“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of intelligent effort” – John Ruskin.
From static management and web cleaning technologies to energy-efficient compressed air technology, our solutions help customers boost productivity, safety, quality, and profitability. Our ‘Engineered to Perfection’ series spotlights the people who make our well-engineered solutions possible.
This month, meet Francesco Merola – Quality Assurance & Regulatory Affairs (QARA) Manager.
As QARA Manager, Francesco’s remit covers everything from incoming parts to the final product leaving the building, ensuring that every step meets the highest standards. But his journey to this role is as impressive as the systems he now oversees.
“We cover the quality of Meech products, both incoming and outgoing,” Francesco explains. “Any parts that are supplied to us, we check those, and check that our information and our documents are up to scratch to allow our suppliers to give us a good product.”
Leading a focused team of three, Francesco’s work intersects with every department across the business. “Right through the build, we support production with any issues they have. If the production build team have an issue, if something doesn’t fit, or they’re seeing a lot of failures in tests downstairs, we would be the ones who would first go and see why that’s happening, see if we can fix it, and propose a solution.
“We help with the final quality checks before a product leaves the building. We also assist with all our returns and customer service.”
Francesco’s engineering roots run deep. Starting as an apprentice production engineer at a medical device manufacturer, he spent a decade honing his craft before a defining moment arrived. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Francesco played a pivotal role in the UK’s Ventilator Challenge, helping scale production from 500 to 15,000 ventilators in just six months. “There were only two of us who could sign off on alternatives when supply chains broke down,” he recalls. “It was intense, but it showed me how wide and impactful engineering can be.”
That same precision and resilience now drives Meech’s quality operations. Beyond production support, Francesco’s team manages regulatory affairs. “We deal with different governing bodies who each have their own set of standards. We have certain products that comply with those standards, so we assist with making sure they comply and then with the auditing.”
Since joining Meech, Francesco has seen, and overseen, significant transformation. “We’ve moved from paper-based to system-based processes, automating tasks and making everything more efficient,” he explains. The growth has been company-wide: the quality team has expanded, engineering and marketing have doubled in size, and every department has invested in new talent to keep pace with demand.
For Francesco, success is measured by what customers don’t see. “Ideally, our customers never need to speak to me,” he laughs. “If they do, it’s usually to get hold of a product certification.”
The goal is simple: ensure every product is right the first time, so customers can focus on their own work, confident in Meech’s reliability. “I’m not sure our customers consciously notice what we do, but hopefully if they stop to think about it, they’d understand we must be doing a lot because they don’t see many quality issues. We have very little failed product, and with the improvements we’re making, we’re seeing even less.”
Francesco’s team supports Meech products across all industries and continents. From managing regulatory audits to troubleshooting technical issues in challenging climates, they’re always looking ahead. “We now implement different circuitry to make sure our products aren’t damaged by spikes in regulation. It’s not something we’re legally required to do, but we try to make sure we help all our customers and that they have the best equipment for their conditions.”
His background in medical devices brings a sharp focus on safety and compliance, but also a mindset of continuous improvement. Reducing failures means less waste, and with more customers requesting ISO 14001 certification, environmental responsibility is becoming as important as technical performance. Certain materials like epoxy resin can’t be recycled, making a “right first time” approach essential for efficient use of resources.
“The improvements we’ve made to our testing mean nothing gets built if it doesn’t pass the first test,” Francesco explains. “It’s not just about the bottom line. We look at the impact on our metrics. For example, scrap cost has been reduced by 50%, and we’ve achieved a 15% reduction in human error.”
These improvements reflect an active effort to make things better, not just maintain the status quo. “Meech invests in people, not just processes,” Francesco notes. “That’s what sets us apart.”
To learn more about the diverse applications of Meech’s solutions, visit: https://meech.com/applications/