Quality control is an important part of the shipbuilding process. It’s quite obvious that the materials and workmanship must be evaluated at every step of the way. And if the real-life fable of the apparently “unsinkable” Titanic has served as anything, it’s to instill a sense of quality assurance within the shipbuilding industry. So how can you improve your quality management processes? Here are four tips to get you started.
Clearly define quality.
Step one when it comes to a good quality management program is to define what quality means. This might be a directive from your final client or it might be a process your company already has in place. But without a definition of quality, your team won’t have any idea how to accomplish the task or be on the same page.
Identify the causes of poor quality.
If everyone’s honest, there are only a handful of reasons why quality suffers. Either there aren’t the right processes in place to ensure that quality standards are being met or there are weak links in the chain. For example, if you discover that there are quality issues with the work of one specific department, it may be time to retrain your department or make personnel changes.
Invest in the right tools.
It can be difficult, if not impossible, for your team to maintain quality standards if they are using the wrong equipment for the job. Don’t be afraid to go top of the line with the tools needed to adequately complete any build your shipyard is working on. The initial investment will pay off when you find that your projects are completed on time with no issues in the final quality.
Create an improvement plan.
In order to ensure that your quality management plan is on track, it’s time to map out the way toward improvement. You can work with a quality manager to help better understand your current processes and implement new ones to help ensure that your client’s needs are being met at all times.
Work with a leader in shipyard staffing.
Do you want to know more about quality management improvements? Contact the team at Hutco today.
