Winnebago Foundry Earns Prestigious ISO Certification

A wonderful thing happened while Winnebago Foundry pursued the coveted International Organization for Standardization (ISO) designation. In the process of pleasing the auditors, the foundry learned a great deal about itself.

“It’s a very positive assessment,” explains Jesse Milks, president of State Line Foundries, which includes Winnebago Foundry and State Line Foundry. “It allowed us to take a broad look at the organization in its current state, as well as in the future. It forced us to get into the weeds a little bit and evaluate where we’re at and how we can improve going forward.”

Winnebago, which joined the State Line team in 2018, was awarded the most current designation, ISO 9001-2015, in April. State Line Foundry has been ISO-certified since 2002. 

“I feel like we’ll see a positive impact on the business at Winnebago,” states Jeff Howard, plant manager of that foundry. “Some customers require an ISO certificate. This allows us to enter those markets.”

The endorsement required the foundry to look internally and to the future. “The new standard is a holistic approach to moving the business forward,” Milks offers. “It looks at the entire organization. How are you satisfying customers? How are you meeting their expectations?”

Howard describes the undertaking as “pretty painless but very insightful.”

Risk management

Previous ISO certifications were very process oriented, Milks details. “There was lots and lots of documentation, and it was very siloed on quality. Now, it evaluates how you’re optimizing customer satisfaction, increasing efficiencies, controlling outputs and continuous improvement throughout the organization.”

Evaluating and managing risk might be the biggest takeaway. Risk is seemingly everywhere.

“There is the risk of sending out bad products,” Milks verifies. “But also, what are the risks of how you’re managing employees, the risk of equipment becoming obsolete? Maybe there is a risk with finances, or the competition, or regulations, or customer expectations changing.”

From there, what actions need to be taken? “If there are urgent needs, let’s put a plan together,” Milks suggests.

Previously, issues might only be discussed by a select few in a specific department. For example, wages could be a risk. “We have competitive employers in the area,” Milks reasons. “In the past, discussions about pay and benefits might have only happened in human resources. Now, we’re talking about that more as a group. It impacts all of us.”

The on-site audit

Winnebago formally began the implementation in November. An auditor spent a day at the plant in early April. All went well, so a second visit was arranged for later in the month.

“That was a two-day audit where they looked at everything more in depth,” Milks explains. “They talk to individuals throughout the facility about their roles and responsibilities, review processes and look for opportunities for improvement.”

A few weeks later, ISO sent word that the designation had been granted.

Howard notes the evaluation is not particularly difficult, but it does require a commitment. “All the key people had to be there. It’s time away from their normal daily tasks. Everyone is dedicating their time to this.”

The impact on the team

The certification requires a blend of accepting change yet also holding onto strengths.

“We didn’t want to go into this and change the entire organization, because we’re having success,” Milks shares. “ISO isn’t asking you to do that.”

Winnebago did make minor adjustments. “The day-to-day methods didn’t change much,” Milks affirms. “We’re already doing a lot of great things – meeting customer expectations and shipping quality castings.”

Howard agrees. “It doesn’t change how we do business. It helps us hold ourselves to the standards we have already established.”

The ISO audit did push management to review the organization as a whole and plan for the future – as a team.

“In the past, there were five or six individuals advocating for something,” Milks clarifies. “Now, we have everyone involved, and more information is being spread down the line, too.”

He describes the current approach as “more vocal” with the involvement of additional staff.

Says Howard, “It challenges us all to look further into the future.”

The efforts pay off

Milks is pleased with the cohesion between Winnebago and State Line. “We want to be consistent,” he explains. “A key for ISO is customer satisfaction and making sure you have a positive brand in the marketplace. We fully support that.

“We don’t want to be that company that is difficult to work with. We’re here to exceed customer expectations.”

What comes next?

State Line Foundries isn’t content to rest on its laurels. Ongoing refinements are key to the organization’s progress. 

“We’re not going to just sit down,” Milks affirms. “We are upholding the standards benchmarked by this process.”

Howard concurs. “The certification is the first step as we continue to grow our process. We will continue to improve our daily operations going forward.”