What does the new quality policy consist of?

From now on, we will be making a distinction between proactive and reactive policies, with a dynamic interaction between both. Regarding proactive policies, these cover production and laboratory testing under the supervision of a Continuous Improvement Team. Reactive quality policies monitor and analyse incoming complaints for further improvement.

We have integrated the reactive approach into ERP software. Synergies between the various divisions have allowed for further building upon a model that had already been successfully implemented for some time in the Netherlands.

Why this need?

We were able to draw valuable conclusions from last year’s customer survey. One of the points of improvement indicated that we had to increase our reactivity and provide more transparency about how complaints are followed up.

Which objectives are being pursued?

The establishment and integration of new systems and processes is a first step. Close monitoring enables us to set up an action plan to address the most common complaints in the short term.

What are the initial results since the introduction of the new policy?

A number of trends have become clear since the new policy was introduced in February. Our product scores highly in terms of quality. However, a good quality policy will take all the factors regarding the product into account: stacking, wrapping and strapping, pallet quality, etc.

General tightening up of the requirements and customers having an ever-increasing presence of state-of-the-art technology will require, quite rightly, at least as much attention.