During August and September, 4 of my blogs will mention how, in my opinion, Solar Solve is one of the best businesses in the world to trade with. The original company motto, which has been our motivation ever since 1975, was ‘The Customer is King’. It still is, even though we realise it may not be considered politically correct or appropriate in some parts of the world, we hope that the core message by implication is; – at Solar Solve no one is more important than our customers and we do absolutely everything we can to delight them. Customers can expect EXACTLY WHAT they want, EXACTLY WHEN they want it and EXACTLY WHERE they want it.
Being the best does not just happen, it has to be worked hard for by the whole team, who are all committed to the cause. I have tried to combine all of the requirements into 4 main categories, one for each of the 4 blogs referred to above. They include:-
1) Regular Staff Training and Appraisals for our Committed Employees.
2) Constant Checking and Performance Analysis Monitoring.
3) Reliable Suppliers/Service Providers.
4) Maximum Control.
Constant checking and performance analysis monitoring is absolutely essential in ensuring that we have all orders ready for dispatch or collection when we say we will and for the last 3 years we always have had. It is a major factor towards making certain that our customers get exactly what they want, where and when they want it. Checking, inspecting and monitoring tasks are carried out by well-trained employees who are qualified and certified to perform the procedure. It is the common sense approach and as an ISO9001 : 2015 Quality Assured organisation we do it anyway as part of the Quality Standard procedures. To try and cut any kind of corners that are related to the Quality Management System would be silly and counterproductive. Our philosophy has always been to build in discipline, which invariably produces great benefits for the company, our employees and our customers. All Solar Solve employees are trained to look out for irregularities whilst carrying out their tasks but if anything does slip through it will usually be spotted when a procedure is checked after completion. When something is wrong we try to correct it immediately to save on time and possible wastage further on in the process. Every roller blind and roller sunscreen product manufactured in our facility has a final inspection and test carried out on a specially designed test rig and a label is attached with a serial number and other information as well as the inspector’s initials and test date.
As well as the ongoing in-process checks, there are many, many other kinds of checks that are included in this category of good practice. They include stock-checks for quantities and physical condition; ICT computers, hardware, software, backups, failsafe systems, anti-virus scans, etc.; manufacturing tools, equipment and consumables; company vehicles; the list goes on and on. Most of them are itemised on the MCL’s – Monthly Check Lists.
At the start of every month, all employees are issued with a fresh copy of their own MCL, which is a variation of the ‘planned maintenance’ philosophy. It contains some tasks that relate to their main job function and some more general tasks that may be more associated with good housekeeping within the whole facility. They are mainly checks that normally only come to attention when there is a problem and something fails. With the MCL’s, which are intended to be carried out during quiet times as ‘fall-back work’, the failure rate throughout the Solar Solve facility is kept at almost zero.
There are numerous commendations on our website testimonials page here, some stating that we are perfect and cannot improve. They are nice to receive but there is a lot goes into earning them. You can read more about some of the other factors in additional blogs over August and September.
JHL MBE SSL Co. Chairman
