A year ago, Iris Janssen, Industrial Engineer at Nobleo Manufacturing, started with an issue that came up with the customer: how do we ensure structural quality improvements instead of solving ad hoc problems?
That became the start of a process that involved working with the customer on a 5-year (long-term) strategic quality roadmap, linked to the business strategy. The aim of a quality roadmap is to create a culture of continuous improvement, customer focus and operational excellence.
Background: what is a quality roadmap?
A quality roadmap is a strategic plan that guides overall quality improvement, process optimisation and culture change, Iris explains.
“We analyse the current situation and identify improvement opportunities. Based on the results, we prioritise these improvement opportunities, considering the business objectives. We then coordinate the planning and priorities with the client and provide advice.”
Iris JanssenIndustrial Engineer
An annual plan then emerges from the quality roadmap, reflecting the priorities, schedule and deliverables for that year.
Proces quality roadmap
The Quality roadmap serves as a multi-year plan. First, the goals per year are defined; where do you want and can you be as a company in 1, 2 or 5 years. With these goals in mind, different projects are defined. These are divided into six categories, drawn up in cooperation with the customer.
- Continuous Improvement
- Knowledge & Competence
- Process
- Organisation
- Information Systems
- Culture
For each category, projects are plotted that are divided into eight different programmes, including; Quality Culture, Performance steering and digitisation, New Product Introduction and N-tier management.
Challenge
An important part of the process is setting the right priorities. The risk is that you want to tackle too much at once, while time and capacity are limited. The roadmap helps to take a step back, create overview and focus.
Co-creation and co-ownership
At Nobleo Manufacturing, we always guide this process in co-creation and co-ownership with the customer. We not only determine together what is really important, but we also take joint responsibility for the implementation. This shifts the focus from daily operational issues to achieving structural and sustainable improvements.
Future
At Nobleo Manufacturing, we aim to develop a generic Quality Roadmap that helps organisations systematically improve their quality levels. A roadmap of this kind helps companies to deliberately map out where they currently stand in terms of quality and where there is room for improvement. Based on this, priorities can be set and targeted improvement programmes can be rolled out.
This structured approach offers organisations a clear starting point, highlighting areas for improvement and providing direction for targeted quality growth. At the same time, it fosters alignment across all levels of the organisation by uniting efforts around shared goals and priorities.
Why Nobleo
What sets Nobleo Manufacturing’s approach apart is the combination of practical experience, process insight and long-term thinking. Nobleo works with different companies in various sectors, enabling quick recognition of what is going on and what is needed. A key aspect is that this is always done in close cooperation with the customer. Not as an external consultant from a distance, but as a sparring partner who thinks along, challenges and builds solutions that work together. The focus is not on treating symptoms, but on preventing recurring problems.
The ultimate goal? An organisation in which quality is not a department, but a mindset.
Are you curious about how a quality roadmap can provide more structure and quality improvement in your organisation? Contact us, we are happy to think along with you.
Achieving New Level Manufacturing Together
