Bert Quality Engineer

‘As Quality Engineer I am responsible for the quality of our products. I consider what actions we can take to improve quality and solve problems. There are many things I have to consider: what are the costs for this solution? Is this idea useful or not? What does the customer think about it? For this, I have contact with everyone within the organisation: from production staff to the director and everything in between. Because the lines of communication are so short, it is pleasant and we can switch quickly. My responsibility is great, because I am involved from A to Z. And when a problem is then completely solved, that is of course super cool.’
 

Lots of freedom and trust

‘The freedom I experience in this job is very special. Even though VDL is incredibly large, it feels like a small company. I can freely share my ideas to solve a problem and they are always taken seriously. Anything is possible and sometimes I have to take a risk. This makes me really challenged. I gained a lot of experience at my previous employers and now I reap the benefits. I don't have to make an effort to get someone to go along with a solution. Everyone has the same goal: to prevent a problem from happening again. We are all committed to this together. Like me, my colleagues are super driven. We go for it 100 per cent. And preferably a bit more. We look beyond the question. We have to take into account all the changes in our sector: changing processes, techniques and methodologies. At VDL, I get the room to develop in this, which also allows me to offer our customers the best solutions.’
 

Super proud

‘It's cool when we can solve problems completely. To give a very concrete example: there was a problem with the door panels of a truck. The panel was 3 millimetres off the door. Of course, that's not possible. Together with my team, we went to find out how this problem arose. We came to the conclusion that there was a difference in the various drawings. Together with the customer, we then changed the mould and then the problem was solved. Another example concerns an entirely different product. Something through which the supply and discharge of water passes. This turned out not to be watertight. Within a few weeks, we and the team developed a way of ‘spraying’ on two points, which solved the problem. I'm super proud when we can achieve something like this together.’