The January issue of SAM contained an article that explored some of the implications of Quality Assurance — as understood in the context of the International Standards Organization (ISO) 9000 standards, and also in the context of the proposal before the Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board (CPTSB) to introduce some QA language into its lift code. The Editors invited comment on this important issue.
The thrust of our efforts should be to provide reasonably reliable and safe products for the people we serve, economically!
I understand ISO 9000 to take about three years, $300,000 in direct cost—and who knows how much in indirect—to achieve. Is this effort worth the expenditure? That amount is only three percent of the gross for a company with $10 million in sales, but it’s 100 percent for a company with $300,000 in sales. One company might well afford this; the other never would.
The accidents, incidents and near-accidents that I know of cut widely across all parts of our industry when analyzed for cause. Personally, I find analysis of these “situations” very educational as they are the stumbling blocks on our path to progress. Analysis also allows us to admit, “It can happen.” Failure to properly lubricate bearings has caused fatigue where none was anticipated by design; high-strength components field-substituted and welded have caused brittle fracture; improper welding techniques leaving high stress levels at critical connections have resulted in failures.
Will the ISO 9000 approach solve these? It may help; however, the result of the effort and expenditure is what we all want. What result? Awareness of the need for concern, to do it right, with the right material, with the right process and maintain it in a way that allows the design to function as intended.
To this end, this industry has made great strides in the last 20-plus years, with lead groups like R.M.L.A., OITAF/NACS and Dave Kinney’s Massachusetts program. It is frustrating at times to see the lack of participation at some of these programs by designers and engineers; however, another forum, the B77 committee, acts as an educational sharing experience to fill some of this void.
We’re not the Europeans; our social and regulatory structure is not theirs. Should we follow their systems? No! Yes! Maybe! That question has yet to find a proper answer. What we need to do is learn and grow from the experience and exposure.
