Quality Audit: How do we ensure continuous improvement?

Every year, we turn to an internal quality audit to identify improvement opportunities, guaranteeing that Endiprev offers the best service possible and creating a great workplace.

Being one step ahead of challenges and continuously improving requires a lot of work. As a company with certified Quality, Environmental, and Safety Management Systems, Endiprev needs to make sure that the teams comply with the requirements of the NP EN ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001, respectively. That is why we perform several internal analyses, being the quality audit one of them. With the increase of simultaneous projects and with the team spread around the world, these audits are a great tool to ensure a consistently high level of quality in every project.

Raquel Santos, Endiprev’s Quality Manager, is responsible for our internal quality audits. As she explained, “These audits are an excellent opportunity to put into practice one of the quality’s basic principles”. It is a way to ensure continuous improvement in the company. Raquel considers that to be one of the most powerful tools, showing how Endiprev addresses all requirements, whether demanded by the certification or by our standards and values.

In fact, the on-site quality audits are crucial moments to manage expectations and gather critical information. “Working closely with our teams gives us a bigger perception of the reality of their work in the wind farms”. In other words, that allows the company to better understand their needs and main difficulties and how to improve every aspect and process that has an impact on their daily work. By optimizing the whole process, the teams can be able to deliver even better service, with high-quality and safety standards, and on time.

A day in an internal quality audit

Every audit begins with a kick-off meeting between every involved party. At this meeting, it is usually explained to the team on-site the goal of the quality audit and its criteria, as well as identify the potential need to make alterations to the plan.

After that, Raquel and her team begin the quality audit by following the team in every task. Without interfering in the works, they try to gather an adequate sample of relevant information regarding:

• The execution of the tasks.
• The following of the customer’s documentation.
• The creation of the machine’s documentation.
• The availability of the tools to carry out the tasks and their correct use.
• The mandatory inspections.
• The use of PPEs.
• Other necessary information.

Alongside the requirements and regulations, they also verify if the company’s internal processes are being met. To seek improvements and identify deviations, these quality audits also promote a transparent collaboration. They stimulate good practices and transmit the importance of embodying Endiprev’s values. As the company became a global group, with several teams around the world, the quality audits are a tool to ensure homogenization and alignment in ways of work and requirements.

The closing meeting is usually quick and straight to the point. The audit team presents the positive aspects and the matters that concern them and addresses any doubts that may appear.

The internal quality audit has been proven to be an important process to grow. It helps us to give customers high-quality service, continue improving the team safety indicators as well as the internal processes, and give our teams a great workplace. With them, we have been developing throughout the years by identifying several improvement opportunities and putting them into action. We still have a long way to go. However, we believe they are one of the keys to ensuring success at Endiprev.