Grizzley Question

[Larry Coelho]

I am reading Grizzley's latest catalogue, comparing planers. What do they mean when they ssomething is made in an ISO9001 factory?

[Dewey Torres]

Larry,
This is not really a Grizzly question but you had no way of knowing that. ISO is a standard:

SO 9000 is a family of standards (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standardization) for quality management systems (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_management_system). ISO 9000 is maintained by ISO, the International Organization for Standardization (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Organization_for_Standardization) and is administered by accreditation and certification bodies. Some of the requirements in ISO 9001 (which is one of the standards in the ISO 9000 family) include

a set of procedures that cover all key processes in the business;
monitoring processes to ensure they are effective;
keeping adequate records;
checking output for defects, with appropriate and corrective action where necessary;
regularly reviewing individual processes and the quality system itself for effectiveness; and
facilitating continual improvement

A company or organization that has been independently audited and certified to be in conformance with ISO 9001 may publicly state that it is "ISO 9001 certified" or "ISO 9001 registered". Certification to an ISO 9000 standard does not guarantee any quality of end products and services; rather, it certifies that formalized business processes are being applied. Indeed, some companies enter the ISO 9001 certification as a marketing tool.

[John Schreiber]

The best description I have heard is that they have demonstrated that they are capable of making a very high quality product.

It doesn't mean that other companies are not capable of the same quality, or that this company always produces a very high quality product, but it is a good sign.

[Paul Greathouse]

Larry

Don't let the ISO9001 be the determining factor if you are trying to decide between Grizzly planers. I ordered a G0454Z in December to beat the January price increase.

I called Grizzly tech support and asked if I would be giving up anything by purchasing the G0454Z instead of the G1033X. His answer was no, there are a few differences but nothing to warrant the price difference. At that time it was about a $300 to $400 difference now its only about $100.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the ISO9001 factories are in Taiwan but the engineers at the Taiwan factories do alot of oversight at the Chinese factories so the quality should be roughly the same.

I decided on the G0454Z after reading many good reviews here at SMC. Its on backorder and is due to ship out the first week of February. I'm sure I will be happy with it when it gets here. Do some searches you will find alot of info on the Grizzly planers.

[scott spencer]

The best description I have heard is that they have demonstrated that they are capable of making a very high quality product.

It doesn't mean that other companies are not capable of the same quality, or that this company always produces a very high quality product, but it is a good sign.

That really depends on how quality is defined. If quality is defined by a company's ability to meet stated specifications, then ISO can increase quality levels, but they don't increase the ability of what those specifications are capable of achieving. ISO Standards are better at ensuring a level of consistency through documentation of procedures, training, policies for controlling specifications, etc., than they are for setting performance levels. A product's performance level is really how many of us define high quality.

Ficticious Example 1: Think Yugo standards vs luxurious Bentley standards....it's very possible for a Yugo caliber car to be made in an ISO plant, and a Bentley to not be, yet the Bentley has a better ride, more powerful motor, quieter interior, and nicer creature comforts.

Ficticious Example 2: Skil saw blades could be made in an ISO 9000 factory consistently meeting their goal of using low grade steel bodies, C2 carbide honed with 200 grit, and flatness tolerances of +/- 0.08". If they have documentation that their entire process is capable of meeting those specs, they will be awarded ISO certification. ISO certification has no impact on the fact that these blades will perform very poorly by a woodworker's standards.

This is in no way meant as a slam against Grizzly or ISO. Grizzly has earned their quality reputation through value/price performance IMO. ISO certification is a good thing IMO, but I did want to point out what it does and what it doesn't do for an end product.

[Ben West]

Interesting that you bring thus up, as my father-in-law and I had this discussion over Christmas. He was a machinist for 30 years and his shop became ISO 9001 registered while he was working there. I asked him "So, what did that mean"?

His response: "It didn't change our products at all, but it did make us fill out more paperword!"

[Dave Verstraete]

Interesting that you bring thus up, as my father-in-law and I had this discussion over Christmas. He was a machinist for 30 years and his shop became ISO 9001 registered while he was working there. I asked him "So, what did that mean"?

His response: "It didn't change our products at all, but it did make us fill out more paperword!"

Ben
Your FIL had it right. ISO can tie you in knots if it is not properly applied. Each company designs its own quality manual to fit itself. Small companies tend to over design it.