Quality plays a key role in the automotive industry, both in the context of safety and vehicle reliability. Quality department is one of the foundations of ensuring the high quality of finished products. This department is responsible for cooperation with suppliers of parts and components that make up the final product.
In automotive companies such departments have a wide range of duties that focus on ensuring quality improvement among the suppliers and compliance of all the components supplied for production with rigorous quality standards. Main tasks of this department include:
Supplier evaluation and selection: thorough assessment of potential suppliers is the first step of the process. The department analyses their delivery capacity, quality management systems and compliance with industry standards.
Supplier audit and validation: following the preliminary evaluation, there is a series of audits aimed at verifying the real capabilities of the supplier and compliance with Client’s requirements. These audits may include the control of production processes, quality systems and environmental management standards.
Supplier development: in the case audit reveals some shortcomings, the department works with the supplier to implement essential fixes and improvements. This may include trainings, consultancy and implementing new procedures.
Delivery quality control: regular control of the quality of delivered components is key. DQC supervises deliveries, conducts inspections and analyses data on quality to ensure that all the products are compliant with required standards.
Solving quality problems: should quality problems with delivered components occur, the department cooperates with the supplier to quickly and effectively resolve the issue. Such tools as 8D Report, 5 Why or FMEA are used in this process.
Continuous improvement: the department strives for constant perfecting of suppliers’ processes by regular reviews and analyses of quality results, as well as by implementing industry best practices.
In the future its role will most likely be even more significant considering clients’ growing demands and advanced technologies such as driverless or electric cars. Introducing modern tools of quality management, such as artificial intelligence or data analysis, can significantly improve the effectiveness and precision of this department’s actions.
In companies from the automotive sector, supplier quality improvement plays a key role in ensuring that all the components used in vehicle production comply with the highest quality standards. Thanks to constant monitoring, evaluation, and supplier development, automotive companies may deliver to the market products that meet clients’ expectations safety- and reliability-wise.
