The New Quality Manager for Poland wishes to engage in dialogue with employees

Łukasz Grobelski is the new Quality Manager at BSB Industry's factories in Poland. The 40-year-old mechanical engineer approaches his new role with a determined ambition to elevate quality from an already high level. He plans to achieve this by engaging each employee, believing that perfect quality is achieved only through a joint effort.

Łukasz Grobelki had barely adjusted his office chair when we met him to discuss how he plans to strengthen the quality department in Poland, where he started as the new QHSE Manager on March 1, based in Ciechocin. His title includes responsibilities for quality, occupational health, and the environment.

- I have broad responsibility, especially in quality, an area I feel well-equipped for, having worked in quality for the past 10 years. My start at BSB Industry has been great. My new colleagues are friendly, and we already have a good cooperation. They have briefed me well, making me ready to tackle the challenges of maintaining and improving quality, says Łukasz Grobelski.

We get together to correct failures

Together with his four person staff in the Polish quality department, Łukasz Grobelski has made a fine start in his new position, where he is responsible for testing all items produced in Poland.

- We test the items visually, take measurements, make NDT testing of welds and check surface after painting and galvanizing to ensure that we deliver the agreed product to the customer. After the item is galvanized, painted or metalized, we also check that the thickness is as promised, explains Łukasz Grobelski.

- The errors we encounter are often avoidable. They might be due to busyness or a procedure that wasn't followed. When this happens, I call a meeting with the involved employees to figure out where and how the error occurred and together, we find solutions to minimize future deviations, explains the quality manager.

Łukasz Grobelski / QHSE Manager in Poland

Quality is a shared responsibility

We obviously can't avoid deviations entirely because it's human to err. But it's important that all employees take responsibility for minimizing errors and promoting a quality culture. This requires vigilance, good work instructions, procedures, routines, and openness about what can go wrong and has gone wrong.
Łukasz Grobelski / QHSE Manager in Poland

Creating of a culture of openness

Łukasz Grobelski emphasizes that these meetings are not about blaming a specific employee. Rather, the system needs adjustment to prevent repeating the error.

- We obviously can't avoid deviations entirely because it's human to err. But it's important that all employees take responsibility for minimizing errors and promoting a quality culture. This requires vigilance, good work instructions, procedures, routines, and openness about what can go wrong and has gone wrong, says Łukasz Grobelski, who aims to foster a "new" culture in BSB Industry's Polish branches.

- I'm pleased when we succeed because our employees raise questions and discuss challenges. We all need to be attentive to finding solutions and improvements. Quality should be ingrained in each employee and not just be the concern of the quality department, even though we try to be good supervisors, Łukasz Grobelski emphasizes.

Strength lies in task solving

ISO certifications and standards are another field of work that craves the attention of Łukasz Grobelski and his team. A lot of paperwork regarding occupational health, environment, and quality is obligatory to document and guarantee the high standard of products and processes. The Polish factories are certified in all three areas.

- I have experience from similar positions and have been in charge of quality and production in small and large projects. For example, I have previously helped deliver a large, single steel part weighing 60 tons. At BSB Industry, we produce to order, there being always new tasks to address. Our strength is our extensive experience with starting from scratch each time, with each new order, explains Łukasz Grobelski.

- To remain adaptable to new exciting tasks, we must constantly improve our processes. Before I came here, I heard many people say that if something is difficult to make, you should go to BSB Industry. This goes to show that in the business the perception is, that we have the expertise and are the best at finding solutions. We have reason to be proud, but we must still keep our focus on doing things even better.

Enjoying his peace with family

BSB Industry's QHSE Manager is a trained mechanical engineer in Bydgoszcz, 50 kilometers from Toruń. His great interest is welding, which Łukasz Grobelski has further studied. After living in various places in Poland, he and his family moved back to the area five years ago.

- We live near Toruń in a small village with a few hundred people. I enjoy the peace and quiet with not much traffic around. We have a forest nearby where I walk the dog, run, or bike. I enjoy spending time with my family, which includes wife, son, and daughter, says Łukasz Grobelski, who does not shy away from rolling up his sleeves and tackle practical challenges at home.

- I'm probably a bit stubborn and like to do things by myself, even if I don't always know how, when I start out. Then I have to figure it out. I just fixed a fence in front of our house. I was confident in the welding, and the quality is, of course, at that part fine, but the design was a new challenge I had to handle, smiles Łukasz Grobelski.

Contact

Marianne McElheron
Head of QHSES & CBI