The corona crisis affects the entire industry, from the field worker to the market vendor and everything in between. How is it at the moment, for example with the independent quality inspector who arrives at the clients warehouse as an external?
Inspections continue
“It is difficult for us to take our work home,” says Marian Tuijnman, who works at Maas Fruit Quality Inspection (MFQI). “At the moment, when it comes to inspections including containers, both in the Netherlands and in the port of Antwerp where we are also active, we still have almost the same work load as before the Corona crisis. Our people still cross the border to check in the warehouses of customers, because we belong to the food industry, which is assigned as a vital sector.”
However, the company's activities have declined. "The courses we provide are currently on hold," says Marian. “For activities that we perform as an additional external control, we have to comply with the rules of that company. Some companies choose not to allow external people anymore. These customers have their own quality inspectors walking around on site and they keep up with the current circumstances for the time being. We still go to customers who do not have this, our profession of control is crucial in this. Although much of our work has always been day to day, which means we have to deal with container ship sailing schedules among other things, we are now looking every day at what work there is and we depend on the extent to which imports and exports will continue.”
MFQI's quality inspectors follow the rules of the companies where they come to check. "We adhere to the measures that the customer has in the warehouse," says Marian. “Of course our inspectors have the option to abort the inspection if they themselves see that the measures are insufficient, but we have not yet experienced that. We see that our customers take the current situation into account and follow appropriate security measures.”
At MFQI, each inspector has his own (measuring) equipment. However, borrowing equipment from a colleague is now discouraged
Many quality inspectors at MFQI work on an independent basis. “Our inspectors have their own (measuring) equipment and a company car and work independently. Within our team, we only had to make limited adjustments to ensure distance among ourselves. However, we have urged the inspectors not to use equipment from others or to keep this to an absolute minimum. The health and safety of our employees is paramount above all else.”
For more information:
Maas Fruit Quality Inspection
Marian Tuijnman
T: +31(0)657192954
T: +31(0)646134044
info@mfqi.nl
www.mfqi.nl