A Look Into Our Quality Process: Maintaining Fluigent Pressure Controllers
Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your role at Fluigent?
Aurélien Faitrop
I’ve been working in the field of quality assurance for over 20 years. My various professional experiences have enabled me to practice quality control from different angles. I spent 15 years working in demanding industries with stringent requirements, including the automotive and cosmetic fields. I then spent 5 years in the acoustic industry, where I ensured the conformity of complex manufacturing processes and the release of high-precision products.
In 2023, I joined Fluigent with a goal of growing the company’s OEM sector.
How are Fluigent quality standards applied to our LineUpTM Flow EZ?
At Fluigent, we take our customers’ quality expectations into account by guiding them through the lifecycle of our LineUp Flow EZ product line, from product development to industrialization, and product validation to release.
We developed our Flow EZ in an environment where quality standards are high.
Having an ISO 9001 certification ensures a high level of quality throughout the product development process. This translates into several quality processes and deliverables, including:
- Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) to minimize quality risks and product failures. During product development, Fluigent carries out an FMEA to minimize risks during development and customer usage.
When product testing our Flow EZ, we perform a risk analysis from the selection of components and suppliers and compared it to the risks associated with the product’s use and performance. All aspects were meticulously analyzed and are the subject of a specific plan designed to minimize the risks incurred.
- Product Reproducibility, Replicability, and Reliability: At Fluigent, we’re committed to product excellence. That’s why we carry out extensive testing on our products in a customer environment before we bring them to market. Performance tests, temperature resistance tests, drop tests, etc, are mandatory. Numerous prototypes are used to characterize our products and ensure their performance over time.
Our Flow EZ has been tested in several environmental conditions including high (80°C)/low (4°C) temperature cycles and incubator environments. The device continues to pass drop and other failure tests.
Extensive checks guarantee Flow EZ compliance and release
We believe the performance of your liquid handling system is critical for your application. Precision and accuracy depend on the flow controller itself as well as the other components connected to your system.
Product calibration, validation, and the use of test systems are standard at Fluigent and guarantee product performance and a compliant product. When the Flow EZ is produced, it undergoes numerous validations before being sent to the customer. Some of these validations are listed below:
- Performance validation via a dedicated testbench:
- Stability over several pressure ranges
- Pressure sensor calibration
- Rise and fall time
- Measurement accuracy
- Functional validation
- Product communication (software, flow sensors, etc.)
- Stacking validation
- Visual verifications during the whole production process
An ISO 9001 company
FLUIGENT is committed to a structured quality approach and has been iso 9001 certified since 2010.
This approach is designed to improve the reliability of our products and is based on 3 essential pillars: innovation, high standards, and continuous improvement of our processes.
We place customer concerns first and continue to identify areas for improvement.
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