Quality Assurance / Quality Control

Gordon-Darby is widely recognized by independent industry analysts as the vehicle inspection quality leader.  The company has achieved this reputation by a strong focus on quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) in all its operations.  Key elements of these efforts and related Gordon-Darby capabilities go well beyond the QA/QC elements contained in applicable federal regulations and additional technical guidance issued by the U.S. EPA.  This expertise includes:

·         A strong focus on proper design of all test equipment and inspection procedures.

·         Automation of all vehicle test, equipment calibration and audit, and other procedures to the maximum extent possible, in order to minimize possible problems due to human errors or intentional misuse.  Computerized test procedures are used to minimize required human involvement and decisions. 

·         Careful and thorough testing of all hardware and software performance prior to any equipment being put into production, followed by a comprehensive program of ongoing equipment audits aimed at verifying the continuation of proper performance.  Gordon-Darby’s equipment acceptance and audit procedures are among the most stringent in the industry.

·         A strong internal affairs program aimed at identifying and correcting any improper performance, either inadvertent or intentional, on the part of Gordon-Darby vehicle inspectors and other personnel. 

·         Best-of-breed “trigger” analysis algorithms that are designed to identify both problem equipment and inspectors.  These algorithms are typically performed on inspection and calibration data to identify and flag anomalies for further investigation.

As the vehicle industry quality leader, Gordon-Darby has significant QA/QC capabilities.  Specific areas of expertise that are relevant to other business sectors include:

·         Expertise in equipment-related failure analysis:  Our test equipment and information systems do not fail largely due to the significant amount of failure analysis that is performed during the design phase.  Company engineers and programmers have in-depth knowledge of the basics of mechanical, electrical, information and other systems that gives them an intuitive understanding of how all types of equipment should work or could fail.  Management and technical personnel constantly challenge one another to find better ways to design equipment and minimize possible areas of potential failure. 

·         Capability to perform comprehensive acceptance testing on all types of technical test equipment:  Company personnel are experienced in adapting existing tools and processes as required to meet new needs.  Because they are engineers, company management as well as its technical personnel is expert in identifying innovative approaches to designing and testing new test equipment. 

·         Substantial professional internal affairs expertise:  For example, our Arizona Internal Affairs Manager served with the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) for over 10 years where he was responsible for leading numerous criminal, fraud and counterintelligence investigations.  His last AFOSI assignment involving overall responsibility for internal affairs support of a population exceeding 60,000 people and a budget of over $1 billion. 

·         Extensive triggers analysis expertise:  Company personnel were hired by U.S. EPA to write comprehensive QA/QC triggers guidance to all the states.  While this guidance was specific to vehicle inspection program operations, the underlying data mining and pattern recognition principles are applicable to a much broader range of industries.  This includes areas involving both equipment performance/failures and human misbehavior.