Dexco Polymers Manufacturing Unit Certified to the ISO 2000 Standard

     The Plaquemine manufacturing plant successfully achieved certification to the new ISO 9001:2000 standard in April 2003.  During a semiannual audit by Underwriters Laboratories (UL), the plant's certifying body, conducted in November 2002, plant quality assurance personnel, Paula Bourgeois and Jimmy Mack, felt confident that the quality management system was ready for the change over from the previous ISO 9002:1994 standard.   They requested that UL check the plant's compliance to the updated standard in advance of the December 2003 deadline for conversion to determine if there were any areas that would need revision.    Minimal issues were found and corrected by Paula to UL's satisfaction.  A follow up audit in August resulted in continued certification to the new standard. 

     The new standard promotes the adoption of a process approach when developing, implementing and improving the effectiveness of a quality management system.  The process is described as managing the linkage of activities.  The Plan-Do-Check-Act methodology is applied to the management of quality processes for continuous improvement and enhancement of customer satisfaction by meeting customer requirements.  Some benefits include continuous improvements based on analysis of data (product or process), customer satisfaction based on defined metrics, and management commitment to improve the effectiveness of the processes and people.