continuous process improvement
in wood products manufacturing
R.A. Kozak, T.C. Maness
Holz als Roh- und Werkstoff 61 (2003) 95–102 Ó Springer-Verlag 2003
DOI 10.1007/s00107-003-0366-9
Abstract The WoodMark Quality System, a new quality
assurance program for the Canadian value-added wood
products sector, was launched in 1999. This represented
the culmination of a five-year investigation of industry
needs, standards development, and potential benefits, as
they relate to implementing a third-party quality assurance
system for the Canadian value-added industry. The
WoodMark Quality System is an industry-specific system
dedicated to improving the quality of value-added wood
products, and in so doing, improving the competitive
position and global customer acceptance of Canadian
wood products. While many quality assurance systems,
most notably the ISO 9000 series, already exist and have
been widely adopted, the impetus behind creating an industry-specific
quality certification program came as a
result of the unique attributes inherent in wood as a raw
material and the subsequent production and quality
challenges. To that end, a set of seven quality standards,
singular to the wood industry, were developed. These
standards have been implemented in two pilot projects,
with positive results.
Ein System zur kontinuierlichen Qualitätssteigerung
in der holzverarbeitenden Industrie
Zusammenfassung Im Jahre 1999 wurde das ‘‘WoodMark
Quality System’’ installiert. Dies ist ein Programm zur
Qualitätssicherung der kanadischen holzverarbeitenden
Industrie. Es war der Höhepunkt einer 5-jährigen Studie
über die Erfordernisse der Industrie, die Entwicklung von
Standards und mögliche Vorteile, die durch die Einrichtung
eines Qualitätssicherungssystems von dritter Seite
erzielt werden können. Das ‘‘WoodMark Quality System’’
(WQS) ist ein industriespezifisches System zur Qualitätssteigerung
in der Holzverarbeitung, das dadurch auch die
Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und weltweite Akzeptanz kanadischer
Holzprodukte fördert. Über die bereits bestehenden
Systeme hinaus, insbesondere die Serien der ISO 9000, die
weit verbreitet sind, ergab sich der Anstoß zur Schaffung
Published online: 4 March 2003
R.A. Kozak (&), T.C. Maness
Department of Wood Science, Faculty of Forestry,
University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall,
V6T 1Z4 Vancouver, BC, Canada
E-mail: rkozak@interchg.ubc.ca
The authors would like to thank Darrell Wong and Ken Wong
whose hard work and dedication made this research possible.
This project was funded by Forest Renewal BC.
eines industriespezifischen Zertifizierungsprogramms aus
den speziellen Eigenheiten des Rohstoffs Holz und seiner
weiteren Verarbeitung mit speziellen Herausforderungen
der Qualitätssicherung. Hierzu wurden sieben für die
Holzindustrie spezifische Standards entwickelt. Sie wurden
in zwei Pilotprojekten mit positiven Ergebnissen
eingesetzt.
1
Introduction
The wood products industry is broadly comprised of three
major sectors: pulp and paper, primary wood products
and value-added wood products. In Canada, the first two
sectors account for the majority of business and are
characterized by large, diversified interests producing a
narrow range of commodity products, from pulp and
paper to lumber and panels. Conversely, the value-added
sector is a very disaggregated sector, made up of both large
and small companies. However, most value-added firms
tend to be small design-oriented shops, with little access to
capital and a history of low paying jobs and a poorly
educated workforce.
The term ‘‘value-added’’ refers to the transformation of
commodity solid wood products, like lumber and panels,
into other higher value wood products (Wilson et al. 1999).
Simply put, this is usually achieved by some combination
of manufacturing steps (resawing, surfacing, drying,
assembly) that incrementally adds value to the product
(in the eyes of the customer) at a rate that exceeds the cost
of production.
Value-added wood products generally fall into one of
the following categories, in order from lowest to highest
value:
Canada has an abundance of high quality wood fiber and,
not surprisingly, the wood products industry is one of its
most important sectors, accounting for approximately 13%
of the Gross Domestic Product (Statistics Canada 1996).
While the value-added wood products sector accounts for
less than 10% of the total Canadian wood products shipments,
it is, nonetheless, an important and growing sector,
with approximately 1,900 manufacturing establishments
and 45,000 employees (Industry Canada 2001). In addition,
the Canadian value-added sector has recently experienced a
growth surge in the last decade, with clear upward trends
seen for kitchen cabinets, wooden doors and windows,
millwork and moldings and wooden household furniture.
This is due in no small part to an increasingly price
competitive environment, the trend towards globalization
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Æ remanufactured wood products
Æ shakes and shingles
Æ palletsc and boxes
Æ fences
Æ miscellaneous other products (toys, ladders, etc.)
Æ engineeredwood products
Æ moldings,millwork and floors
Æ doors and windows
Æ cabinetry
Æ furniture
Æ home systems
of the industry, and subsequent market expansion into the
United States, Japan and Europe.
There has been a heroic effort in Canada, and around
the world, to expand the value-added wood products
sector. The primary reason for this is to diversify the wood
products industry and provide employment and economic
development rather than shipping commodity products to
other countries for further processing. Employment
growth in the value-added sector has, to some degree,
offset the loss of jobs in the primary sector, and, by all
accounts, there is further potential. However, the valueadded
manufacturing industry is different from primary
processing in many ways.
Global competition in the value-added sector is fierce,
and quality costs are often very high. The wood industry
is unique in so far as wood is a heterogeneous, organic
and highly variable raw material. This presents many
challenges with respect to the quality and quality control
of wood products manufactured. This is especially true
in the value-added wood products sector, where high
value goods are typically produced by means of a
vast array of rapidly evolving technologies—waste and
rework are prevalent. Commonly encountered
quality problems in the wood industry are shown in
Table 1.
These facts point to a pressing need for quality programs
that revolve around a strict adherence to industrial
quality principles, while taking into account the inherent
variability of wood. In many instances, this requires a
special skill set, beyond what is ordinarily prescribed by
quality assurance systems like the ISO 9000 series.
2
Development of the new quality system
Given the variable and heterogeneous nature of wood and
the unusual quality challenges revolving around the
production of value-added wood products, it makes sense
that an industry-specific quality mark be developed for
the particular needs of this industry. In order to be
successful, such a system would need to serve two
purposes. First and foremost, it would need to create a
framework for companies to continually produce high
quality and consistent products. Second, it would need to
become an instantly recognizable symbol of quality to
customers in the value-added wood products industry.
These themes are central to the WoodMark Quality
System (WQS). To our knowledge, this sort of approach
has never been attempted in the North American value-added
wood products sector and it is an idea whose
time has come.
The research project to develop this quality system
proceeded in the following stages:
1. An industry needs assessment of quality issues;
2. A critical review of existing quality systems through a
literature review;
3. Extensive plant visits and discussions about quality and
quality systems across Canada;
4. The development of the new proposed quality system;
and
5. First hand experience with the new system through
implementation in two wood processing plants in
British Columbia.
2.1
Industry needs survey
In the early stages of the project, a mail survey was sent to
value-added producers in British Columbia in an attempt
to gauge the level of adoption and interest in quality assurance
systems (Kozak and Maness 2001). While the results
cannot be inferred onto the population of valueadded
producers across Canada, they do indicate a definite
market need for such a program. In general, value-added
producers in British Columbia have not yet implemented
quality assurance programs—only 14.3% of the companies
surveyed were certified by some independent quality assurance
organization, with only one being ISO 9000-certified.
The majority of the companies surveyed did intend
on becoming certified in the near future, with less than
one-quarter saying that they likely would not, either because
it was not being demanded or because they felt that
their in-house quality systems were sufficient.
Even though many of the value-added wood producers
stated that the process of quality certification was difficult
to implement, approximately 90% said that they would
definitely go through the process again and that it was
definitely ‘‘worth it’’. More than 60% of the companies
interviewed felt that the quality assurance program that
they had implemented had been effective in increasing
profitability.
Table 1. Some typical causes of
quality costs in the wood
products industry
Tabelle 1. Einige typische
Beispiele für Qualitätskosten
in der holzverarbeitenden
Industrie
Raw Material
Æ Knots and other natural defects
Æ Splits and cracks
Æ Variable moisture content
Æ Streaks and discoloration
People
Æ Hiring the wrong people
Æ Lack of training
Æ Poor morale
Æ Overbearing supervisors
Processes
Æ Improper drying (moisture content)
Æ Poor sizing and machining marks
Æ Incorrect drilling
Æ Purchasing defective products
Products
Æ Poor finishing quality
Æ Inconsistent color
Æ Performance failures
Æ Improper home assembly

Further market studies have decisively shown that
certain customer groups place a high degree of currency
on quality certification marks. For example, 70% of Japanese
homebuilders in one consumer study stated that they
would like to see quality assurance labels placed on interior
wood products. Many of these respondents stated that
quality assurance marks should be based on meeting some
pre-specified levels of durability, performance, and reliability
(Wahl et. al. 1999).
2.2
Review of existing quality assurance systems
Ignoring company in-house quality control programs,
quality assurance usually takes one of three forms: 1) a
quality system approach; 2) an award mechanism; and 3) an
industry-specific mark or logo. These three models share
two common traits—an independent and unbiased third
party generally administers each and companies are
awarded the right to display quality marks or logos on their
products as a means of promotion. However, this is typically
where the similarities end. The question of which model of
quality assurance should be adopted by the value-added
wood products industry is not a simple one to answer.
There are few companies that are unaware of the quality
system approach; the most widely used being the ISO 9000
series. The ISO 9000 series is an internationally recognized
set of quality management standards for documenting and
implementing quality plans (Clements 1993). By its very
nature, the original ISO 9000 standards were a rigidly
document-oriented approach. For example, management
guidelines for statistical process control (SPC) were essential
for becoming certified. However, ISO 9000 required
little more than a quality plan for implementing SPC. In
other words, strict adherence to quality control sampling
procedures and analyses were not required. Rather, a
process by which such methodologies could be deployed
was required.
Due to the highly variable nature of wood, the proper
implementation and execution of statistical process control
methodologies is critical for ensuring the production
of high quality wood products. In most cases, the process
of setting up a statistical quality control program for a
wood products company warrants an independent audit
on its own. ISO 9000 does not provide this.
A second problem with the ISO 9000 series is its scale.
Production in the value-added wood products industry,
unlike commodity products, is extremely varied, making it
difficult to impose anyone set of standards. Furthermore,
in Canada, most value-added manufacturing plants are
small. ISO 9000 may simply be too big and cost prohibitive
for many of these producers to implement.
This research was conducted prior to the release of the
latest ISO 9001:2000 standard. It is interesting to note that
the ISO 9000 system has been significantly changed to put
a higher focus on the customer and on measurement and
control techniques, both of which are now required (West
et. al. 1999). However, there is still debate in the literature
on whether this new implementation of the standards will
revive interest in ISO (Lamprect 1999).
The second model for quality assurance is through an
award mechanism, which is to say that companies are
certified based on their ability to meet some predefined
criteria (usually rated against a point system). These
quality awards tend to be country-specific, the most
common examples being the Malcom Baldridge National
Award for Quality in the United States, the National
Quality Institute Awards for Excellence in Canada, the
Deming Prize in Japan, and the European Quality Award
(Nakhai and Neves 1994).
Organizations that apply for the award usually write a
detailed self-assessment of their own performance against
the set of criteria for the award in question. The process of
preparing the self-assessment helps them to better understand
and implement the quality criteria in the organization.
The prestigious nature of the awards has been
successful in raising company profiles, and many businesses
searching for a quality management model to increase
their competitiveness have used these criteria as a
guide.
There can be no doubt that awards-based systems
serve as excellent promotional and public relations tools
for companies lucky enough to receive them. However,
the self-assessment is difficult to prepare and requires a
great deal of initiative and expertise on the part of the
applicant (Blazey 1998). This type of quality program
also does not address the need for companies to
improve their organization continuously. Certainly,
they do not address the unique quality challenges
faced by the wood industry with respect to drying,
processing and assembly.
The last model for quality assurance, and possibly the
best known to consumers, is the industry-specific system.
Essentially, marks or logos specific to a given industry are
given to companies that have met production and performance
standards set forth by the accrediting agency.
Industry-specific quality assurance marks have gained
wide appeal and acceptance in the textile and computer
industries and have been shown to be powerful tools for
increasing global customer awareness and acceptance. One
need only look at a woolen clothing label to see arguably
the most well known and successful quality assurance logo—the
omnipresent ‘Woolmark’ which works on behalf
of Australian wood producers. This label guarantees consumers
that the article of clothing is made to exacting and
rigorous quality standards.
Given the success of industry-specific quality assurance
systems and their ability to address the singular quality
issues in a given industry, the general feeling among
stakeholders involved in this research project was that this
was exactly the approach that was required for the valueadded
wood products sector in Canada. The WoodMark
Quality System (WQS) was launched in 1999, with the
overarching aim of stimulating the Canadian value-added
wood products sector through the production and promotion
of high quality wood products.
3
Essential factors for a successful quality system
Modern quality systems in North America have their roots
in the quality philosophy and tradition established by
W. Edwards Deming in Japan in the 1950s. Deming’s 14
points were the foundation of the development of Total
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Quality Management (TQM), Continuous Improvement
(CI), and many other quality programs (Deming 1986).
To be effective, a quality system must change the culture
of an organization towards creating an environment
conducive to thinking, problem solving and customer
satisfaction. The documentation of standardized work
procedures and implementation of static rules and tools
will not necessarily have this desired effect. However, incorporating
Deming’s 14 points into the way that a company
does business will have a profound effect on the
organization’s culture—a case in point being the quality
revolution that took place in Japan in the 1950s and 1960s.
That being the case, in searching for a new quality
system, the research team looked for a system that would
cause an organization to visibly change their culture in a
manner consistent with Deming’s 14 points. This became
the starting point in the development of the WoodMark
Quality System.
3.1
Importance of management commitment
During the development of the WoodMark Quality System,
the research team saw many examples of quality programs
that failed due to a lack of focus and support from senior
management. For this reason, the WQS starts with a strong
acceptance at the senior management level and a senior
manager must be appointed to oversee the program.
To be successful, management must commit the financial
resources both to the implementation and to the
day-to-day operation of the quality system. An organizational
chart and a table of responsibilities is necessary to
show who is responsible for the various aspects of the
program.
Management commitment is an important part of all
quality systems and must be designed to create constancy
of purpose in the organization and set the tone for the
quality system. This was the first of Deming’s 14 points
(Deming 1986) and it gives the organization a forwardlooking
perspective that it is dedicated to stay in business.
3.2
Continuous improvement
An effective quality system should not be documentation
based, but instead geared toward building a living system
that involves all employees and continually identifies
critical processes in the organization that need improving.
The purpose of the quality system itself is to put in place a
formal structure for problem solving and improvement.
Enhancing communication, building morale, and teamwork
are central parts of the quality standards. In addition,
measurement and control of in-process work must be
done on a continual basis to provide the information
necessary to understand process variability and gauge
improvement.
The quality system developed in this research grew out
of the study of long-term structural problems inherent in
the wood products manufacturing industry. While the
system may work for other industries, it is specially designed
for the wood industry. The consultants that assist in
the implementation of the system must be knowledgeable
about the industry, as must the auditors.
3.3
Customer input
The business process starts with the customer. Because of
this, consumer research is critical to the success and
growth of the organization. Customer feedback provides
the information required to determine what sorts of
questions to ask. Consequently, an effective quality system
must require that the organization obtain feedback from
customers and use this information to help create the
quality improvement plan.
Repeatedly in the development of the WQS, the research
team talked to plant workers who did not even
know who their customers were, much less what their
specific issues were. Overall, it was found out that plant
workers, who were familiar with actual customers understood
the reasons behind the quality procedures and knew
what to look for on the production line. A simple acknowledgement
of this can make a tremendous difference
in employee motivation and morale.
3.4
Effective use of staff time
Effectiveness means that an organization is working on the
right things to reduce quality costs. It is difficult for a
quality system or an auditor to determine which processes
in the plant contribute most to quality costs. This must be
done by the organization itself, in consultation with their
customers and suppliers.
The heart of a quality improvement system is in the
constant definition, evaluation, and reevaluation of the
processes in the plant. It is vitally important that everyone
in the plant is involved in this activity. Senior management
is responsible for setting the broad quality goals and the
policies that drive the system. This sets the overall climate
for quality improvement in the company. Management
must periodically conduct an internal review of the WQS
to gauge its effectiveness in meeting the organization’s
quality goals.
Senior management should collaborate with the quality
manager and the production managers to develop procedures
for determining customer satisfaction. Interdisciplinary
quality teams should be established to act on
opportunities. The quality teams define the critical areas
based on both management’s quality policies and feedback
from the customer. They help to identify opportunities for
improvement which, in turn, means that everyone in the
organization is involved and that communication is improved.
At the same time, the teams must establish
benchmarking procedures to determine the effectiveness
of their quality improvement program. Together, these
ideas are integrated to work as an expanded Deming Cycle,
shown in Fig. 1.
3.5
Employee involvement
A living quality system involves everyone in the
organization. To get everyone involved, a proactive
approach must be taken. For many years, plant floor
workers in the wood industry have been told things like,
‘‘we don’t pay you to think’’, and ‘‘if it ain’t broke don’t

99
Fig. 1. Continuous improvement cycle of
the WoodMark Quality System (WQS)
Bild 1. Zyklus der ständigen Verbesserung
des Holz-Qualitäts-Systems (WQS)
fix it’’. An atmosphere of mutual respect must be created
to get people to fully contribute to the improvement
program.
The continuous improvement cycle shown in Fig. 1 can
be used to focus everyone in the plant on defining and
improving critical processes and supplies. It is very important
that the production supervisors and plant floor
workers are actively involved in establishing the critical
processes through participation on the quality improvement
teams. This overcomes much of the resistance often
encountered in implementing process improvement
methods. As improvements in the organization are made,
the critical processes are constantly being redefined.
Creative brainstorming is one of the best tools to promote
mutual respect. When facilitated properly, there is
more listening than talking, and people start to see each
other as creative and intelligent workers, critical to the
success of the firm. Creative brainstorming is an open
process and everyone can clearly see where ideas are
coming from—as a result there is less reluctance to
change. Workers feel like they are part of the thinking part
of the organization and their morale improves.
4
The WoodMark quality system
The quality principles outlined in the section above were
organized into seven standards consisting of thirty
elements. The resulting quality system is called the
WoodMark Quality System. A diagram of the complete
system is shown in Table 2. There were two main criteria
for success: 1) that the system can be fully implemented
within six months or less; and 2) that the implementation
phase of the quality system would show immediate benefits
by reducing quality costs and improving morale. A
brief summary of the quality standards follows. A more
complete description of the standards can be obtained
from the authors upon request.
4.1
Summary of the seven quality standards
4.1.1
Standard 1—Management commitment
Standard 1 provides assurance that senior management is
actively involved and supportive of the quality system. A
representative of senior management is responsible for
setting the organization’s quality policies and goals and
the Quality Manager is responsible for seeing that the
system responds to those priorities. Management must
conduct an annual internal review of the quality system.
Improvements in policies and responsibilities are made in
response to the review, if necessary.
4.1.2
Standard 2—Quality plan
Standard 2 requires that the company documents the
quality system and has a mechanism for information dissemination
to ensure that charts and graphs used for
quality improvement are available to all plant workers.
Additionally, a system must be established for controlling
the quality records. A manual describing the quality plan
must be written that explains the details of the quality
system. The manual should contain detailed information
on how data is collected, analyzed and used in the quality
system. The auditors must ensure that employees fully
understand the information that is provided with respect
to the quality system.
4.1.3
Standard 3—Inspection of incoming material
Standard 3 implements a system for acceptance testing of
critical supplies purchased by the organization. The acceptance
testing procedures must be tied to formal criteria
used on purchase orders and contracts. A supplier rating
system based on past performance is then used to rate

100
Table 2. Organization of standards and elements of theWoodMark Quality System (WQS)
Tabelle 2. Organisation und Standards des Holz-Qualitäts-Systems (WQS)
Standard Standard 1 Standard 2 Standard 3 Standard 4 Standard 5 Standard 6 Standard 7
Traceability Training Continuous
Improvement
Measurement of
in-process work
Quality Plan Inspection of
Incoming Material
Management
Commitment
Ensure that problems
and opportunities
for improvement are
continuously addressed
and resolved
Ensure that all
employees are fully
trained and capable
to perform their
duties
Ensure that material
is traceable from
incoming material
to shipped product
Ensure that all work is
performed according
to standards to reduce
variation
Ensure that all
material used in
production meet
the set standards
Plan and document
the implementation
of the quality system
Purpose Confirm that top
management
is committed
Senior Management,
QM, Leadhands
Senior Management,
HR, Leadhands & QM
Production Manager
&QM
Senior Management Quality Manager (QM) Purchasing& QM Production Manager
&QM
Who is
responsible
7.1 Establish quality
teams determine
and how they
function
6.1 Establish policies
for employee
career development
and training
5.1 Implement an identification
system
for machines
and equipment
4.1 Create a general
process flowchart
and a facility
layout
3.1 Create procedures
& standards for
acceptance testing
critical supplies
2.1 Createa quality manual
and determine structure
for handbook & critical
work procedures
Elements1.1 Appoint responsible
individual
in senior
management
7.2 Use brainstorming
to determine critical
areas of problems
and opportunities
for improvement
6.2 Determine specific
training requirements
for the
WQS and
Critical Processes
5.2 Implement an identification
system
for tracking orders
through the plant
4.2 Create process
flowcharts for
critical processes
3.2 Establish contracts
with performance
criteria for critical
supplies
2.2 Create templates of
data collection sheets,
quality charts and
related info
1.2 Definea budget
for the WQS
7.3 Determine
customer
satisfaction
6.3 Establish training
records and
maintain training
documents
5.3 Implement tracking
system for parts
flowing through
critical areas
4.3 Create work
procedures for
critical processes
3.3 Implement performance
checklists
and procedures
for selecting
suppliers
2.3 Create a system for
dissemination of
information
1.3 Appoint Quality
Manager (QM)
7.4 Acton the
opportunities
for improvement
4.4 Apply SPC tools for
critical processes
2.4 Createa system for
storing and maintaining
quality documents
1.4 Develop quality
policies and
broad quality
goals
7.5 Develop goals and
benchmark for inprocess
improvement
4.5 Control nonconforming
products
1.5 Create organizational
flow chart
& table of
responsibilities
4.6 Test and control
measuring tools
1.6 Conduct annual
internal review
of the WQS

suppliers. While these are usually standard business
practices in most sectors, they were added to the WQS,
because small and medium sized wood producers typically
have inadequate systems in place.
4.1.4
Standard 4—Measurement and control of in-process work
Standard 4 is the strongest standard in the WQS. It is not
necessary to have written work procedures for all processes
in the plant, but they are required for the critical
processes. The company must apply SPC tools to these
critical processes. Standard 4 also requires that a system be
implemented to properly label and isolate non-conforming
products found in the inspection process. Additionally,
very sensitive measuring tools are often used for quality
control work in the wood industry, such as moisture meters
and micrometers. These tools must be labeled, regularly
calibrated, and tested and good records must be kept
on their status.
4.1.5
Standard 5—Traceability
Product traceability is becoming an important issue in the
wood products industry for several reasons. First, due to
international environmental standards, it is becoming increasingly
important to produce wood products from raw
materials that originated from sustainably managed forests—many
environmental certification systems currently
provide this assurance. Secondly, many causes of scrap
and rework originate from poor raw material quality or
problems in an earlier process step. To successfully identify
the root causes of problems, it is often necessary to
trace the product back to an earlier process.
This standard ensures that a process is in place to track
orders and parts through the plant. This system should be
designed so that parts flowing through critical processes
can be traced back to their origin. To aid in tracking, an
identification system must be created for all machines and
equipment in the plant.
4.1.6
Standard 6—Training
No quality system can function without proper training.
Standard 6 ensures that training is structured, continuous
and part of the career path development of the employees.
Training is designed to familiarize everyone with the WQS
so that they can participate in the continuous improvement
activities. It also gives the organization a forwardlooking
and long-term approach to human resources development.
This has been sadly lacking in the secondary
wood processing industry.
4.1.7
Standard 7—Continuous improvement
Standard 7 is the heart of the WQS and it works hand in
hand with the other six standards. This standard requires
that a method for the creating quality teams be established.
The quality teams function to define the critical processes
and devise methods for reducing variation. Creative
brainstorming is the key tool used to promote employee
involvement, promote mutual respect, and help drive out
fear (a key point in Deming’s treatise). Standard 7 also
requires the implementation of methods for determining
customer satisfaction, and that this information must be
made available to the relevant quality teams. Finally,
Standard 7 requires that a benchmarking system be established
for gauging the long-term effectiveness of the
WQS. This ensures that the quality system itself undergoes
continuous improvement.
4.2
Implementation of the system
To date, two secondary wood products companies, both
located in the Okanagan valley of British Columbia, have
been certified by the WoodMark Quality System: a largescale
ready-to-assemble furniture plant and a mediumscale
cabinetry plant. These pilot companies were considered
‘test cases’ for the purposes of assessing the challenges
of applying a quality assurance system in an
industrial context and the potential benefits that could be
accrued by companies implementing such systems.
While it is too early to see the ‘bottom-line’ results of
the WQS, it is clear that both companies have benefited
from the process. The WoodMark logo has proven to be a
successful marketing tool for promoting each company’s
respective products to far-reaching customers. In both
cases, the number of parts required to manufacture finished
products and the number of waste parts/rejects have
been reduced considerably. Perhaps, most importantly,
each company has now effectively created a ‘quality culture’
within the organization that did not exist prior to
certification. Check sheets are seen at every critical machine
center and the focus of line employees has shifted
from production to preventative action as a means of reducing
non-conformities. When quality problems arise,
employees and management form brainstorming teams to
offer up solutions, with the focus of these discussions
usually being on continuous improvement and customer
requirements.
Ongoing audits have decisively shown that the above
activities have continued and have become an integral
means of conducting business for these two secondary
wood producers. Lastly, it should be noted that both
companies feel that the WQS has taken them most, if not
all of the way, to ISO 9000 certification. However, at this
time, they feel no need to register for this program.
5
Summary
The development of the WoodMark Quality System
represents the culmination of a five-year research project
supported by industry, government and academia. Currently,
the researchers are putting a network of consultants
and auditors in place in order to have a wider reach
throughout the Canadian (and possibly the North American)
wood products sector. These experts must have an
understanding of the quality challenges specific to the
wood industry and will help companies to implement the
WQS and become certified. Any company that is certified
by the WoodMark Quality System has the right to bare the
distinctive WQS logo on their products and promotional
materials.
101

102
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