All customers and stakeholders in AC Floby's industry require their subcontractors to be certified according to ISO standards such as IATF 16949 for quality and ISO 14001 for the environment. Since mid-2017, AC Floby has operated as a subsidiary of Volvo Cars and has therefore had to build completely new functions in areas such as HR, purchasing, sales and environment.
They had a file with procedures and instructions relevant to the business, but they lacked a framework for the management system. AC Floby created a temporary document management system in Excel while they reflected on what the needs of the new management system would be; without certification, it was virtually impossible for the business to continue.
– We chose CANEA as our partner because we felt that they had the highest level in areas such as workflow, process, and document management, implementation time, user-friendliness and above all deep expertise in certifications such as IATF 16949, ISO 9001 and ISO14001. The consultants were incredibly knowledgeable about the requirements of the standards to which we are certified. And with their practical experience in the automotive industry, hiring them was an easy decision. We saw that CANEA could help us in our development and deliver a complete solution that matched our needs, says Eva Rosén, Quality and Environmental Manager at AC Floby.
CANEA kept the momentum going and ensured that the schedule was kept
In addition to fulfilling the requirements of the standards, AC Floby aims to further develop their management system in order to work with continuous improvement, error prevention and loss reduction.
– It's hard to understand what a good structure you actually have when you're in the middle of a process such as a change of ownership, a completely new organization and other extreme circumstances. It didn't feel that way at the time, but now in retrospect, I realize how well-organized everything was, thanks to our constant work with standards and the benefits of having a structure where the right thing is at the right place. We also realized the importance of using external support like CANEA, which helped us with expectations and structure. The consultants have been very responsive and pushed us at the right pace, while ensuring we didn't lose momentum and helped us to stay on schedule, says Eva Rosén.
A process-oriented approach with increased collaboration
Together with employees, AC Floby has mapped internal processes, revised procedures and instructions, which has led to new ways of working. They have worked with plans for communication and training and have communicated schedules and changes in processes in a simple way throughout the organization via weekly reports and status monitoring.
– We have learned to work more process-oriented and interact more cross-functionally between different functions within the organization. This has led to increased efficiency but we have also got to know each other better in the organization! All process owners have also understood their responsibility to map the business and become more aware of standards and requirements. We have also learned to think about opportunities instead of risks. The consultant from CANEA introduced the analysis tool PEST (Political, Economic, Social, Technological factors) to us, which we have integrated into our way of working. It has been very positive for us, and we now review risk and perform stakeholder analysis ourselves, says Eva Rosén.
With the certificate in place, the next step with CANEA ONE begins
In parallel with the mapping of processes, the CANEA ONE business software has been implemented in the organization. The system consists of integrated management of strategies, processes, workflows, documents and projects, which provides a common thread in daily operations. Together with project managers, users have been trained, and the system has been tested and adapted to AC Floby's needs. Once the certificate was updated and the software was implemented, attention turned to working with the interface and fine-tuning functions together with the process owners. A success factor has been to develop a new team with a process manager who only works with the development of the management system together with a number of dedicated people who know the standards and optimize, structure, and ensure that the right things are in place and that they work with the right things. Thus, AC Floby has a good tool for continuous improvement and is well-equipped for the future.
– Dedicated resources to keep the management system alive has been a success factor for us, and we chose the right partner! CANEA was incredibly focused on customer care and good at giving feedback. They really had us as a customer in focus and a professionalism that permeated all contacts with CANEA. We also had a lot of fun together – CANEA's consultants are very nice and easy to work with and there has been a lot of laughter while doing the hard work that led to our recertification, Eva Rosén concludes.
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