Matra Electronique chooses AFNOR Certification to monitor its integrated system
As a specialist in on-board electronics for defense systems, Matra Électronique has to meet the particularly demanding requirements of its customers. To this end, it has built an integrated multi-referential system, certified since 2014 by AFNOR Certification.
Since 1975, Matra Electronique has been producing on-board electronics for missiles and defense systems. The company has gradually extended its activities to other specialist fields such as aeronautics, space, healthcare and oil research. What do these sectors have in common? The extreme demands of these markets. Customer demand was the starting point for our ISO 9001, EN 9100 for aeronautics, and AQAP 2110 for defense,” confirms Ludovic Bernard, Quality System Manager. Process-based management has thus become an integral part of our corporate culture. Today, all site operations are based on the quality system.
ISO 14001 environmental certification, obtained in 1999, completed the system. Matra Eléctronique has chosen to build an integrated management system, combining elements common to each standard while respecting the specific features of each area.
PROGRESS, always
Very quickly, a twofold challenge became apparent: getting employees on board and integrating the approach into day-to-day business. We had to anchor quality management in concrete terms,” continues Ludovic Bernard. That’s why all our monitoring indicators are customer- and product-oriented, such as delivery times and return rates. We also use visual management,” adds Cécile Beau. Quality objectives are recalled in the workshops on panels on which photos of non-quality are displayed. And the indicators are applied as closely as possible to the business: punctuality of deliveries, for example, is reflected in the time taken to pass through the workshop.
Continuous improvement in results testifies to the effectiveness of this approach. “The rate of product returns fell from 4% in 2009 to 1.3% at the end of 2014. Punctuality has also improved, with a rise in the service rate from 85% in 2009 to 93% at the end of 2014,” illustrates Cécile Beau.
