STIHL Qingdao was successfully certified for ISO 9001:2008 in 2009. On 14-16 April 2014, there was a surveillance audit implemented as one part of certification matrix in the whole group. The audit was conducted by the certification body-DQS. Mr. Bi Chuan from DQS Germany was lead auditor, and Ms. Zheng Zhifen from DQS China joined as co-auditor. Meanwhile, Mr. Peter Baumann attended the audit on behalf of Central Quality.
The objective of the audit is to confirm fulfillment of certification requirements and verify continuous management system implementation. As mentioned, the audit standard is ISO 9001:2008, and criteria are process management based on IMPACT-navigation system. The audit covers most of our business processes for manufacturing of chain saws, power tools and other STIHL products, including core processes - supply chain, operation; supporting process - human resource management, infrastructure, handling deviations, disruptions & accidents; and leading process - strategy, objectives management, continuous improvement and customer complaint handling as well as document management.
The audit team had an open talk with our top management, reviewed some work document and activities systematically and independently. The audit result shows our quality management system has been effectively implemented with good management performance and conforms to the ISO 9001:2008 Standard.
Furthermore, the assessment of a management system has many advantages extending beyond the simple confirmation of the conformity of a system with the requirements of a standard. Rather, they focus on providing independent and competent feedback, as well as identifying risks and improvement potential. Employees are involved and motivated, thus promoting commitment and confidence between STIHL Qingdao and the interested parties (including headquarter, local government, other stakeholders etc.)
Thanks again for your good preparation and cooperation. Let us together make full use of the findings or observations to improve our performance as well as relevant processes continuously.