Overview

Business services provided by GK Systems are loosley divided into two main groups – those related to measurement and testing services, and those related to business quality management services. However, there is some overlap, mainly because all business quality management services are also applicable to measuring and testing orgainzations.

There are also separate listings below for internal audits or assessments, and for other services.

Measurement and Testing Systems

All business decisions should be based on data. (W. Edwards Deming.) In manufacturing, research and development, and most services, the data come from measurements. To provide useful data, measurement systems must be appropriate, managed, validated, and use calibrated instruments. We can apply over 30 years experience in electronic calibration and product testing to the evaluation of your measurement systems. Other topics include

• Measurement uncertainty evaluation
• Laboratory accreditation recommendations for calibration and testing laboratories
• Guidance on standards such as
  • ISO/IEC 17025 (laboratory accreditation)
  • ISO 10012 (measurement management; current version supersedes ISO 10012-1 & 10012-2)
  • ANSI/NCSL Z540-2 (measurement uncertainty)
  • ANSI/NCSL Z540-3 (calibration of equipment; supersedes ANSI/NCSL Z540-1)
• Equipment use or substitution recommendations
• Customized calibration procedures based on your requirements and measurement standards.
• ASQ Certified Calibration Technician (CCT) program
• Training for many of these topics

Business Quality Systems

A business is a system of processes that transform resources and customer requirements into products or services. To the customer, quality is an important requirement or attribute, therefore quality should be integrated into every business process. ISO 9001 and its related family of standards is an internationally accepted and understood framework for quality-oriented business processes. Additional standards which are based on the ISO 9000 series but apply to specific industry sectors, follow the same principles. These standards include the ones listed here as well as many others:

• AS 9100 (aerospace manufacturing),
• TL 9000 (telecommunications),
• ISO/TS 16949 (automotive manufacturing),
• ISO 13485 (medical devices),
• ISO/IEC 17025 (laboratory accreditation)

There are other standards that are included by reference into the ISO 9000 family by reference, but which are very often overlooked. Many of these are guides to business process improvement and management, and some are actual requirements. From the measurement science and measurement quality viewpoint, the most important of these included standards is ISO 10012, Measurement Management System – which somehow was left out of the 2008 revision.

The measurement management system includes all measurements that affect product quality, anywhere in the organization, from planning and prototype through end-of-life of the product. It requires documenting factors such as what measurements need to be make – and where they are made, the instrument type and accuracy requirements, measurement system verification and validation, required intervals for validation and calibration, and much more.

We can provide guidance on meeting the requirements of these and other standards.

Internal Assessments and Audits

Many small companies have concerns about performing the internal auditing required by quality management, laboratory accreditation, or other standards. All quality-related standards require scheduled internal audits of the system, and management review of the results. The big concern for small companies is that the person doing the internal audit may not be sufficiently independent of the process being audited.

GK Systems can alleviate that concern by contracting to do the internal auditing for you. This can be particularly beneficial for calibration and testing laboratories. There are many people who are capable of doing internal audits of a basic quality management system, but we are ALSO capable of properly evaluating your measurement, calibration or test systems – including measurement methods, measurement uncertainty, and proficiency test coverage.

Other Services by Arrangement

GK Systems can perform other services – just ask! For example, one client often asks us to make small purchases for them from suppliers that do not accept their corporate purchasing card.