At Domin, we ensure quality at every step and in every team to achieve an excellent standard and to innovate consistently. This article explains our approach and how it ensures product quality. We will share how we define quality as a company, why it is important to us, and how we achieve quality in all of our products and systems.
Defining Quality at Domin
Quality at Domin means aligning our vision of excellence with the requirements of our customers and value systems. It is a measure of how well our products perform compared to other options on the market, considering factors like cost, service, performance, reliability, and energy efficiency.
Quality-Driven Culture
Our approach to quality stretches beyond just operational targets. We believe that if we empower every employee to uphold the highest of standards in their daily roles, it will ensure quality at every level. To us, quality isn’t just about the final product, but also about fostering loyalty and customer satisfaction. This customer-centric approach allows us to build long-term relationships that are founded on trust. We strive to constantly meet or exceed our customers’ expectations, and we are always working towards further improvement and products and services offered and the way we work as a team and as individuals. Our ISO 9001 certification is an example of how we demonstrate our commitment to quality to our customers.
How We Achieve Quality Excellence
To achieve quality excellence, we have a closed-loop autonomous quality system in place that is built on three pillars:
- Quality Management: We aim to foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and customer focus across the company. Every team member is engaged in upholding high standards.
- Quality Control: We ensure that our products meet predefined standards through consistent monitoring and testing, acting as the first line of defence against defects.
- Quality Assurance: We proactively prevent failures by controlling every element that impacts the product.
We deliver high-quality products by applying this quality system from process design to final testing, focusing on practical, effective measures. Instead of monitoring every variable, which would slow production and inflate costs, we concentrate on what matters most: fatigue strength.
Fatigue is the most likely cause of failure in metal components, especially in additive manufactured parts. This is why we conduct focused fatigue testing at every stage. We use two primary methods to validate fatigue resistance:
- Embedding fatigue coupon samples within each build
- Performing 100% endurance testing on every valve before it leaves our facility.
You can read more about Domin’s approach to fatigue testing here.
In-process controls further elevate our standards. By following a strict process at every stage, we ensure that each valve meets our consistent quality expectations. Finally, our focus on process capability ensures each manufacturing stage is capable and repeatable, minimising variability and ensuring consistent performance across every valve we produce, even at high volumes.
Quality at Scale and Strong Partnerships
Additionally, strong industry partnerships enable us to access cutting-edge expertise and equipment. These relationships allow us to enhance our capabilities and continuously refine our processes. For companies to maintain quality at scale, they require attention to detail and control. An example is our partnership with Renishaw, a leader in 3D printing technology, allowing us to leverage advanced technologies and helping us drive continuous improvements and to stay ahead in our industry. Collaborations like these ensure that our processes are scalable, innovative, and future-focused.
Process Capability
To minimise variability, we prioritise the use of repeatable and capable manufacturing processes. This ensures that every product lives up to the same level of excellence. Whether producing a small batch or scaling up for large production runs, we guarantee that every valve or component meets the same rigorous standards.
To deliver consistent quality, we implement a series of steps:
- Rigorous In-Process Controls: We apply strict monitoring and testing at every stage of production.
- Focus on Fatigue: Instead of measuring everything, we concentrate on fatigue strength, which is the most critical factor for our products’ reliability. By embedding fatigue coupon samples in every build and performing fatigue testing at critical stages, we ensure that each product is capable of handling repetitive loading without failure.
- Data-Driven Feedback Loops: Every batch undergoes testing, and the data collected feeds back into our production processes. This closed-loop system ensures continuous improvement, helping us to fine-tune our processes over time, reduce variability, and consistently meet our quality standards.
- Consistency: We have stringent measures in place to manage machine-to-machine and batch-to-batch variability. By standardising our processes and using advanced technologies like high-resolution Finite Element Analysis (FEA), we ensure that all products meet the same high standards of quality.
The Domin Technology Centre (DTC)
Our Domin Technology Centre (DTC) brings together all teams into a unified hub. This allows us to streamline our operations and fosters innovation within our team. Centralising these capabilities means we can optimise our processes and improve our overall efficiency; it also strengthens collaboration between different company roles. All of these factors contribute to delivering high-quality products to our customers in aerospace, automotive, and manufacturing.
Domin’s Quality Commitment
Domin is one of the leading experts in valve technology, and the secret behind our success is this: quality guides every aspect of our operations—from each member of our empowered team all the way to our advanced technological partnerships.
We are committed to maintaining the highest standards, not only in every product we produce but also in every interaction we have with our customers. This is what ensures that we deliver excellence every time.
