Whirlwind Quality Assurance Program

Quality of design and manufacturing are extremely important to wheelchair users.  A wheelchair breakdown is a serious problem that can leave its rider stranded far from home or unable to return to work or school until the chair is repaired. Not only do most wheelchair riders not have the money to buy their chairs, but they can not even afford to pay for repairs.   To achieve our goal of full inclusion and social participation for wheelchair riders, we are very careful to make certain that the chairs are free of manufacturing defects which would interrupt or cut short the benefit of the wheelchair for the user.

Whirlwind's quality assurance program has three check levels.  Check Level A is done on every chair.  It includes tests like roll testing for distance and straightness, checking the function of each feature like the wheel locks and the foot rests for their ability to hold full body weight, checking that bolts are tightened to spec, checking for sharp edges, and checking for the tension of spokes.  Chairs must pass these tests and failures indicate to manufacturers that deeper problems exist which are then resolved.  Check Level B is a batch test done on one of 100 chairs or one per batch for smaller batches.  After assembly all the important angles and lengths are measured like seat angle, back angle, seat height, distance between wheels, toe in/out, caster barrel angle, etc.  Then a chair is torn down into pieces and each component is measured to ensure it is within specifications.  This is a very close inspection that looks at everything from the quality of the upholstery stitching to the spacing between welds.

Manufacturers submit their quality reports to Whirlwind with each order so that they can receive support from the Whirlwind technical team as needed.  Whirlwind also uses various methods of gathering samples from manufacturers so that we can double check that reports are consistent with our observations of randomly chosen units.  

Check Level C is done at Whirlwind HQ.  This test is verification that the design the factory is building matches our intended design.  In manufacturing, there is always an impulse to cut costs by using cheaper materials which will not meet the intended performance requirements. Check Level C includes testing of paint, all materials, and ISO tests like the double drum test to 400,000 revolutions, two times the ISO standard.