Quality Policy: Ongoing Commitment to Excellence
Clients
THE CUSTOMER AT THE CENTER OF OUR DECISIONS AND STRATEGIES
We are active in all sectors of high-tech shipbuilding: cruise ships, defense, offshore, and ferries. This enables us to operate in different end markets and geographic areas, with strong diversification of our customer portfolio as well.
CRUISE CLIENTS
The clients of the Merchant Ships Division of Fincantieri S.p.A. and VARD are the world’s leading cruise operators, seeking to maximize the value of their investments with ships delivering outstanding economic and environmental performance.
Our customer portfolio has expanded significantly in recent years, attracting many of the new brands entering the sector—including those from major hotel groups - thanks to our ability to design and build highly diverse cruise ships, with extensive customization according to customer requirements, geographical area, and target market segment.
CLIENTI NAVAL
The clients of the Naval Vessels Division of Fincantieri S.p.A., Fincantieri Marine Group, and VARD are Italian and foreign government entities, including the Italian Ministry of Defense (we are the sole supplier to the Italian Navy), military navies (we are a key partner of the US Navy) and Coast Guard bodies, as well as other government agencies involved, for example, in oceanographic research activities. In our market approach, we consider it essential to promote partnerships in the field of European Defense and agreements with non-EU operators.
FERRIES CLIENTS
The ferries designed and built by Fincantieri and VARD are intended for private and public clients, both Italian and international, operating mainly in the Mediterranean, North Sea, and Baltic Sea. They meet the most demanding requirements in terms of innovation, technology, low environmental impact (LNG and hybrid vessels), energy savings, and diversification.
SYSTEMS, COMPONENTS, AND SERVICES CLIENTS
We offer our mechanical, electronic, digital systems and components, and services in the naval sector not only to our captive internal market, but also to other shipbuilders and industrial operators active in civil, military, and offshore sectors. The clients in the Infrastructure segment are public and private operators, particularly in the maritime and hospital fields.
OFFSHORE AND SPECIAL VESSELS CLIENTS
In light of the strong growth in the renewable energy sector, we have expanded our customer portfolio, which has historically included companies active in Oil & Gas providing logistical support and services for the construction and operation of offshore installations. We have therefore developed innovative products for operators involved in the offshore wind supply chain. VARD’s product range also meets the needs of companies requiring specialized vessels for the construction and maintenance of offshore wind farms and for submarine cable installation, as well as state-of-the-art offshore units with remote control and green propulsion.
CONSTANT FOCUS ON QUALITY
We work to ensure and maintain an excellent level of quality in every strategic decision, business process, and activity, placing complete customer satisfaction at the center.
CONSISTENCY
We are inspired by the “First Time Right” philosophy, anticipating future issues through root cause analysis of defects and waste. This approach enables us to ensure consistent quality, enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs, and meet customer expectations.
COMMITMENT
We integrate quality into every strategic and operational activity, ensuring shared responsibility at all levels and a daily commitment to excellence and sustainability.
CULTURE
We foster a culture of quality and excellence through continuous training, innovation and strict adherence to standards, empowering every stakeholder involved in the production process.
CUSTOMER FOCUS
CONTINUOUS OVERSIGHT
We continuously monitor our processes using reliable indicators and a structured, transparent management system supported by certifications.
Each production phase is controlled to ensure compliance with international standards, excellent quality, and sustainability.
COLLABORATION
We consider internal and external collaboration as a cornerstone of quality and success. We build trust-based relationships with clients, suppliers, and partners through clear and transparent communication.
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
We constantly monitor and analyze our processes and products to enhance them, through an approach embedded at every level of the organization that enables us to address market challenges efficiently, reliably, and sustainably.
Quality Policy, Ongoing Commitment to Excellence
This vision is embodied in our “Quality Policy — Ongoing Commitment to Excellence,” updated in 2024, which outlines a structured, excellence-oriented approach. Through conscious choices and integrated processes at all company levels, we pursue seven core principles, with a customer focus guiding all others.
The Quality Policy underpins the ISO 9001-certified management systems adopted by Group companies at both shipyard and division level, ensuring the highest standards are met. Currently, 100% of Italian production sites and 95% of Group sites are ISO 9001 certified.
how our quality system works
The quality system provides for regular internal audits, carried out at both project and production site level, to monitor correct application of procedures and ensure compliance with ISO 9001 standards. These activities foster a widespread quality culture, reinforced by training and refresher sessions for operational and control functions.
Quality assurance is thus guaranteed at every stage of the process, from order acquisition, design, and procurement, through to production and service delivery. Each of these phases is entrusted to a dedicated process owner.
Quality assurance is thus guaranteed at every stage of the process, from order acquisition, design, and procurement, through to production and service delivery. Each of these phases is entrusted to a dedicated process owner.
Our quality certifications
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For specific production processes, such as hull welding or special manufacturing for infrastructure and civil works, the Castellamare di Stabia, Palermo, and Sestri Ponente plants hold ISO 3834-22 and EN 1090-1 certifications.
Additionally, Marine Interiors, the Group company specializing in the design, refitting, and turnkey delivery of cabins, holds MED B product certification and MED D process certification issued by the RINA certification body. These certificates attest to compliance with the European Directive 2014/93/EU on fire protection requirements for marine equipment.
Finally, both Fincantieri S.p.A. and the subsidiaries Fincantieri Infrastructure S.p.A., Fincantieri Nextech S.p.A., Fincantieri Infrastrutture Sociali S.p.A., Fincantieri Infrastructure Opere Marittime S.p.A., Fincantieri SI S.p.A., CETENA S.p.A., and SOF S.p.A. maintain the SOA certification, attesting their qualification for the execution of public works.
HOW WE MONITOR QUALITY
Our quality management system is already applied at the project level through the Project Quality Plan (QP).
QUALITY PLAN DI COMMESSA (QP)
CONSTANT MONITORING
CONTROL ASSURANCE
The QP, consisting of documents and Control Plans, regulates all aspects of quality assurance, control, and monitoring for the project, and guides operational units in the proper design, construction, and testing of the product.
The design and production of complex products and systems—such as cruise ships, submarines, or industrial diesel engines—entails the possibility that, during the process, there may be deviations from standards, drawing changes, incidents, or errors in supply or execution. These “non-quality” events are normally detected and tracked by internal teams, customer inspection staff, and classification societies, or less frequently after delivery, with interventions during the warranty period.
Remedial actions follow industrial best practice, involving increasing costs and time for adjusting, repairing, redoing, and replacing, in order to minimize customer impact. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of such events, properly recorded and classified, leads to project review mechanisms. In the case of shipbuilding, such analyses trigger continuous improvement processes to ensure that the same mistakes do not recur on subsequent contracts. A closing report/booklet with key “lessons learned” is produced, so that all operational sites can share countermeasures to identified causes of error, making possible prevention and improvement actions accordingly.
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
The sector in which we operate is, by its nature, characterized by a limited number of competitors and customers. For this reason, the measurement of customer satisfaction and loyalty cannot be based on statistical data and samples: instead, we conduct long-term analyses that relate market trends, the allocation of orders and contracts to the various players, the time taken to convert negotiations into orders, the retention of long-standing clients, and the acquisition and retention of new customers.
We regularly carry out market and competitor surveys, from which we determine “loyalty” factors.
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION INDEX (CSI)
In recent years, we have developed a methodology to calculate customer satisfaction through a numerical indicator, the Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI), with a value between 0 and 100.
The CSI is governed by a specific company procedure, which measures customer satisfaction after six months of ship operation. The stakeholders involved are:
THE PROJECT MANAGER (PM)
responsible for measuring the CSI
responsible for measuring the CSI
THE QUALITY MANAGER
who is responsible for consolidating the annual CSI at the management level
who is responsible for consolidating the annual CSI at the management level
THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT FUNCTION
which measures the annual CSI for the Fincantieri Group.
which measures the annual CSI for the Fincantieri Group.
The CSI is the result of three evaluations:
PERFORMANCE AND OBJECTIVE FACTS
Compiled by the responsible Quality and Performance Improvement unit and verified by the PM
Compiled by the responsible Quality and Performance Improvement unit and verified by the PM
INTERNAL QUESTIONNAIRE
Self-assessment by the organizational units most in contact with the customer
Self-assessment by the organizational units most in contact with the customer
CUSTOMER QUESTIONNAIRE
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION INDEX (CSI) 2021-2024
In 2024, we carried out the CSI assessment on five ships (four cruise and one military), achieving an average indicator value of 80, in line with Group targets and consistent with previous years’ levels, despite a mix of projects (within the indicator’s analysis scope) featuring a significant presence of prototypes, including the first LNG-powered Fincantieri cruise ship.
From 2020 to 2024, 33 Fincantieri ships (25 in the cruise segment and 8 in the military segment) were delivered and evaluated using the CSI methodology, with an average satisfaction result of 81/100. The CSI covers 100% of shipbuilding product sales.
THE COMMITMENTS OF THE 2023-2027 SUSTAINABILITY PLAN RELATED TO QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
In the following tables, you can find the goals and targets of the 2023-2027 Sustainability Plan for topics related to product quality and safety and customer satisfaction.
Continuous improvement of the quality and safety of products and services in compliance with technical standards, at every stage of the production process, to meet the high standards required by the business
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Increase in control over the cyber risk exposure of the product supply chain
| DESCRIPTION/TARGET | TIMELINE | PERIMETER | STATUS | SDGS |
| Activation of an audit plan on cyber risk exposure from systems belonging to a pool of 20 suppliers, representing 90% of the cruise business's cyber-critical systems as per IACS UR E26 standard 100% Italian shipyards already in possession of ISO 9001 certification |
2024 | Fincatieri S.p.A. | Achieved |
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| In 2024, we launched a cyber maturity assessment plan for our suppliers. The questionnaire used for these assessments was integrated into Fincantieri’s supplier registration platform, enabling the activation of the Cyber Vendor Due Diligence process. This activity was initially piloted with 20 suppliers and subsequently extended to approximately 7,000 users. Specifically, we assessed 464 suppliers, including 55 that account for 90% of the critical systems in the cruise segment from a cybersecurity perspective, in line with the IACS UR E26 requirements. |
Expand the customer satisfaction measurement model—Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI)—to include ESG topics
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| DESCRIPTION/TARGET | TIMELINE | PERIMETER | STATUS | SDGS |
| Expansion of the CSI questionnaire to ESG issues to understand customer satisfaction in terms of sustainable product and process | 2023 | Group | Achieved |
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| Application of the CSI questionnaire, including the ESG section | 2024 | Achieved |
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| The updated questionnaire has already been delivered on the first ships delivered at the end of 2023, in advance of the timeframe set out in the Sustainability Plan. |