Best Quality in All Weather Conditions

The world is changing: this is felt by companies that have to face the major challenges of our time; but it also affects all of us as we are increasingly exposed to extreme weather events. It's a good thing that we are not at the mercy of most conditions. A market leader for awnings, patio roofs and conservatories from Cologne guarantees with the help of QM software that its customers can actually rely on weather protection – whether in pouring rain or bright sunshine.

Although awnings from weinor reliably protect restaurant guests in many European countries from the sun day after day, it is above all the solutions for the home that impress with advanced features, designs and the highest quality standards. From terrace awnings, conservatory, pergola or vertical awnings to glass terrace roofs and slatted roofs to cold conservatories, the Rhineland company offers a wide range of sun and weather protection products.

It all began in 1960 with a small, inventive craftsman's company – a business for installing window sills and curtain rails. Today, weinor is the market leader for sun and weather protection in Northern Europe. The quality promise "Made in Germany" is no coincidence: weinor relies on high-quality materials for equally high-quality products. Not surprisingly, therefore, a lot of emphasis was also placed on a suitable software solution when selecting adequate tools to ensure this quality.

Before weinor opted for Babtec's specialized QM software, however, quality processes were still laboriously and manually mapped using Office applications and Excel. A dedicated department was also not even envisaged until then. It is therefore all the more remarkable that over the course of the last few years, with the help of the BabtecQ on-premises solution, structured quality processes have been implemented that not only improve product quality in the short term, but also guarantee it in the long term.

The decision as to which software solution was ultimately to be used depended on three main factors. First and foremost, it was important to weinor that its employees were able to work effortlessly with the software – a catchy, user-friendly interface was therefore a prerequisite. In addition, the company uses an ERP system developed in-house, with which the new QM solution had to be able to interface without errors. The third and decisive requirement: right from the start, weinor wanted to avoid having to make numerous adjustments to the software to tailor it to its own processes, as this usually involves additional costs. Instead, the standard version should already provide all the quality tools and functions that were needed at that time.

Against this background, weinor not only found a suitable provider for software solutions in Babtec, but also an optimal partner for the implementation in the company. The connection to the existing system landscape, including the ERP software developed in-house, posed no real challenge for Babtec's project managers. Thanks to the specialists' many years of experience, the development of the interface and the further technical implementation went smoothly throughout. Although the changeover to a new software system initially involves effort and requires capacity to train employees, Babtec turned out to be the right choice here as well, offering support at all points.

Weinor was already an expert in satisfying its customers with effective immediate actions once there was a problem report. After the introduction of Babtec's professional QM software, however, the employees were able to take a much more long-term approach and, for example, to initiate corrective actions within the framework of the 8D method, which permanently eliminates the causes of errors. In this way, customer concerns can not only be solved more efficiently – the number of problem reports also decreases in the long term.

One product highlight from weinor is special in many respects: the Artares slat roof. With Artares, weinor offers a terrace roof of a special kind "Made in Germany". Customers regulate their individual bioclimate simply by adjusting the opening angle of the slats themselves; intelligent sensors enable automatic adjustment of the slats depending on the weather. The weather protection product can be customized with extras such as integrated vertical shading or LED lighting on the slats and frame. In addition, however, every production step was accompanied by Babtec software for the first time. From FMEA, which identifies potential causes of defects in advance, to the internal processing of deviations with the help of user-friendly, guided 8D reports, to the implementation of corrective actions – BabtecQ enabled optimal implementation right from the start.

In keeping with the motto "prevention is better than cure", great importance is henceforth attached to the quality inspection of supplier products as early as the incoming goods stage. Consistent control through goods inspections ensures that no expensive, time consuming corrective actions are necessary at a later stage in production. And if a complaint does arise, the cloud-based platform BabtecQube supports fast, solution-oriented communication with suppliers that prevents the defect from recurring. The onboarding of suppliers and the subsequent initiation of processes was easy thanks to the uncomplicated operation of BabtecQube services.

The extensive features and functions in BabtecQ convinced weinor in the standard version of the software. Although Babtec offers the option of tailoring modules to the company's processes down to the smallest detail with individual customizations, the requirement for a professional solution was that all the necessary functionalities should already be available with the installation.

BabtecQ integrates all QM tools in one software solution with delivery: a major plus point in this context – in addition to the wide range of quality methods – is the integration of the modules, which guarantees a consistent database. This means that all relevant quality data can be exchanged between the individual modules, for example FMEA, complaint and action management, or production inspection. For weinor, this results in structured, more efficient processes – and for the customer, products whose quality has been assured throughout.

The Drawing module also provides weinor with a powerful tool for deriving inspection characteristics from CAD drawings. The drawings are first created by third-party software and then fed directly into BabtecQ via an interface. Babtec's proprietary CAD Integration automatically stamps the drawing dimensions on the one hand; on the other hand, it also makes these drawing dimensions available to the other modules of the software.

Since CAD drawings play an essential role in awning production, drawing information is, in turn, an essential part of quality control. BabtecQ provides the drawing dimensions, which are stamped in just a few seconds; they can then be used by employees as part of the inspection process. The digitalized process saves a lot of time and nerves, especially thanks to automatic stamping, as time-consuming manual processing is no longer necessary. In addition, a drawing dimension comparison allows different CAD drawing statuses to be compared, so that work is always carried out with the latest data. Here, too, the software's ease of use comes into its own, as the wizard guides users step by step to the optimum comparison result.

Although BabtecQ already helps weinor with many quality tasks, there is plenty of potential for further joint projects. For example, the use of the audit module is being examined, with which the experience gained in the course of an audit can be effectively implemented and weak points eliminated. The inspection of goods using checklists via the BabtecQube cloud platform also has a lot of potential for the responsible employees. They would benefit greatly from more flexibility by using it on their smartphone or tablet when incoming goods inspections are due.

Basically, the journey with Babtec's QM software is far from over for weinor. The reason for this is not least that the company – above all the top management – is fully behind its own quality policy and accordingly also the quality promise to the customer. By setting an example of quality within the company, weinor succeeds in convincing its own employees and ultimately also its customers of its high value. The result inspires international business and private customers who can rely on sun and weather protection from weinor, not least because of the high quality standards.