Manufactured Again Certification: where manufacturing and remanufacturing are held to the same quality standards
Life is full of comparisons. Throughout society, people, products, even ideas, are held to high standards. In our industry, reman is compared to new. How many times have you heard – or declared – that remanufactured products are as good as new products? It’s a fact that many of us know: communicating it to others outside of our industry has been the challenge.
When MERA – the Motor & Equipment Remanufacturing Association was launched in January 2011 - an early request of the Board of Directors was to develop a remanufacturing standard. We wanted to position reman on par with new, and differentiate it from lesser processes. By the end of 2012, MERA leadership ultimately rejected a proposed reman standard because it did not require third-party certification. We needed to think about it some more. Remanufacturing is the future of manufacturing. For generations to come, all manufacturing will be driven to reuse as much as possible. Just as e-business is simply ‘business’ in today’s connected world, the circular economy will one day be the ‘economy,’ and remanufacturing will be ‘manufacturing.’ Remanufacturing is manufacturing. Welcome to the world of Manufactured Again Certification.
The programme recognises remanufacturing facilities as manufacturing facilities, and holds them to the same quality standards. It also promotes environmental stewardship. The programme is inherently applicable to diverse industries, regardless of the term used to describe an industry’s leading sustainable manufacturing activity. For example, in aviation, it is maintenance, repair and overhaul. ISO 9001 – the leading internationally-accepted quality management system standard, in its current form – can be applied to any manufacturing process, in any manufacturing facility, for any manufacturing company, large or small. The rule for ISO 9001 (and industry-specific derivatives such as IATF 16949 for automotive) is: “Do what you document, document what you do”. Many inaugural ambassadors of the Manufactured Again Certification programme are global companies: Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems, CARDONE Industries, LKQ Corporation, Meritor Heavy Vehicle Systems, Motorcar Parts of America, Pure Power Technologies, REMY Power Products and Standard Motor Products. Several regional remanufacturers are also counted among the early adopters. MERA and its members use three words to describe the principles of remanufacturing: Quality. Value. Green. The Manufactured Again Certification program will benefit society as we collectively seek a world where remanufactured goods are demanded. At MERA, we never stop looking for ways to advance the industry and the business interests of our members. Learn more at ManufacturedAgain.com.
