To enhance Furlan's quality, a different internal audit

In early December, Máquinas Furlan conducted an internal audit of its Quality Management System (QMS). However, the auditors and the Furlan team sought a different format, which included a workshop with all departments involved.

For Furlan customers, the benefits of the initiative include the guarantee that products and services meet the highest quality standards, which are planned by the company and communicated to the market.

Stay with us and learn about Furlan, which, with the support of Guimaqual Consultoria e Treinamentos, has developed an innovative process.

To serve an internal auditorium?

In recent decades, auditoriums have become essential for companies seeking to achieve excellence in their relationships with their customers, including products and services. In the case of Furlan, internal audits are carried out at specific times throughout the company and are based on the requirements of NBR ISO 9001:2015, which is the current version of the standard.

The goal is to achieve compliance, as described in work instructions, procedures, standards, laws and other documents. But what if this does not occur? Then a non-conformity is issued to analyze the root cause of the problem and take the necessary actions.

In Furlan's case, there were challenges to its management style. The company is one of the leaders that does not supply mining equipment and steel castings for wear and correction.

Its park brings together a single space of operations that generate a complete solution for the client, in practices such as steel manufacturing, heat treatment, machining, boilermaking and equipment assembly.

The company has been in business for 61 years and has nearly 300 employees.

Poka Yoke Methodology, “mistake-proof”

The auditoriums use the Poka Yoke methodology, predicting problems caused by human error. The action was attended by Furlan's internal team and Guimaqual auditors.

Poka Yoke is a term of Japanese origin, which means “mistake-proofing”. Today, developing “mistake-proofing” processes, equipment and devices is essential for organizations.

However, Poka Yoke requires the company to have an Engineering and Development team that is “intrinsically” committed to the culture. In Furlan’s case, this group is basically gathered in the New Product, Services and Applications Development area, DNPSA.

CEO participates in all aspects of the audit

Furlan has internal QMS auditors. However, the company outsources internal auditing twice a year to increase the impartiality of the practice. In addition, the consultancy firm hired is made up of engineers with extensive knowledge in the foundry and equipment area.

However, this time, the event was quite different. CEO Valter Zutin Furlan participated in every moment. As a result, the group was able to identify several opportunities for improvement to increase productivity and minimize risks.

“We have a catalog with over 150 pieces of equipment, in addition to producing 12,000 different types of parts. Our culture is based on offering solutions to our customers, on understanding what they need at that moment. So, I saw this audit as an opportunity to expand the possibilities for improvements,” says Valter.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors, Wagner Zutin Furlan, has the same assessment. “This culture has brought us this far. However, we need to constantly improve our actions,” says Wagner.

Auditing usually takes into account the number of employees. Concerned about sampling in this format, Furlan innovated. Planning was focused on each process. This also generated more work – the audit time was three times longer.

The closing ceremony has also changed. The traditional presentation meeting has become a full-day workshop. During the workshop, dynamics encouraged the identification of opportunities and problems. Even a person dressed as a polar bear took part in the activities.

This audit was “a turning point”, says Guimaqual

Guimaqual audited Máquinas Furlan for the seventh time. “The consolidation of the Furlan Management System is evident. With each audit we see that the continuous improvement of processes is proven”, say the experts.

However, two facts caught the consultancy's attention, in this specific case:

1. “sampling of all processes and all those involved in the processes, carrying out a 100% assessment of the action plans and RNCs issued and with actions in progress”;

2. “and 100% monitoring by the organization’s CEO, something quite unusual given the schedule of a CEO of an organization like Máquinas Furlan”.

Planning made it possible to reconcile the agendas of those involved.

Thus, in Guimaqual's view, "we have successfully completed the largest and most complete internal audit we have ever carried out in over 20 years of business. This demonstrates Máquinas Furlan's total commitment to the QMS and the ISO9001:2015 standard."

These auditoriums will be a “watershed” for Máquinas Furlan and Guimaqual, experts conclude.