ISO 9001 Case Study: JEM Engineering

Company Profile
JEM Engineering, LLC, provides custom antenna design, manufacturing and testing services for both government and commercial applications. Headquartered in Laurel, MD, engineers at JEM have decades of combined experience in the design, manufacturing and testing of antennas, microwave circuits, phased arrays and associated electronics covering the spectrum from 2 MHz to 40 GHz. JEM is a woman-owned small business, with 8(a) certification and currently has approximately 40 employees.

Situation
This young engineering firm, founded in 2001, was confident their staff of experienced engineers would make them competitive within their industry. However, Nancy Lily, their visionary President, felt strongly the need for a formal quality management system to drive and manage the expansion and growth projected in Jem's future. She selected ISO 9001 as the quality management system model to provide the organizational structure to drive the growth and improvement within the organization.

Solution
The University of Maryland Manufacturing Assistance Program (UMMAP), a NIST MEP network affiliate, offers a Consortium program for assisting Maryland companies in implementing ISO 9001 quality management systems. The program is supported in part by the State of Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (MD DBED). The consortium approach takes groups of organizations through a structured implementation process affording them access to industry experts and opportunities for networking and the sharing of best practices with other Maryland organizations. This 16-month program consists of planned training events and consulting guidance in the development and implementation of quality management systems which conforms to the ISO 9001 Quality Management Standards.

Results
Thanks in part to their ISO certification, they have realized a $1.2 M increase in sales while retaining an estimated $.500M in sales. The company also cited a $129,000 increase in investment.

Testimonial
"The UMMAP Maryland ISO Consortium program provided us with quality professional training and on-site consultation support to help us reach our goal of ISO certification at a fraction of the cost of hiring an outside Consultant. I urge the State and Federal agencies to continue to support these types of programs as a cost effective vehicle for creating, sustaining and growing our manufacturing base in the State of Maryland."
—Nancy Lily, President, JEM Engineering, LLC

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