We've Sat on Your Side of the Table
Smarter Quality was built by manufacturing quality leaders who've lived the pressure of audits, delivery, customer complaints, and accountability.
We don't advise from the sidelines. We step in, take responsibility, and help you regain control.
Our Team
Ro Long
Founder & Director
Ro holds a powerful blend of over 30 years’ experience in manufacturing, engineering and quality across high‑performing and highly regulated sectors including Automotive, Aerospace, Pressure Vessels and Medical Devices, to name but a few.
From humble beginnings as a Design Engineer, through to Project Engineering, Quality Engineering, Inspection Management and Senior Quality Leadership, Ro brings a strong background in operational excellence at the highest level, specialising in scaling quality frameworks across small and medium-sized enterprises.
Q: WHEN IT COMES TO QUALITY, WHAT’S YOUR PASSION?
A: “I’m really passionate about simple & sustainable quality.
All too often we see businesses that spend an enormous amount of time and money initialising a system which is too complicated, too costly and too reliant on the people that created it, to be fully embraced and adopted by the wider group. This in turn means the system isn’t robust, it doesn’t stand up to the ever changing world we live in, it cannot sustain the very goal it was created to achieve and ultimately leads to further self-created issues.”
Q: WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?
A: “Success, for me, is taking a business from fearing quality involvement to embracing it.
Seeing quality as a competitive advantage and allowing the infrastructure to form the foundations on which projects are built upon means it does not become a weapon later down the line, used to try and improve an already flawed process.”
Q: WHAT WOULD BE THE ONE PIECE OF ADVICE TO GIVE A COMPANY LOOKING TO IMPROVE QUALITY?
A: “Keep it simple!
Delivering long-term value does not have to be complicated. Meaningful, sustainable change comes from simplifying complexity and embedding continuous improvement across all teams through cross functional collaboration.
What may at first appear to be complex quality and regulatory challenges can easily be turned into measurable gains with the right target in mind. Using tools such as those is the APQP framework at project inception (PPAP, FMEA, QPC, MSA etc), or hands‑on problem‑solving tools later down the line when things haven’t quite gone to plan (8D, 5‑Why, Ishikawa etc), are made far easier when you involve the right stakeholders. Ensuring everyone has a voice and all departmental needs are considered will help to ensure processes are robust & sustainable, products are to specification and customers satisfied. Quality isn’t just a compliance requirement, it’s a fundamental business need.”