As far as Quality Management System (QMS) certification is concerned, my first exposure was to ISO 9000: 1994, about seven years after the first ISO 9000 standard emerged from the former BS 5750. The 20 + auditable QMS requirements has resulted in a bewildering and voluminous mass of documentations. It was virtually a system of documents, contrary to a documented system. According to the standard, the company was expected to establish, implement and maintain a documented procedure for all the auditable requirements of the standard. It was a period when the standard was spreading like bush fire, creating a gold mine for Consultants who thrived on the ignorance of the client companies. Preparation and maintenance of the documentation alone, engaged considerable managerial time, and hence the tendency to consider ISO 9000 based QMs as an area separate from the Quality Assurance and other operational functions which has still continued to the present day. This created some dichotomy between the ISO Department and the other functional sections resulting in conflicts. On doing the QMS audits, as an independent auditor for many companies, I have the experience of being confronted with a cart-load of files and documents. This was of course before, the soft copy methodology firmly got established. Many of the External Auditors, spent considerable time, in checking Document and Records, in scrutinizing document reference and revision numbers of even the less significant documents and formats, rather than concentration on the more important requirements. In this respect, I have a great respect for one of the very senior officers of the Sri Lanka Standards Institution, whose approach was to study the operational relationships and their effectiveness.

The transition in to ISO 9001:2000 saw some very significant and far-reaching changes, which the industries, took about one to two years to fully realize. It was a challenge for the auditors and the Certification bodies as well. A careful scrutiny of the eight principles of quality management, will show that they are nothing else but common business sense. The eight principles are:

• Customer focus
• Leadership
• Involvement of people
• Process approach
• Systems approach to management
• Continual improvement
• Factual approach to decision making
• Mutually beneficial supplier relations.

 A casual glance at the principles, will reveal that it is about common sense of good managerial practices., irrespective of whether one goes for certification or not. However, it was an uphill task to grapple these concepts and integrate them holistically in to the quality management systems. Process approach in very simple terms means how to relate the inputs to outputs through the value adding conversions and how to control the activities, realize the desired results. It is directly related to the traditional definition of productivity, namely the ratio of out puts to inputs. What was difficult to comprehend was the fact that, the other seven quality management principles also provide inputs for the process approach. As an example, the auditors found it a grey area when it comes to evaluating leadership, in the context of the process approach. Regarding the establishment of the Quality Policy, which in turn is a requirement under leadership, I have seen many quality polices with attractive wordings which more often serve as show pieces. Very few companies have used the quality policy to provide direction for the setting up of quality objectives. One of the meaningful but concise quality policies I have seen is “We do everything, correctly, right first time at all times’’.

While the 2008 version of the ISO 9001 standard consisted of some notional changes only, the 2015 version signified a complete change of the concept of quality stressing the importance of quality in business strategy, by considering the impacts of external and internal factors and the expectations of internal and external parties on quality and including risk management as an important aspect of quality. Although the prime focus on ISO is product or service quality, companies cannot ignore the impact on quality, which covers product quality (Q), Price (P), and Delivery (D). The recent impacts of Covid-19 pandemic on the above aspect of quality, was amply seen throughout the world. The above requirements under the Organization Context, is a move in the right direction, in integrating quality in to all aspects of the business. However, most companies and even auditors, consider this in isolation as another requirement of the ISO 9001, which need minimum compliance. Similar comments can have made on the Identification of the risks and opportunities of the operational processes.

Product and service quality is used by most companies as means of maximizing the profit. The Nobel Prize Winner in Economics, Milton Friedman in 1970, stated that the sole responsibility of a business is to “use its resources to increase its profits. As a result of the rapid growth in consumerism, both locally and globally, business firms operate in a challenging and continually changing business environment. The rapid change is supported by rapidly expanding technology, and particularly of information technology. Dynamic organizations are making serious efforts to keep abreast of developments, in the changing business environment, while many traditional and conservative organizations are failing. Change has become inevitable.”

While we cannot find any fault with this approach, one cannot overlook the Social and Environmental bottom lines, which together with the Economic bottom-line, constitute the Triple Bottom of Sustainable development. The role of quality management on the social and environmental bottom lines, is a concept that has great potential in the modern-day concept. The reduction of scarp and rejects, especially in the tyre industry, will improve the environmental performance, while reducing the health and fire risks, often caused by irresponsible dumping.

 Internal and external communications under the requirement 7.0, Support of the ISO 9001 and 14001:2015 standards are another area where adequate attention has been given. Despite the great advances in ICT, we can trace miscommunications as the root cause of most of the Non- conformance report raised during the QMS audits.

John Ruskin, the English author, (1819 -1900 ) once said, “ Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligence effort.” I have seen this famous quote adorning the walls in some offices of CEOs and Senior Managers. However, the perennially repeating non-conformances related to quality in a large number of companies, make me to wonder whether the management and the mangers, “walk the talk.” Companies have in their procession, a handy tool, in the disguise of ISO 9001:2015, to enable them to establish the standard procedures, (SOPs), operate them and control, but many consider it as something to worry about only during the external audits of the certification bodies.

In this respect, it is worthy of mentioning that, in my country Sri Lanka, there is a famous Buddhist Cultural Pageant, in August every year, that attracts locals as well large numbers of tourists from across the globe. For the past 400+ years, this event follows the SOPs, without any, awareness of the ISO 9000, emphasizing that there is no magic or mystery about ISO, but the prevalence of good common sense. (TT)

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The JK Tyre - WIAA Women's Car Rally to Valley 2026 took off on 28 March from NSCI, Mumbai, with a flag-off ceremony led by Western India Automobile Association (WIAA) Chairman Nitin Dossa and JK Tyre officials. Over 200 women participated, decorating their vehicles around themes like cancer awareness, gender equality and women’s empowerment before driving towards the Novotel Imagicaa hotel in Khopoli.

Families and supporters gathered at the start, creating a festival-like mood as participants wore themed attire. The rally follows a Time-Speed-Distance format, rewarding precision and teamwork over speed, with contestants navigating hilly roads for about 125 kilometres to the finish.

Organised by the 107-year-old non-profit Western India Automobile Association, which advocates for safe mobility, road safety, environmental sustainability and policy change, the event has become a platform celebrating womanhood and resilience. This year’s edition reinforced the global road safety messages of #CommitToLife and #BeSafeBeStrong.

JK Tyre has long supported women in motorsport through dedicated initiatives, and its continued partnership with the WIAA Women’s Car Rally reflects a belief that motorsport can drive meaningful change both on and off the road.

Srinivasu Allaphan, Director – Sales & Marketing, JK Tyre & Industries, said, “For over a decade, we have been committed to encouraging women’s participation in motorsport, and the JK Tyre–WIAA Women’s Car Rally to Valley stands as a testament to that vision. Now a marquee event, the rally celebrates the spirit of motorsport while championing important social causes. We are encouraged by the strong enthusiasm of the participants as we continue to build greater awareness around road safety.”

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Scandinavian Enviro Systems AB (publ) has announced that its representatives on the Board of Directors of the joint venture entity, Infiniteria Europe Sàrl, namely Ewa Björling and Fredrik Aaben, have made the decision to vacate their respective director positions. This move follows prior communications from Enviro regarding a broader strategic shift in its relationship with the joint venture.

Earlier, Enviro had already disclosed that it was initiating a corporate reorganisation process, which included the termination of the various agreements that had previously defined and governed the working relationship and collaborative framework between Enviro and Infiniteria. This fundamental restructuring of their partnership set the stage for further complications, as disagreements began to surface between Enviro’s board members and the other directors serving on the Infiniteria board.

Specifically, the differing viewpoints between these two groups centred on critical matters related to corporate governance standards and the internal functioning of the board itself. Due to the emergence of these unresolved conflicts, combined with the ongoing dissolution of their formal cooperation agreements, Björling and Aaben concluded that stepping down from Infiniteria’s board of directors was the necessary course of action, leading to their formal resignations.

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MESNAC played a central role at the 2026 China Rubber Annual Conference, held in Qingdao from 24 to 27 March by the China Rubber Industry Association. On March 24, the Enlarged Meeting of the Rubber Machinery and Molds Branch took place, gathering key figures such as Deputy Secretary-General Zhu Hong, Branch Secretary-General Jiang Xin and Branch Chairman Guan Bingzheng, who also serves as MESNAC’s Chairman and President. Representatives from leading enterprises and governing units discussed the industry’s 2025 performance, ongoing difficulties and 2026 trends. The session was hosted by Zhou Chuanhai, General Manager of MESNAC Union Technology Co., Ltd.

Bingzheng pointed out that the rubber machinery and moulds industry managed to achieve positive overall growth in 2025 despite facing numerous difficulties. Rubber machinery exports rose notably even under adverse conditions, while the mould sector continued its gradual upward climb. He also noted that the industry has moved away from simply pursuing larger scale and is now prioritising higher quality and better performance.

With 2026 marking the start of the 15th Five Year Plan period, which is crucial for turning China from a large rubber producer into a powerful rubber nation, he laid out three main directions. One is embracing green practices, smart technology and global market expansion. Another is keeping pace with tyre manufacturers moving overseas to enable shared global growth. The third is focusing on new energy tire needs and artificial intelligence upgrades to push the industry towards high end transformation.

On March 26, at a forum themed Digital Empowerment and Green Development, MESNAC Vice President Yang Huili demonstrated how artificial intelligence is deeply applied in rubber tyre making. She described an intelligent system that forms a continuous loop from sensing in real time and learning on its own to making smart decisions and carrying out closed loop actions. It applies industrial vision for accurate measurement with very few missed defects, uses MCC software to merge process data and correct within milliseconds and employs large models for maintenance that quickly locate faults with high precision to enable predictive repairs. Through both strategic leadership and hands on technical demonstration, MESNAC showed its dedication to advancing the industry under changing conditions.

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The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has officially launched its 2026 Goodyear Blimp Europe tour, returning the iconic airship to the skies above European motorsport events. This marks a highly anticipated comeback for one of aviation’s most famous aircraft, which will first appear during the opening FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) race of the season. Spectators at the track can expect a breathtaking sight as the blimp soars overhead, enhancing the atmosphere of race weekend.

For decades, the Goodyear Blimp has been closely linked with legendary sporting moments and stands as a proud emblem of Goodyear’s racing heritage. Its planned flights over FIA WEC races will allow both live attendees and global viewers to catch a glimpse of the airship capturing stunning aerial footage. This tour takes on added significance as Goodyear celebrates 75 years of operations in Luxembourg, a milestone year for the company in Europe. Beyond tyre production, Luxembourg hosts Goodyear’s only Innovation Centre outside United States, where cutting edge technologies and motorsport partnerships are developed.

Fans attending select FIA World Endurance Championship events across Europe throughout the 2026 season are encouraged to watch the skies for the blimp’s appearances. The tour not only highlights Goodyear’s deep roots in racing but also underscores its longstanding commitment to European innovation and manufacturing excellence.

Jan-Piet van Kesteren, Managing Director EMEA & Chief Sales Officer EMEA Consumer, said, “The Goodyear Blimp is one of the most iconic symbols in racing. Seeing it fly above in the skies of several main FIA WEC races is always a special moment for fans. We are excited to bring the Goodyear Blimp back to European skies and share that experience with racing audiences across the region.”

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