“You’ve caught me reviewing our new quality metrics from our six service sites,” says FIBA’s Service Quality Director, Josh Tomblin. As ever, Josh is busy but he’s giving us a few minutes to catch up and learn about his working day.
“These metrics are the measurement of our quality standards showing what we achieve each month. Consistently developing metrics gives us true and accurate data of our working methods, paving the way for continuous improvement to the QA program and to the trailer repair process.
“I have a talented team of six quality managers who are responsible for maintaining these metrics on a daily basis as jobs get inspected and released to the customer.
“You know quality – it’s a never-ending process of improvement.”
Josh joined FIBA Technologies in 2020 and was appointed Services Quality Director in 2023. He and his team of QA managers oversee all five of FIBA’s US service centers as well as the site in Taiwan.
It’s a role that Josh relishes, not least because – despite the need for strict adherence to regulations and customers’ specs – each service or repair job is different.
Based at Midvale, OH, Josh works closely with the team that he himself built.
“When I was first made QA Director, I set out to assemble a world-beating quality team, some from within FIBA and some external hires,” explains Josh. “Once assembled, the team spent a month on their shopfloor digging into the detail of their site’s work and processes. It’s vital that we all understand each key process that our shopfloor colleagues face each day.”
Customers specify the precise way they need their trailers servicing, and Josh and his team follow those specs while also applying the strict guidelines that dictate much of the task.
“We’re driven by three factors,” he explains. “Regulations, compliances and customer requirements. We’ve built a robust quality program around these factors and developed variables to suit different customers and each service job.
“Some customers need a specific type of valves while another requires a certain axle; elsewhere, a customer might write into their spec that they need us to install parts in a certain way. We receive extremely detailed specs and work to them precisely, but always within the legal and industrial regulatory guidelines.”
It’s All About Relationships
Outside of FIBA, Josh has been happily married for eight years and has a thirteen-year-old son and a 7-year old daughter.
With a busy job and a young family, Josh knows all about keeping the communication channels open. At work, he is committed to open and positive customer relationships which are vital to the quality team’s working day.
Josh explains: “We all agree that fostering a culture of continuous improvement is rewarding. And we also all agree that our quality improvement program is a constantly evolving project, via our Corrective Action Plan.”
Good Reputation
FIBA’s reputation is something Josh holds dear.
“We have an awesome reputation,” he says. “My job – and that of my team – is to help keep it that way.”
Before we let Josh get back to his metrics report, he opens up a little about the details he’s examining.
“The monthly quality metrics give a detailed report on every aspect of FIBA’s nationwide service operation, from mechanical DOT factors to pressure measurements, and from the scope of the FIBA and customer sign offs right down to the decals and stamping plates,” he says.
“Our inspection process underpins our work, but once we pass a trailer here at FIBA it is then inspected by the customer – or it could be stopped for a random DOT inspection. And we don’t ever want to fail those inspections, so we check, check and check again.”
Investing in Quality
What’s next for Josh and his QA team?
“We’re rolling out ISO training so that QA managers can audit the management system as part of their remit,” he says. “And in Taiwan we’re investing time and resources to acquire the necessary equipment to perform the jobs safer and in a timely manner, as we believe this is an increasingly important market for us.
“As I said, this quality thing, it’s never-ending!”