Quality At Calspan

Calspan is committed to quality.

Calspan Corporation is an ISO 9001:2015 certified company. This means the company’s Quality Management System (QMS) is verified by a third party annually to assess its performance. Having a verified QMS ensures that consistent, high quality data and services are provided to customers. It also drives improvement and accountability throughout the organization.

ISO 9001:2015 is an international standard that specifies requirements for a QMS. It is based on a plan-do-check-act methodology with checks and balances in place to monitor whether or not you “do as you say you do”.

Becoming ISO certified can be a tremendous undertaking. The entire organization must support and participate in this process. Once certified, internal audits are held throughout the year to ensure that QMS procedures are being enforced and properly executed. These periodic check-ins create opportunities to review, evaluate, and improve processes continually throughout the year.

Another integral part of Calspan’s QMS is customer feedback. It is important to understand how customers perceive quality of Calspan services and learn how improvements can be made. To get this feedback, Calspan uses various customer survey tools including routine face to face sessions with customers. Constructive criticism received through feedback and the auditing process helps Calspan uphold a high level of quality and in turn, customer satisfaction. Calspan takes customer feedback very seriously. In cases where there are issues or complaints, Calspan’s management team works quickly to seek out the root cause, take the appropriate corrective actions to remedy the situation, and offers recommendations for improving the QMS to avoid future incidents.

Customer service excellence is the first of the two key objectives of Calspan’s QMS:

To ensure a superior customer experience by identifying customer needs and executing to meet and exceed those needs, while simultaneously creating customer confidence about future business with Calspan.

Calspan is helping to meet and exceed customer needs by offering services backed by an accredited QMS. Calspan is also an ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited laboratory for crash testing, sled testing, and Anthropomorphic Test Device (ATD) calibrations. This standard specifies the general requirements for the competence to carry out tests and/or calibrations in a way that is accurate and unbiased. Being ISO/IEC 17025:2005 certifies that Calspan is able to provide consistent test or calibration services to customers as an independent provider without any undue influence. Having the ability to calibrate load cells and accelerometers to a widely accepted standard eliminates the need for a third-party and therefore reduces time between tests.

The second objective of Calspan’s QMS involves sustainability and growth:

To grow Calspan’s business by utilizing the QMS to ensure effective business execution, resulting in the delivery of products and services which differentiate Calspan in the eyes of our customers.

By having an effective QMS in place, Calspan not only ensures continual improvement, it fuels the company’s growth. Calspan’s commitment to quality has aided in being awarded National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) contracts for Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 213 and 214. Customers who test with Calspan have the advantage of running benchmark testing in the same lab that runs compliance testing for the government. Manufacturers who are developing new products can test their products in a government contracted lab that is also ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited.

While the Calspan story has evolved over more than 70 years, its commitment to quality and excellence remains unchanged. Calspan exists to provide innovative independent engineering design, testing, and research services to customers in the automotive and aerospace industries. Being an ISO certified company since 1998 is just another way Calspan demonstrates its dedication to serving customers.

To view Calspan’s quality certificates, click here.

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