Ease.io Announces 2023 Champions for Quality Winners

San Clemente, CA, April 18, 2024 --(PR.com)-- Ease, Inc., operating as Ease.io, a global leader in audit and inspection software for manufacturers around the world, today announced its 2023 Champions for Quality Award winners. In this sixth year of the awards, the company received record nominations from across multiple countries and continents.

The Champions for Quality Awards are designed to acknowledge those dedicated to cultivating a strong culture of quality and implementing durable quality processes that prevent defects, scrap or re-work, major quality escapes, customer complaints, and ultimately contribute to bottom line growth and customer satisfaction.

The 2024 awards feature eight distinctions, honoring individuals, specific production sites, and whole organizations in various categories. Half of the awards were determined through public nominations from manufacturers worldwide. The remainder was based on various data points derived from the EASE platform over the previous year.

This year's recognitions spotlight contributors to quality initiatives, including layered process audits, operational excellence, and Lean implementations.

"At Ease.io, we understand the critical role quality professionals play in manufacturing; their unwavering commitment and passion are the driving forces behind our customers’ success," said Eric Stoop, CEO of Ease.io. "It's a privilege to acknowledge their efforts with these awards. The stories of this year's winners, who have turned quality challenges into opportunities, are a testament to the power of their dedication. Congratulations to all our winners. Continue leading the way with your exceptional work!"

Public Nominated Awards

The following award winners and honorable mentions were all nominated by the public and selected by a panel of Ease.io employees based on the stories and information provided.

Leadership
Leadership nominees are strong advocates for quality and operations programs with organization-wide benefits. Congratulations to the Leadership Award recipients.

Winner:
- Ram Sukumar – HEXPOL (Marietta, GA)
- Abdulmajid Patel – IAC International Automotive India Pvt. Ltd. (Maharashtra, India)

Honorable Mentions:
- John Sedgwick – HEXPOL (McKenzie, TN)

Trailblazer
Trailblazers earn recognition for using the EASE plant floor audit software well beyong layered process audits, leveraging the platform for other audit types including safety audits, 5S, and more.

Winner:
- Fabián A. Medina – Grammer Automotive Puebla S.A. of C.V. Queretaro Plant (Santiago de Querétaro, Qro)

Honorable Mentions:
- Charles Green – AeroTEC Inc. (Moses Lake, WA)
- Caitlyn Hillman – OPmobility (Windsor, ON)

Ambassador
Ambassadors are known for fostering a culture of quality at their manufacturing plants with layered process audits and other quality initiatives. This year, one team rose above an incredibly competitive field and was selected as co-winners of our Ambassador Award.

Winners:
- Thais Nishimura – Magna International (Telford, UK)
- Marcelo Rodolfo – Magna International (Joinville, Brazil)
- Fabio Adad – Magna International (São José dos Pinhais, Brazil)
- Jose Filipe – Magna International (Ibirite, Brazil)
- Adriano Castro – Magna International (Santo Antônio da Patrulha, Brazil)

Honorable Mention:
- Andrew A. Horton – Gestamp Mason LLC (Mason, MI)

Influencer
Influencers have dedicated their careers to training leaders and influencing quality on a global scale.

Winners:
- Shaunak Anant Chandwadkar – Valeo Lighting Systems, NA. (Seymour, IN)
- Mariana Alionte – OPmobility (Windsor, ON)

Honorable Mentions:
- Davide Cecchinato – Molex Zetronic S.r.l. (Padova, Italy)

Categories Based On EASE Data

The following category winners and honorable mentions were determined leveraging data from the EASE plant floor platform, recognizing individuals, specific manufacturing facilities, and entire organizations for their commitment to quality excellence.

Plant of the Year
The Winner of this award was required to conduct a minimum of 2,500 plant floor audits per year and create at least 500 findings in the same period.

To choose the winner, the Ease.io team assessed a combination of weighted audit insights including the percentage of on-time completed plant floor audits and on-time completed findings.

Winner:
- DANA Off-Highway (Yancheng) Drive Systems Co.,Ltd. — DANA, Inc. (Yancheng - Jiangsu – PRC)

Honorable Mentions:
- CpK Interiors Products Port Hope — CpK Interiors Products (Port Hope, CAN)
- GATES ATLACOMULCO — GATES DE MEXICO (Atlacomulco, Méx., Mexico)

Auditor of the Year
A plant floor auditor is not a dedicated position within a manufacturing plant, but a role carried out by employees across the plant – including those that may not be part of quality or operations.

To keep auditors engaged, EASE awards achievement badges to auditors based on performance. The winner of this category was required to already hold an EASE Guru badge and was chosen based on audit completion rate, total number of audits completed, and audit findings with the majority of their audits being focused on quality audits such as layered process audits.

Winners:
- Bruce Chubb – MRP Solutions (Plattsburgh, NY)
- Francis “Frenchie” Neri – MRP Solutions (Plattsburgh, NY)

Honorable mention:
- Paul Townsend – New South (Tampa, FL)

Best Implementation
The Ease.io Customer Success Team implements EASE at hundreds of plants every year. The honorees in this category were chosen based on their engagement throughout the implementation from pilot to final deployment, their advocacy throughout the process, as well as the team’s audit activity and completion rates in the weeks and months following their go-live date.

Winner:
- American Woodmark Team– American Woodmark (Winchester, VA)

Honorable mention:
- ABC Technologies Team — ABC Technologies (Canton, OH)
- Cleveland Site Team – FREUDENBERG-NOK Sealing Technologies (Cleveland, GA)

Quality Transformation
The winner of this award is the manufacturer that has shown the most significant improvement in performance within the EASE platform over a 12-month period across all their facilities. During this period, the winner had to meet several minimum benchmark data points and have the highest percentage increase in on-time audits and mitigations.

Winner:
- Camaco-Amvian Team – Camaco Automotive (Farmington Hills, MI)

Honorable Mention:
- American Woodmark Team — American Woodmark (Winchester, VA)

The Ease.io team wholeheartedly congratulates all winners and applauds its customers for their commitment and dedication to excellence.

About Ease
Ease.io’s cloud-based SaaS solution for manufacturers, EASE, digitally connects and automates critical plant floor work processes, including audits, inspections, scheduling, task assignments, data collection, and more. Dana, Tenneco, Eaton, and other leading manufacturers in 40+ countries, use EASE to drive quality, safety, productivity, and compliance. Founded in 1986, Ease.io is headquartered in San Clemente, California. For more information, please visit ease.io.