IECQ - Quality assessment system for electronic components

The magic formula "ISO 9000" is the generally accepted label for "quality" or "quality assurance". Customers frequently require their suppliers to be certified against ISO 9001 requirements and there is frequent misunderstanding that ISO 9001 certification provides a guarantee for high quality and reliable products. On the contrary, the ISO 9000 approach is purely restricted to quality system assessment. Customers, however, are interested in buying reliable and high-quality products, rather than "buying" a quality system.

IECQ supplies harmonized procedures for the very important third party assessment of eligible organizations as well as an assessment of component technologies and ranges of components. The principles of ISO 9000 have been integrated into IECQ's Rules of Procedure and are supplemented by important requirements specific to electronic components.

Standards and certification systems must represent and reflect what is reasonable practice in the relevant industry. Many companies have adopted the new approaches of Total Quality Management (TQM), Statistical Process Control (SPC) and in-process control. By ensuring control of the design, materials and process, the need for extensive end-of-line testing is significantly reduced.

Furthermore, IECQ's experience indicates a general trend away from the traditional approach of type testing and lot-by-lot testing, which is being progressively replaced by more modern methods. The reason behind this is it is inefficient to rely on testing the product in order to weed out a number of non-conforming devices. Scrap, rework and repair represent time and money which has been wasted in producing something that cannot be sold to the customer.

This development has led to the introduction of dramatically new and forward-looking approaches in the IECQ which go far beyond the basic requirements of ISO 9001.

Qualification Approval is the traditional approval granted to an individual component or range of components which meet the requirements given in an existing Specification.

Capability Approval is forward-looking technique corresponding with the real world of electronic component production. Capability Approval focuses attention on the techniques, materials, facilities and skills being applied.

Technology Approval enables existing process control monitors to be used to qualify and maintain approval of a whole production line, technology or even whole factories. This provides a direct assessment of the manufacturer's capabilities to control specified manufacturing processes, with an almost infinite degree of flexibility.

It makes use of statistical methods and demonstrates the control of processes rather than relying on end-of-line testing;
It arranges for continuous quality improvement and its demonstration;
It addresses the overall technology and operation associated with the manufacture rather than the components themselves:
It achieves procedural flexibility by basing the quality assurance procedures and documentation on the company units' own Quality Assessment systems and customer requirements;
It guarantees rapid approval or extension of approval by making reference to the company's Technology Approval Declaration Document (TADD).

Process Approval allows for an electronic component manufacturing capability to be assessed as a totality, by taking account of the separate operations of those companies contributing piece parts, materials, processing or technical services to the final product.

Certification in accordance with ISO 9001 covers only the first steps towards the consistent implementation of total quality management. IECQ provides what is missing to achieve the goal by arranging for assessment and certification on the process and product level and thereby completing the perfect synergy. For this reason, component manufacturers, equipment manufacturers and final customers are making increasing use of the IECQ.

ISO 9000 and IECQ work together to form a greater whole