By Renee Hatcher
NAWCWD Public Affairs

The NAWCWD Weapons Prototype Division (WPD) passed a recent audit allowing the division to maintain its International Standards Organization (ISO) 9001:2000 certification.

“Keeping our ISO certification benefits all of our customers,” said Ken Hayes, head of the WPD. “Our customers can have confidence that they are getting exactly what they asked for because our products are compliant, and reliably within specifications.”

An independent audit was conducted in April, and determined that the WPD follows the many well-defined processes that govern how it operates.

The division first earned the ISO certification in 2006. The work of planners, machinists and inspectors at the WPD Michelson Lab location were included under the original certification. The electronics branch and weapons maintenance were added to the certification this time.

“The success of this effort is a credit to the dedication and discipline of all our division employees,” said Hayes, who singled out Quality Officer Sheila Jones as “the focal point for all things ISO in the Weapons Prototype Division. We are creating a culture of quality and Sheila is the driving force that keeps us on track.”

Having ISO certification is not a requirement for WPD. It started as a goal about 10 years ago when leadership made a strategic decision to pursue the certification.

“I’m proud to say we are the only Weapons Division organization that has ISO certification,” Jones said. “Sustaining that certification is a challenge and a continual process.”

WPD will be up for review again in 2012 for recertification. Then, the division expects to add its fleet of robotic trucks, and plastics to the certification process.

PHOTO CUTLINES:

Photo by Renee Hatcher
Members of the NAWCWD machine shop from the Engineering Prototype, Component Integration, and Prototype Product Integrity branches celebrate the recent ISO 9001:2000 certification.

Photo by Renee Hatcher
Sheila Jones, quality officer for the Weapons Prototype Division, watches as Michael Rivers, materials engineering technician, verifies the specifications of a piece of equipment produced in the machine shop by using the coordinate measuring machine.