Quality is so important in the automotive world that some companies use extreme measures to ensure that certain standards are satisfied. Let’s take Volvo, for example. The company has developed the Volvo Group Internal Quality Award, a distinction that recognizes quality enhancement work in the Group and offers them as an example.
Recently, Volvo Trucks has received this award, for further strengthening its position on quality. The division has created a “Quality Bridge Plan” that involves a cross-functional drive, which works on a simple principle: instead of only focusing on the quality of the vehicles, Volvo Trucks decided to use a more structured approach, offering equal importance to all the segments of the business, such as aftermarket services and products.
“In order to maintain and strengthen our leading position, we decided to reinforce our quality-enhancement work on a broader front throughout the company. For our customers, perceived quality is about much more than just the product itself,” said Karin Stromberg, Chief Project Manager for the Quality Bridge Plan.
“Everything makes a difference, from how each part of the truck is designed and assembled to how well the customer is received at service visits and how the visit as a whole is handled. We wanted to ensure that the entire organization adopted this approach in a more concrete and measurable way,” Karin explained.
The “Quality Bridge Plan” includes over 20 sub-projects, each with its own clear target. The project was implemented over a three-year period and was completed last year.
“’Quality’ is one of our core values. Now we have found a way of working that both reinforces and secures our leading position. However, this does not mean that we can afford to relax; instead, the ‘Quality Bridge Plan’ now moves from being a project to becoming part of our daily work,” said project owner Sven Wallstrom, Director of Service & Product Quality.
Recently, Volvo Trucks has received this award, for further strengthening its position on quality. The division has created a “Quality Bridge Plan” that involves a cross-functional drive, which works on a simple principle: instead of only focusing on the quality of the vehicles, Volvo Trucks decided to use a more structured approach, offering equal importance to all the segments of the business, such as aftermarket services and products.
“In order to maintain and strengthen our leading position, we decided to reinforce our quality-enhancement work on a broader front throughout the company. For our customers, perceived quality is about much more than just the product itself,” said Karin Stromberg, Chief Project Manager for the Quality Bridge Plan.
“Everything makes a difference, from how each part of the truck is designed and assembled to how well the customer is received at service visits and how the visit as a whole is handled. We wanted to ensure that the entire organization adopted this approach in a more concrete and measurable way,” Karin explained.
The “Quality Bridge Plan” includes over 20 sub-projects, each with its own clear target. The project was implemented over a three-year period and was completed last year.
“’Quality’ is one of our core values. Now we have found a way of working that both reinforces and secures our leading position. However, this does not mean that we can afford to relax; instead, the ‘Quality Bridge Plan’ now moves from being a project to becoming part of our daily work,” said project owner Sven Wallstrom, Director of Service & Product Quality.