A commitment to quality differentiates leading product manufacturers from their competitors. Unfortunately, implementing quality processes within an organization is often easier said than done.
Common quality-related challenges include:
- Siloed quality management processes and solutions. Many organizations have quality management systems, but they fail to integrate them with their ERP and PDM systems. Part numbers and bills of materials reside in different systems, which makes it difficult to handle quality in a seamless way.
- Feedback loops to engineering don’t exist. Good quality processes are closed loop, which ensures that the right information gets to the right people at the right time. This is impossible when processes are siloed in different systems that aren’t integrated together.
- Complex processes. This is a common problem in regulated industries. Regulatory requirements frequently translate into complicated quality processes.
One way to address these issues is to take a product lifecycle approach to quality. Product lifecycle management or PLM is an information-driven business strategy that integrates people, processes, data, and technology to manage the entire life of a product from concept to disposal.
Autodesk Fusion Lifecycle is an ideal way for organizations to incorporate quality processes into every phase of their products. Since Fusion Lifecycle is a cloud-based, software-as-a-service offering, there is no hardware or software to install. The cost of entry is low and organizations can be up and running with PLM in a few weeks with minimal training.
Benefits of using Fusion Lifecycle to manage quality processes include:
- The closed loop system ensures that key information is always available. Item numbers are automatically fed into non-conformance processes and corrective/preventive actions (CAPAs). Workflows are automatically launched when quality problems are identified.
- Employees always know what must be done to maintain quality. Fusion Lifecycle provides reminders and escalations, so there are no excuses for incomplete quality workflows. The “My Outstanding Work” screen clearly prioritizes the tasks assigned to users.
- Document management capabilities are built in. With Fusion Lifecycle, it’s possible to attach pdfs, Excel spreadsheets, and other files to quality records. The document management functionality supports document “check in” and “check out” processes.
- Full traceability is captured by the system. For example, audits can be tied to ISO documents to reinforce the traceability of audit findings. This is essential in regulated industries.
Fusion Lifecycle provides a great way for organizations to manage quality processes ranging from customer returns to field failure reports, non-conformance reports, corrective and preventive actions, and more. To learn more about how PLM can improve quality in your organization, feel free to contact us. You may also be interested in our on-demand webinar “Fusion Lifecycle: Managing Quality Processes Part 1.”
