Eureden: a new approach to quality management
Faced with fundamental transformations, both regulatory and structural, the Breton cooperative group Eureden has for some years been addressing the central issue of Food Quality and Safety. This priority is part of the group's polity of operational excellence, and links the whole range of its industrial and agricultural activities. Philippe Rohmer, the Group's Quality and Environment Director, explains.
These are 2 organizations that grew up in different soil and ended up coming together, combining agricultural and industrial culture. From this alliance, Eureden was born in 2020. "On the one hand, in our industrial activities, the Quality culture had been in place for 20 years, with ISO, IFS and other certifications. On the other hand, our agricultural activities did not have the same standards. We were looking to build au Group Quality culture that would take into account the heterogeneity of these activities, while relying on 4 strategic dimensions: Living well / Breeding well, Growing well / Transforming well / Feeding well" explains Philippe Rohmer, Quality and Environment Director at Eureden.
As a result of this rapprochement, and in viex of the more stringent requirements of the certification standards, the project steering committee began an initial diagnostic phase, using questionnaires sent out to employees. This initial diagnostic phase was supplemented by a day of reflection in each business line, aimed at adaptating the content of training courses on food quality and safety culture for both managers and employees.
Changing behavior through alternative training
In 2021, to consolidate and disseminate this new Quality culture among all its 8,500 employees, Eureden has entrusted Quaternaire with the training ot its managers. As a result, a one-day training module has been rolled out to 400 managers in 36 sessions over 2022. The module is built arround 4 key points:
- The Quality values of my profession.
- Quality hazards and risks in my business.
- Qualityt dilemmas and contradictions: how to talk about them.
- Dealing with critical errors through problem solving.
Given the heterogeneity of the Group's activities, Quaternaire's teams began by training the management of the 4 branches, wih a tailor-made pedagogical approach, adapted to the business issues of each. The downstream branches (processing) firts, as canning, eggs, frozen food an meat, before moving on to agricultural activities, to finish with green distribution (garden centers). "These ultra-personalized training days enabled the managers to take a fresh look at Quality, and to understand how to be a player in the day-to-day running of their business. The focus on problem-solving tools now enables them to involve their teams in risk analysis and performance management", explains Philippe Rohmer.
An additional benefit: the professionalization of teams
Initial feedback from these training courses show a high level of satisfaction among Eureden managers. The approach is having a positivie impact on team professionalization and employee loyalty. "In our business, managers often come from technical backgrounds. The best line manager becomes a team leader without having been trained to be a manager. These training courses give them the opportunity to take greater control of theri role, by equipping them with the tools they need to lead their teams in terms of productivity and operational excellence, as well as quality and safety", explains the Quality and Environnement Director.
Une véritable école de formation interne
This new dynamic focuses on empowerment and sustainability. After the managers in 2022, Quaternaire is perparing to train teams of identified Quality embassadors in each branch, each trade, each plant, so that they in turn become trainers for their fellow operators. By the end of 2023, all Eureden employees will have been made aware of the Group's new Quality culture for enhanced performance in the field.
Bringing the approach to life
Although the approach is still in its infancy, the teams are alreafy commited to ensuring its long-term viability: training for new arrivals, organization of Quality trophies, REX (Feedback from Experience) following non-conformities or successes, webinars... The fruits of cooperation are firmly established.
The improvement process nurtures our quality culture
Aurélie Kermarrec, Environmental Quality Manager for the egg division
"In the eggs division, after the Executive Committee, 80 managers have just been trained before moving on to operators (320 people) in 2023. The fun, interactive methods used by Quaternaire for this training have won over our managers. They are consolidating existing tools, such as non-conformity feedback, and adopting new ones, such as the 5 Whys (asking yourself 'Why?' five times to analyze the root cause of a problem) or the 5Ms (or Ishikawa diagram: an analysis of the origins of a problem using the inputs 'environment, manpower, method, machine and material').
This improvement approach not only maintains our Quality culture, but also has a positive impact on team cohesion. Everyone takes ownership of the problem-solving methods, from the production manager to the maintenance technician, including new recruits. This is essential if we are to continue to meet of our specifications and satisfy our customers' expectations. Our new goal now is to keep up the momentum and prevent the soufflé from blowing over."
Eureden
- Activity: France's 3rd-largest cooperative food group, created in 2020
- Implantation: 50 production sites (97,7% of certified sites)
- Number: 8,500 employees and 19,500 partners
- Turnover: €3.1 B in 2021
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