Case Study: Building Quality and Operational Excellence in ABB

ABB is a global leader in power and automation technologies. The company is based in Zurich, Switzerland, employs 150,000 people, and operates in approximately 100 countries. The firm's shares are traded on the stock exchanges of Zurich, Stockholm, and New York. ABB is the world's largest builder of electricity gridsand is active in many sectors, its core businesses being in power and automation technologies. The company has one (1) corporate division and five (5) production divisions.

Power Products are the key components for the transmission and distribution of electricity. The division incorporates ABB's manufacturing network for transformers, switchgear, circuit breakers, cables, and associated high voltage and medium voltage equipment such as digital protective relays. It also offers maintenance services. The division is subdivided into three (3) business units: High Voltage Products, Medium Voltage Products, and Transformers.

To enhance ABB's ability to delight customers with the products and services they provide, the management of ABB wants to apply for a quality certification for the entire organization. In summary, the goal of this certification includes establishing a common methodology for transforming improvement ideas into business reality, training on tools and techniques to build improvement competencies, and coaching of improvement projects to turn real business issues to real business results. The main objective of the company for this quality initiative is that the management of ABB would equip their employees with the skills and ability to generate process improvements to ensure on-time, on-cost, and on-quality delivery. It was felt that this approach would also create culture of continuous improvement within ABB through widespread use of an improvement system. No matter how good the campaign vision is, the management of ABB doesn't know how and where to start with the program. The company is lost pertaining to the guidelines and the step-by- step guide in order to turn this vision into a reality.

1.How can ABB achieve their main objective for their quality initiative by applying the step-by-step guide of organizations in ISO 9000 certification?

2.What is the importance of ISO 9000 certification in integrating quality in the business process of ABB?