A Day in the Life of a Materialise Quality Engineer

But how do you turn a quality policy from an abstract notion into a living, breathing reality? That’s where our quality management team comes in. Meet Eddy Couvreur, learn about his work as a Quality Engineer, and hear the inspiring story of how he started working at Materialise.

As a Quality Engineer, Eddy is responsible for the implementation of the ISO standards in our 3D printing production and software development. Eddy focuses specifically on the 9001 and the ISO 13485 for medical applications, including designing and manufacturing patient-specific medical devices and medical device software.

Regulatory requirements and certified processes are paramount in this domain, making Eddy’s role a particularly crucial one. Eddy is also the person in charge of validating the calibration of medical measurement devices in accordance with ISO standards.

Another aspect of quality management that Eddy is responsible for is the creation of corrective and preventative actions (CAPA), a system used to improve processes and pre-emptively avoid non-conformities. With all that, a day at work typically means several changes of scene for Eddy.

With a background in electronic engineering and 37 years of industrial experience as a maintenance and quality engineer, Eddy decided last year that it was time to look for a new job. It was a move that he knew could be challenging at his age: he was 58 years old.

From the beginning, Materialise was at the top of his list, says Eddy: “I’ve known Materialise for 20 years already. Actually, I even applied for a different position 10 years ago but I didn’t get the job because I didn’t have a medical background at the time.”

Having made the decision to look for a new job, Eddy worked with a vocational coach to find his strengths, discover his motivations and preferences, and find potential employers. Materialise was his first choice again.

“I applied for the Quality Engineer position and one week later, I had the job. I couldn’t believe it. I can say that I’ve found my dream job at 58! During the recruitment process, Materialise made it clear they had no reservations about my age, which is great because I want to work ten more years,” explains Eddy.

So what does Eddy like the most about working at Materialise? The people and their dedication, he says: “In all my career I’ve never seen such a well-prepared and hardworking team!”

There are also some challenges that go with the job, of course. What’s most important for Eddy is to make sure we don’t just maintain our standards, but that we try to continuously raise the company’s quality processes to an even higher level and bring people together to achieve this.

Eddy’s motivation is high, too: “As the mission of the company states and Fried (Vancraen) always reminds us, making the world a better place is my main motivation in coming to work. Giving back is my primary goal, and especially when I’m working for our Medical division, that goal feels right within my grasp.”