Huf is one of the main suppliers in the world in the Car Access, Security and Immobilization (CASIM) segment. They make the first things you touch on a car, such as the door handles, the keys and the ignition.
As a first tier supplier in the international auto industry, certification is a must, but Huf canit afford to be satisfied with just a framed piece of paper on the wall.
Huf Huelsbeck & Fuerst GmbH & Co. KG, began as a small family owned company that started making locks and keys back in 1908. When the auto industry in Germany took off, they realised that cars needed locks too, and supplied their first car key to Mercedes in 1920. This ability to adapt has stayed with the company, and the Huf name can now be found on many sets of car keys around the world.
"One of the most important success factors for Huf has been our ability to remain technology leaders within our segment," says Dr. Dieter Kopperschlaeger, Executive Vice President of the Huf Group. "Huf has managed to change from a purely mechanical company to a company that is able to produce high level 'mechatronic' products, which integrate electronics and mechanical products. And electronics makes all the difference in car security today."
For example, a leading Huf mechatronic product is the push-button start of the new BMW 1-series. In fact, Huf delivers the entire car access, security and immobilisation system for the series.
Required certification
The automotive industry is a fiercely competitive business. To ensure quality, certification is not optional but a mandatory requirement if delivering parts to the automotive industry. The certification required is to the automotive specific ISO/TS 16949 standard. It covers a comprehensive quality system for automotive industry manufacturing suppliers.
"To be able to hang an ISO/TS 16949 certificate on the wall is no great advantage, except as a ticket to trade. But if you closely consider and understand what is written in the TS, and apply these ideas and rules to your production, then benefits come. Then you can improve your work processes and handle the demands for continuous improvement, as well as increase quality and control costs," says Dr. Kopperschlaeger.
He underlines that anyone working to be certified should "make sure the application of these standards make you successful, and that you are not doing it for the certification itself."
A demanding but rewarding process
Huf made the decision to go for ISO/TS 16949 in September 2003. At this time a new version of the standard had been issued, incorporating many of the requirements in ISO9001:2000, and their previous certifications were expiring.
"One of the advantages of the second edition ISO/TS16949 is that you basically only have to deal with one quality standard," explains Dr. Kopperschlaeger. "Therefore we decided to make a complete re-certification. It was in the beginning of February 2003 that we made the decision to go for DNV as a partner, and in September 2003 we passed the audit for the headquarters and another design location in Munich." In the process of getting certified, Huf integrated 46 project teams, set up 38 process owners, integrated 420 documents, completed 265 process flowcharts, and made 83 overviews of processes.
"It was a lot of work," laughs Dr. Kopperschlaeger, "but the process really has given us a completely new way of looking at our production." A computer tool called ARIS collects and provides all this information on the company intranet, for all group members and employees to access at any time.
An international family
Huf's current leading position was not just secured being a technology leader. The company made a decision as early as in 1983 to go global, and established the first German venture in Spain.
"We have now followed an international strategy for more than 20 years. In fact, in most countries we were the first for our product range, and that is a big advantage for us. Now we have 10 members in the Huf Group spread on three continents, with the youngest member being in Poland," says Dr. Kopperschlaeger.
Huf has more than 5000 employees around the world, although most of these can be found at the company's headquarters in Velbert in Germany.
An international partner
Running a widespread international company places extra importance on corporate best practices and corporate rules. Ensuring that the customers are offered the same quality in every market is crucial, and a concern for Huf as well.
"We needed someone who could help us in rolling out the TS Certification around the world. Otherwise, we may have run the danger of a Huf Group member getting a TS Certificate that is not valid. DNV could prove intense knowledge regarding the content of the TS Certification. DNV could also assist in rollout of the certification to the other members of the Huf Group, as DNV is located in all the countries where we are represented. This made all the difference," says Dr. Kopperschlaeger.
Technological competence and hard work have proven yet again to be gold for the Huf Group, who brings intelligence not just to cars but to the certification process as well.