“Certification has made us better at documenting things like corrective action procedures and non-conformity policies that
would probably make attaining ISO certification easier,” says Dallas Cooley of Georgia Powder Coating."
The program offers two certification types; PCI 3000
was designed for custom coaters, while PCI 4000 applies to
OEMs with in-house powder coating operations. A primary
goal of the program is to raise the bar of the industry
by recognizing commitment to quality and minimizing
coating failures that threaten to tarnish powder coating’s
reputation.
As a result of PCI’s dedication to continuous
improvement, the certification program was updated in
early 2018. The voluntary certification process examines
an applicator’s entire operation, rating their powder coating
processes in nine key areas: pretreatment; ovens and
curing; application area; incoming quality control; training; maintenance; process control; final quality control; and
loading, unloading and packaging.
This article examines the experiences of five custom
coaters who have successfully undergone the certification
audit process. We interviewed Terry Watson, Sales
Manager, A-Plus Powder Coaters (Columbiana, Ohio); Rick
Gehman, President, Keystone Koating (Lititz, PA); Mark
Mortensen, President, All-Color Powder Coating (Oregon,
WI); Dallas Cooley, Vice President of Sales, Georgia Powder
Coating (Gainesville, GA); and Dave Flatten, President,
Inland Powder Coating (Ontario, CA) about their
motivation, experience and advice concerning PCI 3000
certification.
Why did your company decide to become PCI
certified?
Rick: We looked at certification as an opportunity to
improve our coating operations and quality. Sometimes
I worry that you can suffer from a forest-for-the-trees
problem if you try to assess your own performance rather
than let an objective third party help. Our auditor could
compare us to a broader set of standards developed by
working with coaters across the country. A second motive
for us was that we have some customers, for example
high-end patio furniture manufacturers, who have a low
tolerance for cosmetic defects, and others, like agricultural
and construction equipment suppliers, that are more
concerned about functional performance. PCI Certification
gives us an audit of our coating process that applies to both
these types of customers.
Dallas: We were also looking to improve our quality
process. I started by examining both the ISO 9000
certification process and PCI’s standard. We felt that
ISO was geared more towards part manufacturers than
to custom coaters. We found ourselves saying, “That’s a
nice idea, but how does it apply to us?” Ironically, now
that we’ve gone through the PCI process, we’ve talked
about ISO certification again, because PCI 3000 has made
us better at documenting things like corrective action
procedures and non-conformity policies that would
probably make attaining ISO certification easier.
Dave: We have been involved with the idea of
certification since its inception. I feel that certification
helps customers identify those custom coaters who are
the most serious about their commitment to quality. Years
ago, when there was less acceptance of powder coating in
general, we felt certification was important to OEMs so
they could compare powder as an alternative technology,
and for PCI to keep a low-quality coater from giving
powder coating a black eye. Today powder has proven
its capabilities and trust in the technology is generally
very high. So now certification serves more to set custom
coaters apart according to their commitment to quality
within the industry.
How do you promote your certification to
potential customers - and how has it helped
your business?
Terry: We display our certification in our plant and
on our website, and we bring it up in all of our sales
discussions. I think it solidifies the relationship with a
prospect and gives them an added sense of confidence
in our ability. In the past, several customers, particularly
larger accounts, had audited us with their own inspectors.
While we did very well, this could be a very risky approach
for some. PCI is friendly and there to help us improve, but
with a customer performing the audit, if you fall down, you
may not get a second chance.
Rick: We also promote our certification on our website
and sent out a press release to our customers when we
passed, but truthfully, we haven’t really actively marketed
it. For me, certification is not as much a marketing tool
as a way to assure that we are doing things properly – you
might say, more of an intrinsic motivation. However, PCI
Certification does help reinforce the kind of quality-driven
image we are trying to cultivate for ourselves.
Mark: We promote certification on our website, in our
literature, on our vehicles, and even on the address block
of every email we send out. I don’t know for sure how to
quantify how it has helped, but it certainly hasn’t hurt us.
One of the reasons we first got certified many years ago was
because we received a quality questionnaire from a valued
customer asking about ISO certification. When we provided
them with details about PCI Certification, it seemed to put
the issue to rest, so we are eager to see more awareness and
acceptance of the certification.
What impact has certification and the audit
process had on your quality system and how
your organization thinks about quality?
Mark: The biggest change certification had for us was
in our documentation. We now do much more extensive
documentation than we did before becoming certified. We
are better at establishing formal written procedures. Where ISO requires you to do extensive documentation on your
process, whatever that process is, PCI Certification gets
more involved with specific technical requirements of the
process itself. For example, if you specify a water-break test,
but are not getting good results, PCI Certification might
prompt you to add more time to your wash process.
Dallas: We have come away with a deeper
understanding of quality as a means of meeting
expectations. Some of our customers have functional
expectations for their coating, while others are more
concerned about the coating’s appearance. We have found
it’s easier to meet all of these expectations if you have a
more comprehensive approach to establishing quality.
The PCI 3000 certification gives us that comprehensive
framework.
Dave: In the past, there was concern that powder was
a risky alternative to liquid paint. Today discussions about
risk center more on how to choose a good partner for
powder coating services from among a large set of custom
coaters. From that perspective, certification has reaffirmed
for us that we are on the right track in trying to enhance the
quality that powder can deliver in the market.
Did the certification audit prompt you to make
changes to your processes and procedures?
Rick: It definitely helped us in the areas of
documentation and record-keeping. We now have a well thought-out set of specific work instructions for our various
processes. We can also tell each customer that their product
was coated in a very specific way, along with a detailed
process specification and data. This provides a new level
of traceability in terms of how each part was pretreated,
powder coated, and cured by individual batch number.
The audit can help identify opportunities for documentation
improvements, which can provide more granular traceability
of how each part is pretreated, powder coated and cured.
Mark: The process helped us make a number of very
helpful changes. For example, we improved our ovens by
modifying them from single to double vestibule designs to
help with heat containment and energy efficiency. Thinking
about the implications for our certification is now also part
of our thought process when we make changes in the plant
or new equipment purchases.
Dallas: One of the more difficult but impactful changes
for us was to implement stricter inspection of incoming
parts. At first it was challenging for our people to go back to
a customer and be critical of incoming material. It required
that they alter some long-held beliefs and adopt the idea
that it is better to prevent problems on the front end, rather
than overcoming them down the line. It is more costly to
inspect parts more thoroughly, but in the long run it’s had
a noticeable impact on scrap and rework that has been
very beneficial. We also might have a more diverse range
of customers compared to many job shops. Since we do
work from aerospace to handrails, and motorcycles to lawn
mowers, a comprehensive quality system has been very
appropriate for our business.
Dave: There have been a number of changes - both
small and not-so-small. We have increased the capability
of our laboratory and invested in new test equipment.
We have added some sophistication to our lines, such as
automated pH monitoring of the pretreatment system.
Like others have found, we were pushed to do a better
job documenting our processes and have instituted a
formal customer survey to systematically follow-up on our
work. I would say we are doing things more rigorously
and consistently than ever. It has also been important for
our employees to see that we are seriously committed
to improving quality. That has helped create a quality
mindset.
The certification process can help you instill a quality mindset throughout your operation.
What do you want customers and potential
customers to know about what is required to
achieve certification?
Rick: I’d love for them to understand that the process
requires us to be very intentional about quality and that
quality isn’t something that just happens if things go
right. It provides a way to not just create, but to maintain
consistency in our process day in and day out
Mark: I’d like customers to understand that
certification is an established quality standard you earn
by going through a really exhaustive examination of all
your policies and procedures in order to assure repeatable
results. That gives assurance to our customers, but is also
recognized by industry partners, like powder formulators
who want to entrust their customers to the most reputable
custom coaters.
Dave: Customers should recognize that we think
deeply and critically about what we do. We have always
been committed to recommending the best solution to their
coating needs – even if that is not powder coating. I think
PCI Certification is consistent with that critical approach
and improves the trust our partners place in us. We are still
one of only a handful of certified applicators, but we want
to see this grow because more certified applicators will help
grow the awareness and acceptance of powder coating.
The powder coating industry as a whole suffers when there
are poor quality controls in place because often there is a
perception the technology failed, not the applicator.
Can you share your experience in terms of the
audit process?
Mark: I think the audit process was wonderful, and
you get out of it what you put into it. For us, it was a team
effort with many of our operations people involved in
preparing and executing a successful audit. For instance,
to prepare for re-certification, our quality manager, Larry,
reviewed the results of our prior audits to identify all of
the areas where we agreed we could improve. That kind
of advance preparation helped to produce a smooth audit
when the time came.
Dallas: At first, some of our folks took the process a
little too personally. You know, if you worked all day to
make your lawn look nice - you fertilized and seeded it, mowed the grass, and edged it. Then if a guest comes
by and points to some weeds you missed in the corner –
there’s a temptation to think, “Hey, the place looks great
– I am okay with a few weeds.” We needed to break down
that barrier and accept that the auditor’s job is to find the
weeds you missed. The auditors were direct and didn’t
beat around the bush. But in the end, that’s helped us get
better than if we tried to do this without their input.
Dave: It was a good process. We really didn’t have to
jump through many hoops to prepare for our audit since
we already had a pretty tight process in place, and we
knew in advance what the auditor would be looking for.
We felt that the auditors were welcome to come in on any
day to observe our normal operation. I encouraged our
people to answer honestly and learn how we can improve.
What would you tell others that are considering
certification?
Terry: The PCI standards are good at striking a
reasonable balance. You don’t want the process to take
forever and a day, but on the other hand, it can’t be too
easy either. The auditors did a good job of watching what
we do without being too intrusive. Going through the
certification process is also not inexpensive but compared
to ISO certification I think there’s great value in it,
particularly if you have things in good order before you try to get certified. I am pleased that there is a program
developed for original equipment manufacturers, PCI
4000, that evaluates business practices, process elements,
equipment, capabilities, employee competencies and
quality control capabilities of an in-house coater to assure
they are capable of producing high-quality powder coated
products.
Mark: Like a boy scout - be prepared. When you
sign up for the audit process, you will get all of the
information you need to see what is required to do well.
So, spend enough time beforehand to get comfortable
with what you can do to improve your results and assure
success. I would like to see more custom coaters sign up
and be successful, because that will help build recognition
and acceptance of the PCI Certification process by
customers
Dallas: I sometimes worry that it’s not always the
individual applicator that gets blamed when things go
wrong, it’s powder coating period. I have heard on several
occasions, “Yeah, we tried to powder coat these parts,
but it just peeled off.” In those cases, the whole industry
suffers. So it takes an investment by those who place high
value on quality to lift the perception of powder coating.
In our case, my father, Counte Cooley, was one of those
who recognized the value of establishing a commitment
to quality that starts at the top.
PCI Certification audit results help coaters recognize
opportunities to improve their application process,
optimize their performance, contribute towards raising
the standards of the industry and recognize the merits
of a capable coater. Certified coaters are afforded a
number of benefits including a qualified, third party
evaluation and assessment of capabilities, the ability to
differentiate themselves from other coaters, access to
business opportunities requiring PCI Certification, use of
the PCI Certified logo in marketing materials and quality
documentation, image elevation associated with the high
standards of certification, and more. To learn more about
PCI Certification and to schedule an audit, visit
www.powdercoating.org/certification or email
certification@powdercoating.org
Paul Mills is a marketing and business consultant to industry
chemical and equipment suppliers. He has been a writer for
the powder coating industry since 1994. Paul can be reached
at 440-570-5228 or via email at pmillsoh@aol.com.