Certifications Aren’t Just for the Big Companies

Out of the Box Manufacturing is a family-owned business that manufactures electronic assemblies and printed circuit board assemblies. Located in Renton, Washington, the company has around 50 employees.

Out of the Box Manufacturing is a small business that successfully competes with much larger organizations. However, one of the barriers to sales was that the company did not have important third party certifications such as ISO 9001 or AS9100. Company leaders became aware of Impact Washington, part of the MEP National Network™, through an associate at Green River Community College, and decided to bring in Impact Washington to help achieve these certifications.

Impact Washington worked with Out of the Box Manufacturing to implement a management system consistent with the ISO 9001 and AS9100 standards. The system needed to follow Lean Manufacturing Principles as much as possible, especially because Out of the Box Manufacturing has a very small number of managers for the sales volume they produce. The standards required the organization to add some processes, and Impact Washington helped Out of the Box Manufacturing build a paperless system from the ground-up that was just the right size for the company. Sarah Stuart of Impact Washington acted as the consultant and paperless management system architect, creating a custom solution that eliminated more waste. The management team and high performers gained more advanced skills in Lean Manufacturing, and the ISO 9001/AS9100 implementation helped Out of the Box Manufacturing to increase sales and add jobs.