OE Enterprises Offering ‘Opportunities for Everyone’

"Phil Mintz (IES ISO 9001 facilitator) never expected more than we could deliver."
-- John Wiltshire, Jr., OE director of production.

Kathy Bryan, CEO of OE Enterprises, thanked the group of board members, staff and clients who gathered to accept the banner in late October, signifying ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 9001 certification from the North Carolina State University Industrial Extension Service (IES).

Bryan addressed the crowd and explained that the certification prompted the organization to develop a new mission: to create opportunities for personal and professional growth. The acronym OE, which previously defined the organization as Orange Enterprises, had become outdated based on the addition of facilities in Alamance and Caswell counties.

“We needed our mission to reflect what we do,” said Bryan. “It started with staff input, then went to the executive management team and we found the new tagline worked on all levels, for our work, for our consumers; it was all encompassing.”

Bryan then invited Angela Poole, one of their trainees, to join her at the front of the room. Bryan asked Poole to share their new tagline and Poole, delighted by the offer, stated it now meant, “Opportunities for Everyone.”

“We want to be known first for the quality of our work,” said Paul Knechtel, business development officer. “The fact that doing business with us is also a way for clients to give back to the community, is just a nice bonus.” OE Enterprises provides vocational training and placement for adults with disabilities.

ISO 9001 certification offers its share of bonuses as well. “ISO helped us understand other parts of the organization and gave us a better appreciation of the standards we have to have,” said Tracey Craven, program services manager and leader for the ISO 9001 internal audit team.

“ISO 9001 is another way to prove that we are serious about quality,” said Ken Miller, contract services manager with 21 years with OE. It is a proactive approach to quality.

ISO 9001 is a quality management system which serves as a business’ framework to ensure consistent product and effective service to customers.

The standards provide quality management standardization of activities which facilitate the international exchange of goods and services. They also contain proven guidelines for developing and maintaining the highest level of customer satisfaction and a means for continuous improvement.

“This certification says we care as much about our work as we do our training opportunities,” said Bryan.

The addition of ISO 9001 certification generally leads to more business, and for OE more business equals more ‘Opportunities for Everyone.’