Featured Employee

By Rachel Rosas
Director of Finance

ACR is obsessive about Quality.  Our Quality policy states “ACR builds products knowing they are used to save lives.”  Recently, Rachel Rosas, ACR’s Director of Finance, sat down with Josef Menashe, ACR Quality Director, to get his take on what Quality means at ACR.

RR: How do you ensure the quality of ACR products?

JM: We build products that we hope never get used, but when they do, they must work the first time, every time.  The process starts during the conception and definition of a new product and continues through out development, on in to production and through out its life cycle.  We do Reliability testing to validate the design, then we push the products with highly accelerated life testing to see where they fail. We use Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) to analyze the results.  

We have a fully equipped test lab that can test for shock, vibration, temperature cycling, humidity cycling, salt fog, drop tests, decompression, waterproofing, accelerated aging, and elevated temperatures.  You must have the facility to do the testing and we are constantly investing in new test equipment.  Our latest addition is a GPS constellation simulator. With all the attention given to GPS EPIRBs, we want to make sure the products we design and produce are meeting consumer expectations.

We review product returns for trends. We view these as an opportunity for improvement. When we see repetitive issues we address them in the most appropriate manner as quickly as possible. 

Supplier audits and reviews are an essential part of the process. I travel the world visiting our suppliers. We review their manufacturing processes and in-process quality system.

As part of our ISO9000 procedures, we hold management review meetings with top management where we discuss all quality issues and formulate plans to continuously improve our quality.

We circulate letters we receive from survivors rescued, in part, by our products so our employees can see the impact of their work and the importance of quality.  The commitment to quality is real here at ACR; it’s not just a slogan.  We build quality products knowing they are used to save lives.

RR: What kind of challenges do you experience in your job?

JM: Sometimes it is hard to get problems resolved as quickly as one might wish. Often there are suppliers that we need to work with so the speed of resolution is not always under my control.

Due to the nature of our equipment as lifesaving devices, we need to meet zero defect expectations for most of our products. Our vendors have very few customers who are as exacting and demanding as we are.  We are always fine-tuning our quality system to ensure that we elevate and resolve problems with appropriate priority.

RR: How has quality changed at ACR in the past few years?

JM: We have added more engineering support in the factory to allow quicker resolution of quality issues, and we continue to invest in technology to let us do a better job.  Examples of new technology include the SmartScope in Receiving Inspection that precisely and quickly inspects incoming parts to an electrical drawing.

RR: What Quality Initiatives are you planning for 2007?

JM: We are planning to add a coordinated measurement (CCM) machine and Auto Optical Inspection (AOI) system for SMT printed circuit boards. We are working with our suppliers on a dock to stock program to expedite release of incoming material.  

RR: You started at ACR as an engineer, how did you end up as Quality Director?

JM: I had an engineering degree but wanted to expand my knowledge so I took a Masters Degree Program for Quality. As Quality Director, I have enjoyed the opportunity to be involved in almost every process in the company. I get to work with a variety of people which allows me the chance to grow, learn, and share with others.  I have the ASQ quality certifications and attend various technical courses and seminars to keep up to date on topics such as plastics molding.

It was also an opportunity to work with our customers.  Especially consumers who’ve had a problem.  Our consumers are an adventurous group and they are constantly using our products under real world conditions that are, frankly, rather amazing.  I am frequently amazed by what they do to and with our products and learn a great deal from them.

RR: What kind of quality oversight do you get from 3^rd parties?

JM: We have annual ISO9000 audits which verify the continuing performance of our quality systems. On the aviation side, we have the FAA and a number of airlines who perform periodic audits and site visits. I enjoy working with the customers directly to understand their concerns and give them confidence that we can meet their requirements. There are a number of country approvals which require factory inspections such as Russian Maritime or Chinese Classification Society.  

I always enjoy getting feedback on our products. My goal is to make the customer’s experience with our product outstanding.