Recently, Potomac passed both internal and external audits to become re-certified in the ISO international standards program. From its inception Potomac has worked from a customer-centric philosophy and our first ISO certification in 2006 codified our commitment to quality. Going through the rigorous re-certification continues our work in an area that we feel is key to our core values.
ISO 9000 is actually a series of standards that companies use as the foundation of their quality management systems. Developed and published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the certification helps define quality assurance systems for manufacturing and service industries.
Third-party certification bodies provide independent confirmation that manufacturers and service providers meet the stringent requirements of ISO 9001. With over a million organizations worldwide independently certified, ISO 9001 is one of the most widely used management tools in the world.
“ISO is not an arbitrary designation, but a living, breathing process implemented everyday by Potomac employees in our work for customers,” explains Mike Adelstein. “ISO leads Potomac to strive toward achieving our quality objectives for the company, maintain the quality awareness and competency of our employees, and continually improving our processes and products.”
Researchers have studied the impact of ISO on companies over the years and the conclusion is that implementing ISO principles helps companies improve their quality programs. Most importantly, it increases customer satisfaction, which is really what it’s all about for Potomac. But in addition we have found that ISO is great for us internally as well. ISO has helped Potomac become a more efficient, effective operation, and also brought our employees to a higher performance level with greater motivation and awareness, while improving overall employee morale.
So in keeping up our ISO certification, Potomac has made a firm commitment to the long-term quality of all areas of our operation in order to deliver the best quality possible to our customers.
