Hunter Engineering of Durant does not just measure and track quality, it celebrates it.
Last week, employees were treated to a buffet meal from Penn’s after the manufacturing company hit its quality goals for three straight months. The company sets goals for each month, quarter and year.
“This is a testament to the quality of people we have here at Hunter Engineering. This time, they hit the quality goals for three months in a row,” said Plant Manager Wayne Bowling. “We are a world-class company running a world-class organization here in Durant.”
The company has also given out some $3,200 in bonuses to employees over the past three months in drawings of $50 or $100 each as each monthly goal has been met.
According to Quality Manager Todd Anderson, the company tracks quality based on the rate of complaints received from customers through the company’s sales representatives.
“We’re selling for, but we’re reducing the number of complaints,” he said. Last year, the company received a total of 98 complaints.
Each time the company hits a set of goals, new ones are set.
In addition to the quality incentive program, Hunter has an Employee Quality Program that rewards any employee who spots and reports a problem before the product is shipped to a customer.
As a result of all the quality programs, the Durant facility has reduced the reject rate from 0.9% to 0.6% so far in 2018.
