Abstract
The WoodMark Quality System, a new quality assurance program for the Canadian value-added wood products sector, was launched in 1999. This represented the culmination of a five-year investigation of industry needs, standards development, and potential benefits, as they relate to implementing a third-party quality assurance system for the Canadian value-added industry. The WoodMark Quality System is an industry-specific system dedicated to improving the quality of value-added wood products, and in so doing, improving the competitive position and global customer acceptance of Canadian wood products. While many quality assurance systems, most notably the ISO 9000 series, already exist and have been widely adopted, the impetus behind creating an industry-specific quality certification program came as a result of the unique attributes inherent in wood as a raw material and the subsequent production and quality challenges. To that end, a set of seven quality standards, singular to the wood industry, were developed. These standards have been implemented in two pilot projects, with positive results.
Zusammenfassung
Im Jahre 1999 wurde das "WoodMark Quality System" installiert. Dies ist ein Programm zur Qualitätssicherung der kanadischen holzverarbeitenden Industrie. Es war der Höhepunkt einer 5-jährigen Studie über die Erfordernisse der Industrie, die Entwicklung von Standards und mögliche Vorteile, die durch die Einrichtung eines Qualitätssicherungssystems von dritter Seite erzielt werden können. Das "WoodMark Quality System" (WQS) ist ein industriespezifisches System zur Qualitätssteigerung in der Holzverarbeitung, das dadurch auch die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und weltweite Akzeptanz kanadischer Holzprodukte fördert. Über die bereits bestehenden Systeme hinaus, insbesondere die Serien der ISO 9000, die weit verbreitet sind, ergab sich der Anstoß zur Schaffung eines industriespezifischen Zertifizierungsprogramms aus den speziellen Eigenheiten des Rohstoffs Holz und seiner weiteren Verarbeitung mit speziellen Herausforderungen der Qualitätssicherung. Hierzu wurden sieben für die Holzindustrie spezifische Standards entwickelt. Sie wurden in zwei Pilotprojekten mit positiven Ergebnissen eingesetzt.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Darrell Wong and Ken Wong whose hard work and dedication made this research possible. This project was funded by Forest Renewal BC.
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Kozak, R.A., Maness, T.C. A system for continuous process improvement in wood products manufacturing. Holz Roh Werkst 61, 95–102 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00107-003-0366-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00107-003-0366-9