Quality Control
QUALITY CONTROL
In accordance with the motto: “Trust, but Verify,” SUPERB embraces a system in which there is a high level of trust and systematic verification. Even though SUPERB is certified to the ISO/TS16949 specification, SUPERB management and team members are not satisfied with “just” meeting the standard.
“We have never just tried to do the minimum requirement. We focus on the intent and principles of the ISO standard and then use it to our benefit,” says Quality Systems Director Susan Miller. “The goal at SUPERB is to be consistent, exceed our customers’ expectation, and continually improve. This is how we surpass the ISO standards and truly take SUPERB to a new level—from ISO9000 to SUPERB9000.”
The SUPERB9000 Quality Management System combines the SUPERB foundational philosophy with the international standards of ISO9000/TS16949 to form a holistic management system. Maintained electronically, SUPERB9000 provides seamless access to data between engineering, tooling, manufacturing, and quality management.
Our award-winning SUPERB9000 software allows us to manage product launches from planning and design through implementation, integrating predictive maintenance, and continuous refinement. Each individual part can be traced back to the exact shift time of production, where detailed information about the team members responsible for stamping, measuring, or assembling the part can be retrieved. Predictive maintenance for an individual punch on a specific date is also tracked, according to the specific number of strokes that die has completed. This allows for a seamless linking of APQP (Advanced Product Quality Planning) to our Process Control Documents, which are organized in a hierarchical fashion on Microsoft SharePoint, to ensure process control and system integrity.
At SUPERB, quality is simply everyone’s modus operandi. Quality is a commitment and is practiced in day-to-day application.
The commitment to quality is backed by certification to IATF 16949 standards by third party registrar TÜV. We not only meet these standards but have added to them in creating our proprietary quality management system, SUPERB9000.
“It is not easy to impress me. I am impressed by SUPERB. This company embodies the spirit behind the ISO standard better than almost any company out there.”
The Quality Control Lab is climate controlled and houses precision instruments and special gaging to verify the quality of all manufactured components. Every process at SUPERB has a control plan that prescribes the quality verification required and its frequency.
The control plan dictates a prescribed reaction plan in the event a nonconforming condition occurs. Each press technician is responsible for the process and conducts individual quality inspections.
Providing a process-based quality system, SUPERB’s compliance to the ISO9000/TS16949 specification is a solid infrastructure and significant cause for SUPERB’s ongoing success. TÜV auditor Pamela Bethune said, “SUPERB is definitely one of the top ten, if not one of the top five in terms of adherence to quality systems and the principles of ethical manufacturing and leadership.”