CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY: A CASE STUDY FROM THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR CERTIFICATION BY INMETRO IN THE
METAL WORK INDUSTRY
Sergio Luiz Kyrillos
Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de
São Paulo,
Paulista University-UNIP, Brazil
E-mail: kyrillos@ifsp.edu.br
Francisco J.S. Milreu
Paulista University-UNIP, Brazil
E-mail: milreu@gmail.com
José B. Sacomano
Paulista University-UNIP, Brazil
E-mail: jbsacomano@gmail.com
José B. Souza
Paulista University-UNIP, Brazil
E-mail: josebarrozo@gmail.com
Ridnal João do Nascimento
Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de
São Paulo,
Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares – IPEN,
Brazil
E-mail: ridnal@uol.com.br
Submission: 11/03/2015
Accept: 27/03/2015
ABSTRACT
This article presents field
research with bibliographic support studying
aspects related to corporate sustainability. It covers the implementation of a
quality management system where sustainability and requirements are addressed
in a system, in which quality is not only seen as maintaining compliance with
standards and features of a product; it also encompasses numerous attributes
connected with responsibility. It was concluded that there had been significant
returns, which allowed it to meet quality standards and consolidate the supply
of products with greater accuracy, in addition to promoting the image of the
company as being socially responsible. Gains in efficiency and commitment from
suppliers were also demonstrated, thus allowing product prices to remain
competitive. It shows how the company obtained the certification label issued
by the regulatory body, demonstrating audited quality and standards of
corporate sustainability; a feature, which is an edge for companies in the
global environment.
Keywords: Management, Quality, Production, Corporate sustainability.
1.
INTRODUCTION
Brazilian
companies, particularly after the 1990s, have sought to position themselves
solidly in a highly competitive market. In this environment, business units
have sought to offer products that satisfy at least three important conditions:
I.
Meeting the quality standards agreed between buyers
and suppliers, meeting legal standards, whether compulsory or not.
II.
Supply products whose prices are competitive,
particularly when compared to imported goods.
III.
Offer payment terms, which allow for negotiations
permitting comfortable timeframes to customers.
Accordingly,
during each period, companies adopt management practices for production which
lead to an environment where quality is the main keynote, since quality brings
implied condition of 'no' to redoing work, and wastage, with a view to
efficiency.
Accordingly
planning and control of production helps companies by creating attitudes which
makes them capable of making reductions in their operating costs, comply with
applicable legislation, enter new markets, with a resulting increase in both
scale and customer satisfaction.
State:
"for a company to disseminate this way of working, it is necessary to
establish standards in all sectors and departments. Integrating activities,
with clear and formal controls that foster high quality standard
production" (COSTA NETO; CANUTO, 2010).
Chapoval
Neto And Godoy (2006) show that micro and small firms have higher costs than
competitors, because they do not consider human resources as a strategic edge
to achieve specific standards of competitiveness and quality.
This
article aims to present the results obtained from the implementation of a
Quality Management System (QMS) in accordance with Brazilian Standard NBR 15236
from the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (ABNT) for safety of
school supplies, in accordance with Ordinance 481 from the National Institute
of Metrology, Quality and Technology (INMETRO), at a cutlery company.
It
is important to note that the company that was the subject of this study,
implemented the above mentioned standard over the period from August 2011 to
February 2012, in order to comply compulsorily with the aforementioned
ordinance 481; and so in this article we demonstrate both the advantages
obtained by the company, and the challenges and difficulties encountered in the
process of implementing the system.
The
paper is structured as follows:
-
Theoretical framework, covering the following:
·
Ordinance 481 from INMETRO
·
Brazilian Standard - NBR 15236
·
Corporate quality and sustainability
-
Stages of implementation.
-
The company that was a subject of the study.
-
Results of the implementation, conclusions and
prospective new studies.
2.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1. Ordinance
48
Following
the guidelines set forth in ABNT NBR 15236, INMETRO issued Ordinance. 481 on
December 7, 2010 in order to establish "the criteria for the conformity
assessment program for School Supplies, with a focus on safety, by means of a
compulsory certification mechanism". The ordinance proposed to minimize
the occurrence of "consumer accidents that endanger the health and safety
of children under the age of 14". To implement this, it introduced, among
others, ABNT NBR ISO 9000 and ABNT NBR ISO 9001 governing Quality Management
Systems, in addition to ABNT NBR ISO/IEC 17025 which governs the General
Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories.
2.1.1. Model of certification for evaluating the
Quality Management System (QMS), associated with product testing (System 5).
For
evaluating the quality management system, the ordinance sought to meet the
minimum requirements of ISO 9001 for assessment of QMS at companies by means of
System 5 Certification. To achieve this, initial and periodic tests testing is
performed, with initial and periodic assessments of the Quality Management
System of the manufacturing process.
It
requires a description of the item, a quality manual, control of documents,
planning of production of product, design and development, the procurement
process, checking product purchased, control of production and service
provision, identification and traceability and preservation of product,
measuring and monitoring of the product, the way in which nonconforming product
is dealt with, procedures for corrective action and preventive action.
2.1.2. Batch Certification System (System
7).
Merely
to supplement the provisions of ordinance 481, it should be made clear that
there is the possibility of certification by means of a Batch Certification
Assessment, where certification only covers the specific batch that was
assessed. That was not the case at the company covered by this study, which
opted for System 5 (QMS).
2.2. Brazilian
Standard NBR: 15236
NBR
15236 - Safety of school supplies - was established in 2005 by the Special
Commission for the Study of Safety of School Articles, in order to provide for
technical standards for manufacturing and marketing items for school use,
including products used in the school environment or educational activities
involving children, including lunch boxes, pencil sharpeners, cases, satchels,
backpacks, pens, pencils, propelling pencils, crayons, paintbrushes, paints,
erasers, glues, rulers, correcting fluid, and round-tip scissors, using testing
methods to assess articles as to their mechanical and chemical properties, so
as to minimize comment or involuntary accidents involving children below 14.
The
standard covers any and all risks present in school supplies, small parts,
parts that disintegrate or those with sharp edges or points that might injure
users through lack of attention, incorrect use or misuse, clumsiness, curiosity
and falls.
It
should be noted also that the standard requires products that are marketed to
be accompanied by packaging containing warnings and indications of the
appropriate age range, and a list of the components, stating whether or not
they can be ingested or inhaled.
For
manufacturing, importing and marketing on Brazilian territory, chemical,
mechanical, physical, electrical or biological testing, depending on the type
of product, will be required before being approved as meeting the requirements
of the standard.
According
to INMETRO, if school supplies already on the market are found to be
non-compliant, the manufacturing and marketing thereof must be halted
immediately, and the certification holder must recall the non-compliant
products from the market, within a period not exceeding 30 days.
2.3. Corporate
Quality and Sustainability
Both
the quality and sustainability in companies are recurring issues, not only
because they are present in number of different types of media, or are being
addressed unwillingly by several companies, but also because there is already
an awareness on the part of consumers, who have a certain rejection of
organizations that do not have sustainable programs and those which, similarly,
do not meet their requirements to maintain certain quality standards or do not
appear to have made changes that enhance their image.
Zamcope,
et al. (2013) carried out a study to construct a model to assess corporate
sustainability, taking into account the company's need to seek longevity of its
business, using as a case study a midsize Paraná-state textile company, using
Multi-criteria Decision Support - Constructivist - Methodology. In the study it
was possible to identify a set of performance indicators that characterize the
company's sustainability and measure the studied properties of the organization
under examination and its commitment to sustainability, both individually and
globally.
It
should be noted that Rodrigues, et al. (2014) in a field study conducted in
sugar energy industry plants, concluded, contrary to the global trend and in
spite of environmental progress, that there is
no proactivity on environmental issues and that companies have not yet
incorporated the environmental variable into their strategies. According to the
authors, most of the actions carried out in this direction are the result of
conditions imposed by laws, societal pressures or certifications which have
become necessary and are compulsory.
Andrade,
et al. (2013) identified variables that
appear to be determining factors in Brazilian companies’ adopting the Corporate
Sustainability Index (ISE) of BM & FBOVESPA, and the relation between adopting
the latter and the market value of the companies. The researchers collected
annual data on companies from 2006 to 2011. The study showed that companies
that are bigger and more profitable and in sectors that are considered to have
high environmental impact, are more likely to join the ISE. When the question
of whether adherence to ISE has any relationship with the value metrics of the
company was analyzed, the results did not contradict the positive relationship
hypothesis, however, evidence of a negative relationship was found during the
period following the financial crisis of 2008.
According
Rodrigues (2004) standards such as ISO 9000:2000 show that in addition to
customers, other stakeholders such as a society, outside customers, employees,
suppliers and shareholders should be considered as parties with an interest in
the business and their expectations need to be met.
Schrettle,
et al. (2014) to identify the gaps in corporate sustainability, companies
observe the possibilities to get involved and meet this challenge (i.e.
producers, process and supply chain -related) and structure it according to the
literature on development rational strategy - comprehensive decision-making. In
doing so, the decision-making theme is analyzed as a response to sustainability
from a managerial perspective.
Gariba
Júnior (2005) explains that contrary to what happened in the past, when quality
was understood to be “compliance with standards and attributes", today it
includes not only proper pricing mechanisms but other factors related to social
quality, adopting the same line argued by the researchers
Actions
to play a role in corporate sustainability are classified as internal policies,
quality of products and services, environmental preservation, contribution to the
national economy and ethics. In the Brazilian context, corporate sustainability
cannot be just a synonym for environmental preservation, it also creates an
image that the company can be seen to be, for both those buying from and
selling to the company, one that has and maintains [proper] operating standards
and procedures.
According
to the Ethos Institute, "adopting socially responsible management
necessarily implies acting with a view to obtaining benefits to society,
providing job satisfaction for employees and promoting benefits for
collaborators and for the environment, without forgetting making a return for
investors " (INSTITUTO ETHOS, 2014).
Stubbs
and Cocklin (2008) argue that organizations become sustainable if the dominant
neoclassical model of the company is transformed by social and environmental
priorities and not supplemented and not added to; they propose a
''Sustainability Business Model'' (SBM) in which the concept of sustainability
is the driving force of the company and its decision-making.
Using
a trench analogy Marconato, et al. (2013) that sustainable and strategic
development are separated by a trench; on one side there is the bio-centric
group, who advocate that priority should be given to conservation of natural
resources over socio-economic systems; on the other is the anthropocentric
group, driven by the belief that nature exists to serve man and the growth of
markets and technological advances are sufficient to ensure sustainability.
This
contrast makes building a common vision for sustainable development difficult
and results in slow progress or even going backwards in the search for a better
balance between the economy, society and the environment around the world.
Thus, corporate quality and sustainability reflect an effort regarding the need
to exchange interests them both inside and among organizations, in the search
for ways to find more collaborative means of production.
3.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE QUALITY MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM (QMS)
In
order to achieve success, in addition to establishing the company positively in
the national market, the attitudes that follow were instrumental in having
corporate quality and sustainability standards introduced in the company that
was a subject of this study:
3.1. Commitment
by the Directors
The
Board of Directors is responsible for the QMS and for delegating responsibility
and authority for specific activities related to quality. The directors
provided evidence of their commitment to development, with the implementation
of the QMS and to continually improving its efficiency by analyzing the
performance of the processes involved in production, based on the performance
indicators of processes and products.
3.2. Customer
Focus
The
company, through its employees and also the Board of Directors gives top priority
to identifying the customer’s needs, including their social context, as
evidenced by point of sale, customer orders and market seasonality, ensuring
that the business is productive and profitable.
3.3. Quality
policy
The
company as a whole, defines and documents the Quality Policy, in order to
maintain, formalize and clarify the involvement of all of the thinking and
philosophy regarding quality, in order to increase productivity and
competitiveness; its opinion and belief
is that maintaining the quality and isonomy in its products is essential for it
to remain and grow in the market. Accordingly, it seeks to implement its
Quality Policy as follows:
•
Maintaining the standardization of the manufacture of
its products, in order to directly impact on safety, visual and functional
aspects of the finished product; satisfying the customer’s needs.
•
Ensuring safety means ensuring that its products are
handled correctly, preserving the integrity of consumers and satisfying the
requirements of the law.
•
Seeking at all times a relationship of trust with its
suppliers, while maintaining strict quality control, using top-grade raw
materials that do not harm the environment, constantly looking for new
technologies, i.e. continuous improvement that prioritizes suppliers that
ensure quality.
•
• Employ skilled and trained professionals in the
belief that it is not sufficient to put its product on the market but rather to
ensure that its end consumers have to be fully satisfied with the product they
purchase.
3.4. Quality
Planning
3.4.1. Quality
Objectives
The
directors must ensure that quality objectives are established and met by all
members of the organization. Quality Policy and Objectives are constantly
evaluated by all company employees, by means of meetings, in order to ensure
consistency with organizational targets.
It
is the responsibility of the Board of Directors, together with the company’s
employees, to ensure that the Quality Policy and Objectives are understood,
implemented and maintained at all levels of the organization. The Quality
Policy is posted on notice boards in all areas.
3.4.2. Planning of the quality management
system
The
Board monitors the performance of all activities, by analyzing the indicators
of the production and management process, which are analyzed to monitor
performance and ensure the integrity of the QMS and maintenance and of planned
and implemented changes, by means of critical analysis review meetings.
3.4.3. QMS Coordinator
Once
the coordinator has been appointed, it is his or her responsibility to check
the results of internal audits, compliance with and performance of the system implanted, report on the performance
of the system to the Director and perform a critical review analysis of the
Quality Management System, as well as disseminating and raising awareness to
the other levels of the organization of the customer’s requirements and the
importance of satisfying them.
3.4.4. Critical review analysis by
Management
The
Board carries out evaluations annually or when the performance of QMS becomes
necessary, by means of critical review analysis meetings of the Quality
Committee, duly recorded in the minutes. At such meetings, the quality policy
and objectives are evaluated in order to maintain consistency with the reality
of the company, and requirements and opportunities for improvement of the QMS
are studied, based on the results of audits, indicators of customer
satisfaction, the performance of projects, and monitoring of preventive and
corrective actions, in addition to actions resulting from previous management reviews.
4.
CASE STUDY
The
company produces items of cutlery and the present study is limited to the case
of production of school scissors.
It
is based in the metropolitan area of greater São Paulo; in the municipality of
Guarulhos and has a staff of 37 employees, 32 of whom work in production sector.
Table 1: Table
comparing before and after implementation of the QMS
The production
process involves stamping, assembly using automatic machinery, packaging and
storage. In production processes involving metal stamping, using a cutting tool
for progressive stamping, there is a loss of around 45%. This loss, apparently
high, occurs due to the Tool step profile of the tool and the
profile of the work piece.
For
the purposes of this study, the amount of raw material refers to the item
(piece) scissor blade used in the product school scissors with rounded tips.
This article used the second quarter of 2013 for the purpose of the
calculations; after the system described in 2.1.1 above had been deployed;
comparing it with the previous semester. The proposed QMS covered the process
after production of a quantity of 1,440,000 (one million four hundred and forty
thousand) scissors or 120,000 dozens; each pair of scissors with two blades which
amounts to 2,880,000 (2.88 million) blades.
Using
the 2nd semester of 2013 for the above amount, an average for the semester of
20,000 dozens/month was obtained. 1 dozen scissors = 12 pairs, consisting of 24
blades, each weighing 130g. Therefore, the universe studied equates to 2560
kg/month. (3712 kg of processed raw material); obtaining the figures shown in
Table 1 below.
5.
CONCLUSIONS
The
research proved that the option to deploy the QMS was a correct decision from a
strategic point of view. Although there were costs involved in deployment, it
yielded large returns, allowing for compliance with quality standards and,
principally, corporate sustainability, the subject matter of this study.
The
consolidation of the supply of products
with greater precision as regards quality standards in addition to
disseminating the image of the company as being socially responsible were also
important. Losses decreased allowing product prices to become more competitive,
as well as giving the opportunity for financing, offering better payment terms.
An internal audit was performed on the outsourced suppliers, which helped to
maintain the standards required by both the company and by INMETRO.
REFERENCES