Mikael Vetterskog and his colleagues said goodbye to Mats Sandberg, Quality Manager, at the end of February. Mats joined Fårbo Manufacturing 10 years ago and has been a key person in developing Fårbo further to be a leading player in cutting machining.
Mats’ assignment when he came to Fårbo was, among other things, to take care of the acquisition of the production of Toolbits and move it from Vansbro to Fårbo’s facility in Fagersta. Mats then became responsible for purchasing and involved in the quotation work.
When Fårbo Manufacturing won its first major outsourced production assignment from Epiroc, the need for measurement and control of the parts delivered increased. Mats, who had experience of similar issues at his previous employer, then took care of the quality work, both to ensure perfect deliveries to Epiroc, but also to continue the constant work with the right quality also to other customers.
Quality work took off in 2022
Mats introduced, among other things, quality plans showing what should be checked on parts and when it should be done, and introduced measuring stations at the machines. One problem was that the length of parts was measured in different ways and some of the colleagues were unsure of how to measure.
A lot of time was spent on creating insight and providing knowledge about the importance of the right quality, which was a natural consequence of Fårbo’s growth and the hiring of many new employees. Everyone improved and the trend was to follow up on quality every day and on every job, as well as the introduction of post-calculation the day after the job was completed. When the competence matrix was introduced, it also became easier to keep track of who was trained in the production of which parts, as well as which machine they were trained on.
Employee insight and engagement is crucial for quality
Mats’ view, which now lives on, is that it is a combination of compelling action, insight and commitment from all employees, and that the right quality in all dimensions is crucial to the continued success of the company.
– “The big boost for us came a few years ago when we introduced mandatory first and last piece checks,” Mats told us some time ago. With this, Fårbo also introduced clear instructions for what to check. If the checks are not done, the operator cannot stamp further in Fårbo’s ERP system. In addition, clear rules were introduced for handling any deviation reporting.
Fårbo also introduced a completely new version of Daily Management, commonly known as The Round. According to Mats, it is very important for identifying problems, but also opportunities and suggestions for action. Key functions from the management participate in the round, which goes from department to department. Employees in each department report on the status and are encouraged to raise both challenges and opportunities. Previously, there was no such systematic work on actively listening to employees’ perspectives.
Non-conformity reporting is crucial for continuous learning
Non-conformity reporting is very important to correct any errors or shortcomings. Stefan Andersson, foreman, gave an example of the commitment of Fårbo’s employees:
– One of our operators hit the nail on the head when he wrote an internal deviation some time ago. I highlighted it at a staff meeting as a shining example of smart, efficient quality work that makes collaboration fast and smooth. Fewer questions need to be asked, less time is spent finding out what actually happened and, above all, misunderstandings about what happened and what was or was not done can be avoided.
Concrete results
The result of Mats’ deep commitment to solid quality work is clear. Here are some examples from four years of operation plus 2025/2026 up to February 2026:
- 65% reduction in scrap
- 48% reduction in customer complaints
- Daily management is an effective driver of improvement
- Strong follow-up methodology
- Employees have a good understanding of the importance of quality
Mats has established “right to you from me and to customer”
– We will miss Mats and his knowledge now that Mats is moving on in life to focus on taking care of the farm and the family in Kolpebo, near Fagersta, says Mikael Vetterskog. Mats has contributed greatly to developing Fårbo with clear routines and a clear understanding among all colleagues of what needs to be done to always deliver on time and with the right quality, while rejects and error costs must be kept at the absolute lowest possible level.
FannyKohlén will continue the continuous quality work
– To my great pleasure, Fanny Kohlén will take the baton further and become quality manager with us. Fanny has long experience from us as an operator and group leader, and is in the final phase of her studies at the University of Applied Sciences to graduate as a measurement technician. More about Fanny when she comes to us in early June, concludes Mikael Vetterskog.