The team with an eye for scrutiny

More than 30 colleagues in the Quality Management Department ensure the premium quality of our products and processes. Heike Schulz explains the specific tasks of this team’s multi-faceted work and its motto.

Heike, what tasks do you perform in the area of Quality Management?

We’re called when it comes to the quality of our products or processes. One team processes returns. The Material Responsibility staff checks the quality of raw materials. Two other teams look after manufacturing processes. This includes, for example, the transition of products from development to manufacture. We also assess risks when a new material or a new system is used. Furthermore, we are tasked with creating work instructions and keeping them up-to-date, e.g. when products change.

How do you ensure quality with these various tasks?

With careful scrutiny – it’s part of our DNA. Our work is also a repeating cycle: first, there is a deviation, e.g. an increased rejection of a product during manufacture. We’ll then work out which immediate action we can take. In the event of a rejection, we ask: how do we deal with the affected goods? At the same time, we analyze the causes and implement corrective as well as preventive measures. After all, we don’t want a deviation to happen again. We then look beyond our own area and try to work out what we can learn for other processes.

Why is this cycle so important for Bauerfeind?

Because making processes as safe as possible is essential. We want to learn from our mistakes. This cycle represents an edge in knowledge to us. It means we can reliably check our incoming goods, reduce rejections as well as returns, and ultimately make our customers happy.

What does 2025 have in store for you?

A lot, but I specifically want to highlight one thing: we have looked at the Corporate Mission and derived our own for this department. It contains three elements. First: we want to be open, proactive, and solution-oriented in our communication, and we want to create transparency. Second: we want to actively develop and further new procedures and methods, and we want to continuously increase our knowledge. And third: we want to make our processes clearer, more pragmatic, and standardized. To make sure these aren’t just words on paper, during our next workshop, we’ll focus on drawing up how we can implement this in our everyday work. I really look forward to that!