Nicola Roncato

Since quality must be created during product and processes development, Product Quality Owners are involved in integrating a technical point of view into the product quality.
The product range I care is more focused on HIGH -END pump driven coffee makers having built-in grinder, coffee grinders, milk-frothers and lots of accessories related to the coffee platform.
I am involved on new product development trying to match the functionality of the machines and the customer requirement, avoiding everything can became a quality issue on the market in the future or suggesting technical / process solutions to improve quality and process steadiness.
I keep the contact with after sales department to understand the customer needs and to clarify claims as a “driver” of the activities which can involve Technical – Production – Quality – Engineering – Marketing… to obtain product improvements or to solve issues.

I’m the “Technical interface” of OPSI Team (outgoing pre-shipment inspection) for far-east production items.
The team perform inspections to suppliers and give me the inspection reports, sometime when the batches don’t match with the quality standards, a deeper analysis is needed and I have to manage the operations, rework procedures and the activities with the supplier in order to obtain a deliverable batch and avoid the same non-conformity in the future.
When important project phases or relevant issues have to be followed directly, I move to the foreign plants / offices (mainly in China) to accelerate the operations flow and to have a prompt reaction for every steps to do, but anyway trips to other plants and service centers is needed to keep direct contacts and ideas exchange with technicians, quality managers, operation manager and every colleague should be interesting to meet in order to share information.

Here my job was fixing process parameters for the production lines, assembling machines etc.

Developing continuous improvement strategy to increase the productivity and reduces scrap cost (involved in lean six sigma project), managing maintenance with internal and external technicians.
Assembly lines and machines are built with a high level of technology (automation and robotics), there are molding machines, cut and bend press for metal sheet, and very sophisticated assembly and testing devices.
I take part on building and optimization of the production machines cooperating with supplier companies of automation.
It was frequent to do the supervisor role managing workers, production goods, shipment… because I was him deputy.

Here my job was testing and measuring components and finished machines to validate them or working for testing prototypes components, to homologate new suppliers, analyzing competitors performances.
I fixed the level of performances for the components in order to match costs and benefits with the best solution.
I was autonomous in fixing the testing schedules giving the proper priority to the activities.
I built most of the test benches and devices in our laboratory growing personal experience on automation mainly with Siemen PLC and ESA Touch-screen panel.
Field tests was done connecting several sensors, shunt, thermocouples… on the machines which canalized them data to loggers or recording devices in order to issue an official report (in English language) shared with the other plants of the world.
I was directly involved on several project and I suggested / appraised product features with project managers, it was quite usual moving abroad to verify and arrange some project steps with suppliers.
On the lasts years Robotic and totally electric machines affected this trade so my influence on the project regarding them was extremely impacting.
For the Robot projects I spent lot of time on patent research and competitors’ analysis to understand how they work, to discover bugs and firmware, “hidden” features to optimize performances.
I was the technical reference for electric, electronic, software troubles for after sales department, sometime as “teacher” for training meeting with dealers.
My job extended over R&D department to support Engineering department for developing the automation on tooling and welding fixture devices where all pieces must be placed in a particular order.

Lieutenant on Italian Army, one year as platoon commander on alpine troops at Bressanone (BZ), one year as platoon commander on genius sappers troops at Cremona.

Maintenance worker for electrical, pneumatic and hydraulic machines