Quality Technician – ALT Mexico
Can you describe your role as a Quality Technician and how it contributes to the overall product quality at the company?
My role as a Quality Technician focuses on ensuring that customer requirements are met through audits and production support, enabling early detection of issues and ensuring that specified quality criteria are met.
What are some key factors that ensure the quality of airbag covers and wraps?
To ensure the quality of our products, it is essential to know each customer’s specifications, request appropriate tools, and generate specific documentation. In addition, it is important to raise awareness among staff about the relevance of each part of the product and its impact on the safety of the occupant.
How do you approach internal and external complaints? Could you share an example of a challenge you’ve faced in this process and how you resolved it?
Each customer complaint is addressed with non-conformity management and the 8D reporting tool. This methodology defines the times and steps to follow from start to finish. Sometimes the root cause is hard to find, but with our multidisciplinary team and the occasionally support from HQ we always achieve it.
What role does IATF certification play in our industry, and how do you help ensure we meet its requirements?
IATF plays a fundamental role in the automotive industry, since it leads us to develop a quality management system focused on continuous improvement, reducing defects, and avoiding variations and waste. This standard is essential to meet customer quality expectations.
What kind of testing or procedures are in place to ensure product durability and safety, especially for airbag-related products?
It all starts with ensuring we receive quality-certified materials. We carry out different tests on material and product level to make sure that the products meet customer requirements. For example, we apply the FMVS 302 flammability standard to ensure that, in the event of a fire, the material does not spread the fire quickly. We also perform resistance tests to ensure that products withstand the airbag deployment conditions.
What’s the most rewarding part of working in quality management?
The most rewarding part of working in quality management is to help prevent problems and ensure that products or services meet the highest expectations, both internally and with the customer.
How has your role evolved since you first started working here? What skills have been most important for your development?
When I first started at ALT, my role was OBA leader, which is an area where an additional inspection is done on the product to raise the level of confidence that the product meets the customer’s specifications.
Now my functions have changed a lot; I carry out audits of the process, the product, IATF internal audits, I participate in engineering tests, Continuous Improvement, and PFMEAs and Control Plan. I am in contact with customers if they require any quality-related information, and I have led the 8D investigation in solving customer complaints.
Outside of work, are there any hobbies or interests that you feel help you in your role as a Quality Technician?
Outside of work I have very varied tastes. I always like to do or try new things, and this probably helps me at ALT because new things always arise such as new projects and I have to get involved with all departments.
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