How Should We Select a 3rd Party Quality Assurance Program?

As a new year begins, now is the time to ask: do I need a 3^rd party auditor? If you don’t have one, then you need to take a hard look at your business. As companies in other industries have learned too, using a third party to conduct all audits throughout an organization (or supplementing a third party for some of the audits) brings a fresh set of eyes and a different approach to the research, review, and analysis of shop results, which can lead to reduced loss and overall earnings improvement. And while you may think that it’s a decision that can be made “later,” the future is hard to predict and your in-house program needs to be effective now.

The key to having a successful business is managing your risk. Once you’ve recognized your need for a 3^rd party auditor, then the next step is choosing a company that will meet all of your needs. Selecting the wrong organization can be a disastrous error that could impact your defense in a litigation. Although I wrote about this topic several years ago (Quality Assurance, Safety, and the Benefits of a Non-Biased Audit), it’s worth repeating myself a bit to review the key items to consider in selecting the right auditor.

Key Principles

Selecting a 3^rd party Quality Assurance program might seem like an easy decision once you determine you need one, but there are 9 principles that need to be addressed.

1. Validation: Your auditor will verify compliance with ANSI/TPI 1 and OSHA regulations and guidelines.
2. Perspective: Your auditor will act as another set of eyes on your operation from a person with a broad perspective. Moreover, they have the advantage of bringing even more experience to the table because they are conducting compliance audits in multiple environments and styles.
3. Risk Control: Your auditor can help identify potential issues or problems that could escalate and lead to losses for your business.
4. Objectivity: An auditor’s basis is a standard of quality. It is a series of best practices that are shared among the auditor’s group of clientele. This sharing strengthens each individual’s quality program.
5. Knowledge Base: An auditor’s knowledge of the codes and requirements are to a level of detail that is not reasonably obtainable for a component manufacturing manager.
6. Uniqueness: Audits are inherently unique to each plant and personnel. They are specific to the plant’s safety and quality program.
7. Accuracy: Due to its objective position, the results of a 3^rd party audit often provide a more accurate view of what is occurring within a plant environment.
8. Graded Results: While initial results often show lower audit scores, many fabricators realize that the results and evaluation can uncover long-standing issues of non-compliance and opportunities for loss that can be immediately fixed, thereby leading to a positive ROI for the audit program.
9. Targeted: Audits conducted by 3^rd parties should not be taxing on time and labor resources. However, unlike an in-house quality review, a 3^rd party auditor enters a location for the sole purpose of conducting the audit. They are not interrupted by the need to complete a job, conduct an employment interview, or deal with a customer situation.

The Value of a 3^rd Party Auditor

Just going through the motions of doing an in-house inspection is of very little value. Worse than that, it creates a false sense of security. Clicking through a check list without actually doing an inspection is foolish. If you select the right choice of an auditor, this situation can be exposed. As noted in the NSCA article, “Pencil Whipping Erodes Profits,” it’s important to take ownership of the situation.

Selecting the right auditor helps your customers and the building inspector know what to expect. The auditor’s stamp represents you and your promise to your customer. This auditor should enable your brand to create clarity in the marketplace and focus on your quality. The right 3^rd party auditor will help your brand connect with the municipality governing construction.

A good auditor should be a product/service that has the experience to analyze unique situations. It should immediately be a recognizable entity that distinguishes itself. This should be familiar and have an established reputation. In the past, component manufacturers have been shocked to find out that their program was not recognized and their 3^rd party (nationally prevailing) provider is not approved. The consumer, code official, and end user will associate the product name, label, and packaging with particular attributes such as value, quality, or suitability. Informed code officials recognize the importance of site-conducted audits. A good auditor should help you reshape how you, your employees, your customers, and your investors think about your company. A strong 3^rd party can also improve your company’s overall value.

Considering Timber Products Inspection for Your 3^rd Party Auditor

So, when you’re looking for a 3^rd party auditor, you should consider these benefits of working with Timber Products Inspection (TP).

1. TP is one of the most recognizable 3^rd party agencies in the world.
2. TP serves 20 different wood products.
3. TP is the leading provider of ANSI/TPI 1 3^rd party services in the US.
4. TP has more than 3200 active clients.
5. TP is recognized in every US municipality as a qualified authority and provider of ANSI/TPI 1 3^rd party services, including Dade County, Houston, and Los Angeles.
6. TP has accredited analytical and physical labs.
7. TP provides engineering services.
8. TP operates in 16 countries.
9. TP monitors over 15 billion board/linear feet and square feet of wood products annually.
10. TP serves on 24 rules-writing, regulatory, and industry/product organizations.
11. TP has 18 product accreditations with 10 accreditation organizations.
12. TP has been a respected agency inspecting for over 50 years.
13. TP is the largest accredited ALSC agency for lumber, treating, and WPM auditing programs.
14. TP is a dedicated staff of 120 professionals with over 1300 years of experience in providing on-site reviews and inspections.
15. Each TP client is treated uniquely and fairly following the industry requirements.
16. TP is guided by a 22-member Board of Advisors composed of industry-leading executives from 5 different wood product sectors.

The Bottom Line

Selecting the right auditor, such as Timber Products Inspection, will help the branding of your company and will carry your business to that next level. It impacts so much more than just sales. It will reshape how you, your employees, your customers, and your investors think about your company, not to mention the confidence it provides to the code officials that approve your product.

An ANSI/TPI 1 3rd Party Quality Assurance Authorized Agent covering the Southeastern United States, Glenn Traylor is an independent consultant with almost four decades of experience in the structural building components industry. Glenn serves as a trainer-evaluator-auditor covering sales, design, PM, QA, customer service, and production elements of the truss industry. He also provides project management specifically pertaining to structural building components, including on-site inspections and ANSI/TPI 1 compliance assessments. Glenn provides new plant and retrofit designs, equipment evaluations, ROI, capacity analysis, and CPM analysis.