Champions for Quality Awards

2024 Champions for Quality Awards Winners.

The 7th annual Champions for Quality Awards feature public award nominations from manufacturers worldwide and insight-driven awards from the EASE plant floor platform. The awards recognize individuals, specific manufacturing facilities, and entire organizations across a range of categories.

Congratulations to our 2024 winners for your ongoing commitment to manufacturing quality!

Public nominated awards.

These categories celebrate individual achievements from the plant floor to the quality department, the organization, and the industry at large. Nominations were submitted by the public as well as by Ease.io customers and affiliates; winners were selected by Ease.io based on the nomination entry.

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Leadership

Executives who are strong advocates/sponsors for department-wide quality, safety, and operations programs at the senior stakeholder level.

Winner

Erik Lippert – Toyota Boshoku Canada Inc.

Elmira, Ontario, Canada

Honorable Mention

Gary Poole – OPmobility

Windsor, Ontario, Canada

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Ambassador

Professionals who have dedicated their careers to the industry and to fostering a long-term culture of quality at their manufacturing plant(s).

Winner

Brian Csikos – First Brands Group

Rochester Hills, Michigan

Honorable Mention

Jessica Gibson – Ingevity

Covington, Virginia

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Trailblazer

Users of the EASE platform not just for layered process audits (LPAs), but for other programs including safety audits, 5S, root cause analysis, and more.

Winner

Ardiana Lelcaj – Magna Seating - Shelby Foam Systems

Shelby Township, Michigan

Honorable Mentions

Markus H. Jones, MS CHMM CIEC – Knauf Insulation

Shelbyville, Indiana

Nigel Gill – Ricor

Studley, UK

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Influencer

Momentum builders who generate excitement, interest, and buy-in for quality initiatives among their peers.

Winner

Lerato Makhubela – PPG Coating Services

Johannesburg, South Africa

Honorable Mention

Donnie Thysell – American Woodmark

Riverside, California

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Promising Newcomer (New Category)

Early-career individuals (five years or less in the manufacturing industry) demonstrating standout potential to rise into a leadership role in quality.

Winner

Tej Aujla – OPmobility

Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Honorable Mention

Ankita Shah – Gujarat Guardian Limited

Ankleshwar, Gujarat, India

Awards based on EASE data.

In addition to the nominated categories, the Champions for Quality Awards program includes four categories that recognize achievements based on EASE usage metrics and benchmarks.

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Plant of the Year

Plants were evaluated on a combination of weighted audit insights including the percentage of on-time completed plant floor audits and on-time completed findings.

Winner

American Woodmark — South Branch Plant

Moorefield, West Virginia

Honorable Mentions

Dana

Zaragoza, Spain

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Auditor of the Year

Users were assessed based on audit completion rate, total number of audits completed, and audit findings, with the majority of their audits being focused on quality like LPAs.

Winner

Frank Grogg – MRP Solutions

Plattsburgh, New York

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Best Implementation

Teams were chosen based on their engagement during the implementation of EASE from pilot to final deployment, their advocacy throughout the process, and audit activity and completion rates in the weeks and months following their go-live date.

Winners

Stabilus Co. Ltd.

Busan, South Korea

Stabilus, S.A. de C.V.

Ramos Arizpe, Mexico

Stabilus (JiangSu) Ltd.

Changzhou, China

Stabilus (ZheJiang) Ltd.

Pinghu, China

Honorable Mentions

Cascade Die Casting Group, Inc.

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Toyo Tires

Indjija, Serbia

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Quality Transformation

Teams were evaluated based on significant improvement in performance within the EASE platform over a 12-month period, including the highest percentage increase in on-time audits and mitigations.

Winner

Yanfeng

North American and European Automotive Interiors Division

Honorable Mention

Panasonic Automotive Systems Reynosa Mexico, S.A. de C.V.

Reynosa, Mexico