Quality management at WSS
The challenges faced on a daily basis by the WSS team include developing high-quality products, producing consistently reliable products and managing to produce a wide range of products. Quality awareness and quality management applied consistently all along the value chain contribute to our overall performance. All steps from the design and development phase to the final working on the lock and fitting technology by our customers, are part of the holistic approach of a comprehensive quality management system. The tailored components and methodologies of a computer-assisted quality management system encompass all processes within the company and ensure the analysis of new data, resulting in the continuous improvement of products and processes.
WSS Quality Management is a guarantee of a consistently high standard of quality in WSS products, something that customers have come to expect of WSS.
DIN EN ISO 9001:2015
Certification in accordance with the new standard DIN EN ISO 9001:2015 documents the status of our quality management system and the fact that we meet the requirements of the latest standards. Regular certification has been part and parcel of the company for many years now. Continuous learning and mastering of new challenges are also key motivating factors in quality management, aimed at producing products to the required standard of quality and implementing processes to the required level of transparency. The standards required for such transparency are defined in DIN EN ISO 9001:2015, the important standard for quality management in our company. This means that the organisational structure of the company, the management systems and the documentation and communication of the company processes are regulated with binding effect in relation to national (DIN), European (EN) and worldwide (ISO) specifications.
REACH & RoHS
The REACH Regulation REACH Regulation of the Federal Environment Agency, one of the strictest pieces of legislation on chemicals in the world, regulates risk management measures for chemicals on the European market.
The Regulation has ensured a high level of protection for humans and nature for almost ten years now. In line with the REACH Regulation, manufacturers, importers and users have assumed responsibility for chemicals manufactured and used. Chemicals may only be placed on the EU market if they are REACH certified. The principle of assuming responsibility applies. WSS meets these requirements.
The Directive 2011/EU RoHS, 2011/65/EU RoHS supplementary to the REACH Regulation, regulates the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.
As a downstream user, WSS meets all the requirements of RoHS and of the REACH Regulation. We consult regularly with our suppliers and ensure that they are not using any chemicals that would be hazardous to humans or to the environment.
FMEA - Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
As part of its quality management system, WSS relies consistently on the application of the FMEA method with which the concepts and ideas for product solutions can be analysed as early as the design and development phase.
Inter-disciplinary teams identify possible failure causes in all phases of product development, production planning and application optimisation and define solutions with which the occurrence of such failures can be prevented.
In-house production control
At all stages of the production process, compliance with the relevant specifications of materials, purchased parts and all internally produced pre-products is verified using specific testing plans and is documented in line with DIN ISO 9001:2015. A 100% inspection at the end of the assembly process ensures that the critical segments in our product range all meet the defined quality standards for WSS products. In addition to all functional characteristics, these standards include the quality of surfaces that are inspected from an optical and a haptic point of view.
Lean Management
Our corporate culture is increasingly characterised by Lean Management and by the internal attitude of the WSS team. In line with the slogan “WSS 25PLUS better together”, the team continuously strives to find opportunities for fundamental and detailed improvement involving the personal input of each individual.
The company owes a number of initiatives to the attentive and critical view of the employees thanks to which processes and products have been improved and no doubt will continue to be into the future. The teams grasp these initiatives, work out solutions together and implement them, where necessary with the support of in-house experts.
Regular 25PLUS awards are an acknowledgement of special team successes. Altogether, the Lean Management system promotes the inclusion of WSS employees in an continuing improvement process KVP.
Incoming goods inspection
Our suppliers are consistently included in the WSS quality management system. This participation, which begins with product development and agreement on options on the supplier side, with the aim of achieving a close, long-term collaboration, and that takes responsibility for the overall WSS performance, characterises the collaboration between WSS suppliers and WSS supplier management. A further element is the regular assessment of how this collaboration is developing and of the efforts to improve it.
The coordinated inspection routines that are part of the incoming goods inspection are the daily touchstone for the effectiveness of this collaboration. Only flawless materials and purchased parts will get through the incoming goods inspection and will be used in WSS products.
Staff training
We expect of ourselves to be the best point of contact for all matters concerning fittings for buildings.
All our employees undertake regular training in order to ensure a high standard of quality when providing advice. The topics addressed range from product innovations to assembly courses to new information from the standardisation bodies.