Safelite AutoGlass® has implemented a quality inspection program named the Goods-In Survey (GIS) for two of its distribution centers.
"In addition to receiving windshields manufactured by sister company Safelite® Glass Corp., Safelite AutoGlass also purchases vehicle glass from suppliers worldwide. For high-volume suppliers providing 100,000+ units per year, Safelite AutoGlass's quality inspector randomly selects one percent of incoming inventory to pass through quality control," reads a release issued by the company.
As part of the program auto glass is inspected for a variety of defects using the inspection standard set forth by parent company Belron®. Any glass with reported damages is either shipped back or recycled.
"Our goal in enhancing our inspection process is to make suppliers more aware of quality expectations," says Dino Lanno, Safelite's senior vice president of supply chain and manufacturing. "If we can save just one customer from needing to reschedule an appointment because of a bad part, then we've saved one more customer experience."
According to the company, defect rates from top suppliers have seen a 4.79 percent reduction since piloting the program.
"The GIS performance data from Safelite AutoGlass has been extremely helpful in gauging our customer performance and in developing new practices," says Jason Yoon, Pilkington North America's director of operations and supply chain. "For example, we have installed and manned a similar GIS inspection station in our primary North American distribution center. In addition, the higher demands of the GIS process contributed to our decision to migrate to a tougher AGRNA quality specification."