Quality assurance in surface treatment

Ralph Bot will be curious to see whether the Quality Assurance Act will become effective on Jan. 1 of next year. "There are still parties that would benefit from a delay, but there is a good chance that after years of pushing forward the law will become a reality in 2024." Therefore, according to the technical advisor to the Vereniging Industrieel Surfacebehandelend Nederland (ION), it is important to have quality assurance in place. "With the labels of the independent Association Qual.ION, surface treatment companies can arrange their part of this assurance."

Association ION has a history dating back to the Association for Surface Techniques of Materials (VOM). "VOM merged in 2014 with the Vereniging voor Industriële Spuit- en Moffelbedrijven (VISEM), Stichting Anodiseren (STANOD), Vereniging van Toeleveranciers in Oppervlaktetechnieken (VTO) and vereniging Nederlandse Galvano Ondernemers - Stichting Bevordering Galvanotechniek (NGO-SBG). From this merger, Vereniging ION was created. The association represents the interests of member companies in the surface treatment industry and provides knowledge transfer, training and events. The organization is based in the building of the Koninklijke Metaalunie, of which, incidentally, we are not a part but where we maintain close contacts and cooperate with other industries and knowledge partners."

To monitor and ensure quality, Vereniging Qual.ION was formed. Bot: "Vereniging Qual.ION was created after the merger mentioned above, but separated from ION in order to independently guarantee quality. Qual.ION took over the management tasks for the Netherlands from VISEM and STANOD. They have set up industry-specific quality systems, with a number of internationally recognized labels designed in the Netherlands and managed from Switzerland. Qualicoat and Qualisteelcoat are the quality labels for organic coatings in aluminum and steel respectively, Qualanod concerns aluminum anodizing. The inspection of licensees is done by approved inspection agencies that have been selected."

Licensees include coating applicators, steel companies and facade builders, as well as contracting companies. These companies use the seal of approval for both their internal and external quality assurance. "Increasingly, customers, constructors and clients are asking for assurance as the requirements for, among other things, sustainability are being further increased," Bot continued. "With the upcoming Quality Assurance Act, having a recognized seal of approval is even more important. Surface treatment applicators must be able to demonstrate that they are achieving the overall quality they claim to deliver. With our quality marks, they can offer that guarantee. It is not for nothing that organizations such as the VMRG and SKG-IKOB have warranty conditions in which our quality labels are a condition of delivery." 

As in any industry, there are always companies that evade the (strict) rules of the game. Bot: "Cowboys you come across in every industry. Usually it's more subtle. There are coaters in the field who claim to have the seal of approval and may even follow the seal of approval rules, but have skipped the most important rule: being inspected. That too is detrimental to the industry and can give a negative image to the hallmark. So we always urge buyers to ask for the official certificate. Then also pay attention to the date; the certificate is updated annually." 

An important point to conclude: training new employees in the surface treatment industry. Bot: "Especially due to aging, a lot of knowledge is leaving the market. That is why Vereniging ION has put a strong focus on sharing and increasing knowledge, in order to keep knowledge and quality high. Licensees of Qualicoat, Qualisteelcoat and Qualanod must therefore attend regular training courses to keep their knowledge up to date. Some large companies can solve that internally, but we are there for the whole industry. Remember that every time an experienced worker retires, there is a gap to fill. We support our members in that."