Ease.io Recognizes Quality Leaders in Manufacturing

Ease.io's global Champions for Quality Awards celebrate quality professionals making an impact on operational excellence and beyond

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., April 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ease, Inc., operating as Ease.io, a leader in audit and inspection software for manufacturers around the world, today announced the winners of its seventh annual Champions for Quality Awards.

The Champions for Quality Awards highlight individuals, teams, and companies that are advancing quality in manufacturing and elevating the profession despite ongoing uncertainty and an industry-wide labor shortage. Winners have gone above and beyond throughout the past year to achieve commendable results, overcome challenges, and inspire colleagues.

"Our Champions for Quality Awards honor the dedication and ingenuity of manufacturing leaders and teams who are driving quality excellence," said Eric Stoop, CEO of Ease.io. "This year's winners represent a global network of professionals in automotive, aerospace, consumer goods, chemicals, and more. Their efforts in fostering a strong culture of quality are both inspiring and essential to the industry, and they should be proud of their achievements."

As part of the awards program, Ease.io is making a donation to the SAE Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides STEM education programs and scholarships for young learners from pre-K through high school.

"The SAE Foundation is grateful for Ease.io's support," said Jamie Ferguson, SAE Foundation Executive Director. "Their gift will provide critical hands-on science, technology, engineering, and math education programming to students, helping to build the tech-savvy workforce that the industry needs."

Public Nominated Awards

These categories celebrate individual achievements from the plant floor to the quality department, the organization, and the industry at large. Nominations were submitted by the public as well as by Ease.io customers and affiliates; winners were selected by Ease.io based on the nomination entry. The categories and winners are:

Leadership

Executives who are strong advocates/sponsors for department-wide quality, safety, and operations programs at the senior stakeholder level.

Winner:

• Erik Lippert; Toyota Boshoku Canada Inc. (Elmira, Ontario, Canada)

Honorable Mention:

• Gary Poole; OPmobility (Windsor, Ontario, Canada)

Ambassador

Professionals who have dedicated their careers to the industry and to fostering a long-term culture of quality at their manufacturing plant(s).

Winner:

• Brian Csikos; First Brands Group (Rochester Hills, Michigan)

Honorable Mention:

• Jessica Gibson; Ingevity (Covington, Virginia)

Trailblazer

Users of the EASE platform not just for layered process audits (LPAs), but for other programs including safety audits, 5S, root cause analysis, and more.

Winner:

• Ardiana Lelcaj; Magna Seating – Shelby Foam Systems (Shelby Township, Michigan)

Honorable Mention:

• Markus H. Jones, MS CHMM CIEC; Knauf Insulation (Shelbyville, Indiana)
• Nigel Gill; Ricor (Studley, UK)

Influencer

Momentum builders who generate excitement, interest, and buy-in for quality initiatives among their peers.

Winner:

• Lerato Makhubela; PPG Coating Services (Johannesburg, South Africa)

Honorable Mention:

• Donnie Thysell; American Woodmark (Riverside, California)

Promising Newcomer (New Category)

Early-career individuals (five years or less in the manufacturing industry) demonstrating standout potential to rise into a leadership role in quality.

Winner:

• Tej Aujla; OPmobility (Windsor, Ontario, Canada)

Honorable Mention:

• Ankita Shah; Gujarat Guardian Limited (Ankleshwar, Gujarat, India)

Awards Based on EASE Data

In addition to the nominated categories, the Champions for Quality Awards program includes four categories that recognize achievements based on EASE usage metrics and benchmarks. The categories and winners are:

Plant of the Year

Plants were evaluated on a combination of weighted audit insights including the percentage of on-time completed plant floor audits and on-time completed findings.

Winner:

• American Woodmark – South Branch Plant (Moorefield, West Virginia)

Honorable Mention:

• Dana (Zaragoza, Spain)

Auditor of the Year

Users were assessed based on audit completion rate, total number of audits completed, and audit findings, with the majority of their audits being focused on quality like LPAs.

Winner:

• Frank Grogg; MRP Solutions (Plattsburgh, New York)

Best Implementation

Teams were chosen based on their engagement during the implementation of EASE from pilot to final deployment, their advocacy throughout the process, and audit activity and completion rates in the weeks and months following their go-live date.

Winner:

• Stabilus Co. Ltd. (Busan, South Korea)
• Stabilus, S.A. de C.V. (Ramos Arizpe, Mexico)
• Stabilus (JiangSu) Ltd. (Changzhou, China)
• Stabilus (ZheJiang) Ltd. (Pinghu, China)

Honorable Mention:

• Cascade Die Casting Group, Inc. (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
• Toyo Tires (Indjija, Serbia)

Quality Transformation

Teams were evaluated based on significant improvement in performance within the EASE platform over a 12-month period, including the highest percentage increase in on-time audits and mitigations.

Winner:

• Yanfeng – North American and European Automotive Interiors Division

Honorable Mention:

• Panasonic Automotive Systems Reynosa Mexico, S.A. de C.V.

The Ease.io team warmly congratulates all the winners and commends its customers for their unwavering commitment and pursuit of excellence.

About Ease.io

Ease.io's cloud-based SaaS solution for manufacturers, EASE, digitally connects and automates critical plant floor work processes, including audits, inspections, scheduling, task assignments, data collection, and more. Dana, Tenneco, Eaton, and other leading manufacturers in 40+ countries use EASE to drive quality, safety, productivity, and compliance. Founded in 1986, Ease.io is headquartered in San Clemente, California. For more information, please visit ease.io.

SOURCE Ease.io