At the end of 2003, the Ferretti Group, which the Riva brand belongs to, decided to create a Quality Management and Control system which would make Riva’s high quality official and standardised, as well as guaranteeing the quality of every product that left Sarnico and La Spezia.
The first step in researching and developing the project was to write a Quality Manual that brought together all the monitoring and control procedures used in the various processes, from supply to after-sales, with all the intermediary stages of production through to testing. An essential aspect of this step was the mutual interest of all the departments involved, starting with production which actively contributed to the controls and the definition of the parameters of acceptance.
The huge increase in Riva’s production started when it joined the Ferretti Group in 2000, continued again after 2004, due also to the acquisition of the new production headquarters in La Spezia in September 2003. Seven new yachts were launched in just three years and today Riva’s fleet boasts 11 models from 30 to 115 feet, which have all been designed in the last six years and cover just as many market sectors, satisfying the needs of even the most demanding yacht owners.
“An internal laboratory was created to enable the company to closely follow the shipyard’s growth and is at the disposal of the Quality Department who test raw materials as they are received (resins, gelcoats, fibres). – explains Ferruccio Rossi, Riva CEO – Human resources have also increased. Three members of staff at Sarnico and three at La Spezia are now responsible for checking goods upon acceptance, quality monitoring during production as well as the contacts with the suppliers’ auditing; and over the next few years, there will be a further increase in the number of this specialised staff”.
The management and registration of non-conformities is overseen by a single system for the whole Ferretti Group, which posts all the information on the intranet with SAP management software, so it can be consulted by the Quality Departments of all the brands and analysed by the Group’s central management.
In June 2006 the Riva Quality Control took on a further commitment: the involvement in a new project called “Continuous Improvement”, which reports primarily to the Technical Department and Industrial Area but which involves all the shipyard’s departments in a sideways manner.
“The aim of this project is to obtain a further boost for research and development which will allow us to meet three basic goals: simplification, optimisation and rationalisation of the processes. – says Rossi – The main goal, as always, is to ensure our clients are satisfied, not only with our products, but also with the services we offer them. Luckily, Riva has always actively promoted improvement and the pursuit of perfection since the very beginning, which obviously makes our job a lot easier.”
