Todd Pencarinha, Altiras CEO, was recently asked “How can a company that buys and sells coproducts, byproducts and used chemicals have any kind of a quality assurance program?” His response was simple – “the same as any other company that provides quality assurance”. Pencarinha elaborated that “quality assurance means maintaining a desired level of quality by paying attention to every stage of the process and establishing procedures whereby one can have confidence in the expected outcome.” He added that the hardest part is in changing the mindset of suppliers, who are not in business to make coproducts, byproducts or used chemicals. Nevertheless, Pencarinha says that analytical testing and statistical processes can be employed to gain the necessary confidence in the outcome – that is, the quality of the product. The company uses a six-sigma approach to quality assurance. This means extensive statistical product testing and process documentation, which ultimately provides the necessary assurance of quality.
