For many manufacturing companies, the cost of quality reaches as high as 15-20% of sales revenue, or even 40% of total operations, according to the American Society for Quality (ASQ).
That's why, in most industries, there's a relentless drive to manage quality more efficiently.
However, when you're trying to manage quality there are several challenges. Depending on the size and scope of your operations, you could be dealing with these things day-to-day:
With so much on your plate, improving efficiency might seem like a distant dream.
Luckily, you can reduce the boring tasks and concentrate on important parts of quality management by delegating them to others.
The solution is quality tracking software.
In this guide, we're going to look at how to choose and implement quality tracking software that drives up production efficiency across your operations.
The main benefit of quality tracking software is real-time visibility. The software lets you see what's going on right across your business processes. If a product run starts to show faults, it helps you locate the problem quickly and fix it before costs start adding up.
Because of the speed of identifying quality issues, you'll save time and money on wasted resources and product recalls. All the information is stored in one place, which makes it easier for all parties - from managers to shop floor workers - to stay organized and know what to do.
Ultimately, quality tracking software makes sure that everything you produce is good quality, which means happier customers and happier directors.
One of the standout features of quality tracking software is handling compliance data. Compliance tracking helps prove you're following all the relevant rules and standards in the event of a quality audit.
Instead of writing every single piece of quality tracking data by hand (which often leads to human error) the software does it for you. Look for quality tracking software that also doubles as quality audit management software with document control and audit planning features.
A good quality tracking software platform automates workflows and other key elements of data collection and processing. This makes it easier to demonstrate compliance with standards such as ISO or FDA regulations.
Ideally, you should be able to track each product component from start to finish. Traceability is important in industries like automotive, aerospace, and medical devices where the cost of a recall is high, not to mention the risk to human life.
A good quality tracking system lets you pinpoint where product parts are at any time during the production process. This minimizes the risk of quality issues not getting picked up. It also speeds up your response time to any issues.
Without quality tracking software in place, it can take longer to respond to quality issues. With real-time operational data provided by quality tracking software - it's much faster.
If a quality issue arises, the system alerts you straight away, allowing you to take quick corrective actions. This responsiveness unlocks higher levels of efficiency, while improving quality at the same time.
Ideally, your quality tracking software should connect easily with your existing systems-whether that's your ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system, supply chain management tools, or even HR software.
For instance, when quality issues are detected, an integrated system can automatically update production schedules and inventory requirements in the ERP. This reduces the time spent on manual updates and checks, letting everyone focus more on their core tasks. It also speeds up decision making when you have all your production and quality data in one place.
Quality tracking software allows for the monitoring of KPIs in real-time, such as defect rates, production throughput, and compliance rates. This is particularly useful when you implement quality initiatives, as you can track how changes in process affect the KPIs, in effect setting up a continuous feedback loop.
For example, a life sciences or healthcare equipment company might use quality tracking software to keep an eye on their defect rates. This KPI is important as any flaw in a medical device potentially has serious consequences. Some software can be set up to alert you in real-time if defects start to rise above a certain threshold, enabling you to take swift corrective action.
Implementing quality tracking software offers the following cost savings:
For a more detailed breakdown of cost savings and ROI potential of quality tracking software, join our Good quality is good business webinar.
Whenever you implement a new system, there's a bedding-in period. That's why it's important to choose quality and compliance software that is easy to learn and comes with plenty of support. This will help your team learn quickly. Quality software is essential for effective compliance.
Here are a few pointers to look out for when choosing your quality tracking software.
Quality and compliance software is constantly evolving to meet the demands of modern manufacturing companies. When choosing quality tracking software for your business, go for a solution that shows a commitment to new tech and innovation, such as:
AlisQI cloud-based QMS software aligns with the ever-changing quality needs of manufacturing companies. It helps you standardize quality management processes across different locations with a centralized platform. You can maintain consistency in quality standards, regardless where your production lines are.
Using quality tracking software features, AlisQI automatically tracks and analyzes data and provides real-time monitoring and alerts to deviations or errors in the production cycle. In this way, it helps you prevent quality problems before they grow into something bigger.
As one of the best quality control software solutions, AlisQI gives you all the tools you need to manage your quality data and get useful insights from it. The built-in analytics help you spot trends and patterns, which inform your decision-making process.
Let's talk about how AlisQI can level up your quality management - book a call here.