GLOBAL QUALITY ORGANIZATIONAL CHART
Kraton’s global Quality team works to ensure that the highest level of commitment is given to quality throughout the company. Below is an overview of their role and objectives.
- The Kraton Global Quality Assurance Team directly oversee a standardized approach to ISO and quality processes, implement and track global metrics, monitor and implement continuous improvement programs, execute global auditing of quality systems and oversee best practice sharing.
- Kraton established Lean Six Sigma (L6S) as a core competency for the entire organization and implemented a global L6S team within the Quality department. The team is responsible for managing L6S deployment and building an indirect team of practitioners across the company to support continuous improvement at sites and offices. The global L6S team will interact with all functional groups to support customer complaint investigations, process improvements and actions regarding handling of non-conforming products.
- Kraton recognizes the importance of managing services provided by third parties (tollers, hauliers / carriers, warehouses and other business critical functions). Therefore, we have a function, managed by an external quality manager, to oversee and manage evaluation, ongoing performance and continuous improvement programs for these external parties.
- There is a designated Quality Leader for each Kraton manufacturing facility. Each leader reports to the global Quality team to ensure the quality commitment is cascaded to all personnel worldwide.
GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE (GMP)
Kraton has Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) at relevant production sites, warehouses and 3rd party tolling facilities. GMP is a system for ensuring products are consistently produced and controlled according to quality standards.
Precautions are taken to ensure that products intended for use in food contact and sensitive applications fulfill the appropriate quality standards and do not introduce contamination or adulteration that may cause products to:
- Become unsafe for human health,
- Give change in the composition of the food,
- Have unacceptable taste or odor to food or
- Make product unfit for use.
LEAN SIX SIGMA
Kraton is committed to continuous improvement. To support these efforts, we employ the Lean Six Sigma methodology and tools as an umbrella over our continuous improvement activities in all business processes. The methodology promotes team collaboration to enhance performance by removing waste and variation. Widespread use of this methodology helps foster a culture where Lean Six Sigma concepts are integrated into daily activities across all levels and functions – where structured continuous improvement simply becomes the way we work. There are more than 400 employees with various Lean Six Sigma belts embedded in business processes around the globe, and more are expected as we continue to deploy and expand this program.
