JVIS BLOG

Going Above and Beyond for Quality

In the automotive industry, quality is crucial. It first became a standard companies worked into their processes around the 1950s, but it started gaining real popularity in the 1980s and ’90s. Today, quality has secured a permanent place in automotive standards.

While many people consider quality to be solely related to manufacturers and suppliers creating safe vehicles free of defects and operational issues, it goes beyond that. In fact, quality standards in the automotive industry include improving processes and efficiencies, implementing new technologies, decreasing environmental impacts, protecting the health and safety of employees and consumers, and much more.

It is vital automotive companies implement quality standards not just when they’re required, but also because these practices push companies to create better and be better. Additionally, implementation of quality guidelines results in:

  • Gaining customer trust.
  • Keeping costs down for partners to consumers in the long run.
  • Helping customers locate ethical companies that provide reliable products and secure data processing.
  • Allowing businesses to match their values and provide beneficial business opportunities.

There are numerous quality certifications auto manufacturers and suppliers can get to demonstrate their commitment to excellence. Each certification has a thorough application process that typically includes an audit and assessment of the company and its processes to ensure it meets the required quality standards. The certifications each have a unique purpose, so no company will hold every accreditation. Some of the most common quality certifications include:

  • IATF 16949: This certificate demonstrates a company’s dedication to constant improvement, prevention of defects and waste elimination. Many companies that supply directly to auto manufacturers get this certification.
  • ISO 9001: Companies receive this certification to show their commitment to excellence and improvement of customer relationships.
  • ISO 14001: This certification shows a company’s dedication to environmental responsibility and is working to reduce negative impacts on the environment through its processes.
  • ISO 45001: Companies receive this certification to show their dedication to the well-being of staff. These companies demonstrate their value of employees and work to prevent injuries, emergencies and loss of productivity because of workplace hazards.
  • IQNet SR10: Companies earn this certification because of their dedication to social responsibility. They manage their environmental impact and effects on their communities. This certificate is similar to the ISO 45001.
  • EMAS: This credential is earned by businesses that have a strong dedication to reducing environmental impact by lowering emissions and harmful effects.
  • TISAX: Companies receive this certification to demonstrate their compliance with the privacy and data processing rules in the European Union.
  • Best in Quality Supplier: A BIQs is earned by suppliers for their successful implementation of a supplier quality program. These programs assess companies on dozens of quality metrics and standards.

At JVIS, the term “good enough” is not in our vocabulary. For us, it’s about being the best. This is especially true when it comes to producing quality components for our customers and having a world-class environmental, health and safety program. Whether it’s the people, the materials, the facilities or the processes we have in place, we set the highest expectations for ourselves and maintain the highest standards for everything we do. Our commitment to this performance is demonstrated through our combined Quality and Environmental Policy and is verified through third-party ISO-certified Quality and Environmental Management Systems.

JVIS holds quality certifications at Benton Harbor— Crystal; Benton Harbor — Territorial; Clinton Township — Harper; Farmington Hills — FH; and Shelby Township I, II, and III, including:

  • ISO 9001: 2015
  • ISO 14001: 2015
  • IATF 16949: 2016
  • LG-BIQs

“In a global market, it’s not just enough to be good. You have to be among the best,” Mike Verkennes, director of quality at JVIS. “Our team includes experts in every field from product design to product manufacturing and supply chain management. We use the highest-quality materials and the latest technological innovations to create smart solutions that are beyond compare.”

Verkennes continued by saying JVIS also works to maintain high quality by putting an emphasis on automation of error proofing to minimize and eliminate operator error. He said the company lives by the phrase “inspect what you expect,” meaning take the extra time to look over components and products to make sure they come out exactly as intended by JVIS and its client.

Because of our high standards for excellence, JVIS has won a several awards for distinction in quality over the years. Most recently, JVIS received a quality award from Toyota Boshoku for our exemplary work in our partnership.

Commitment to quality has been a core value of JVIS since day one and will continue to be for as long as we’re creating auto components. We are constantly looking for ways to improve our products, processes and company for our employees, customers, partners and the communities we serve across the globe. To learn more about JVIS and our quality standards, visit JVIS.us.