ST demos commitment to quality; achieves ISO 9001:2008 and ISO/TS 16949:2009 certification renewals

INDIA: STMicroelectronics announced that it had received ISO 9001:2008 and ISO/TS 16949:2009 certification renewals within weeks of each other, affirming its adherence to the internationally recognized standards of quality management. The certification process for ISO 9001 and ISO/TS16949 involved 26 ST sites that were audited over a period of seven months.

ISO 9001 certification is an important measure of management and operational controls, as it evaluates organizations according to the same rigorous standards employed by the most highly respected manufacturing companies in the world. ISO/TS 16949 complements ISO 9001 with the specific technical requirements from the automotive industry.

ST employs an effective quality management system based on these standards to improve operational efficiency and productivity and to provide better quality products, in order to enhance customer satisfaction. ST earned its first company-wide ISO 9001 and ISO/TS 16949 certifications in 2003, and has successfully renewed them on schedule every three years since.

“This is an excellent achievement that all ST employees can take pride in earning,” said Georges Auguste, Executive Vice President and Director of Quality, Education and Sustainable Development. “Certification demands commitment and hard work from ST’s people around the world and is a testimony to ST’s dedication to quality and customer satisfaction.”

Auguste continued, “At the same time, it is important to note that we are committed to constantly improving our global competitive position and this will only be possible if we are able to systematically achieve quality excellence for our customers.“

The ISO 9001 standard was revised in 2008 to incorporate improvements gained from experience, to focus on organizational compliance and to align the certification with the approach of other ISO specifications, such as ISO 14001. Similarly, the ISO/TS 16949 technical specification was revised in 2009 to mirror the changes in ISO 9001 and to emphasize conformity to product requirements. ST was audited and certified to the new requirements. Certification was granted by auditors from the CISQ/SINCERT international certification agency.

“Adopting ISO 9001 and ISO/TS demonstrates our systematic process-based approach to continuous improvement, and the immense job done to document our processes and implement them consistently and efficiently,” said Marie-Hélène Sibille, Corporate Quality Vice President. “The renewal of our ISO 9001 and ISO/TS 16949 certifications confirms and demonstrates the commitment of ST people at all levels to improve quality and build customer satisfaction.”