HOLMDEL, NJ-According to a Sparta Systems sponsored survey unveiled at the Interphex Conference in New York, recent supplier quality-related headlines have had little impact on managers’ day-to-day job functions or companies’ overall quality management efforts. Instead, the majority of respondents-81%-reported that compliance with industry regulations remains the number one driver of quality management initiatives, and many have reported an intention to expand these initiatives despite economic pressures.

The survey was conducted in February 2009 among approximately 100 users of Sparta Systems’ TrackWise enterprise quality management and compliance software in the life science industry.

Additional survey highlights include:

Despite organizational profitability ranking as the number two driver of quality management, 80% of survey respondents reported that the global economic crisis has failed to diminish company quality management expenditures.

Instead of cutting back on quality management costs, survey findings indicate that companies are seeking to take a broader enterprise-class view of quality operations-more than 83% of respondents are extending their use of automated systems to take on a broader range of functions, including internal audits, change control and training management.

Corrective and preventative action (CAPA) programs continue to serve as the strongest driver of quality management concern for companies, with almost 80% of respondents relying on automated electronic systems to manage these CAPAs-indicating the focus among organizations to effectively investigate and remediate quality incidents that arise in the manufacturing process.

Despite ongoing hype around major product and supply recalls, 78% of those surveyed responded that these incidents cause little or no impact on quality management within their organizations, and only 22% reported a direct effect resulting in increased scrutiny of quality management initiatives within the organization.

“Simply put, insufficient quality management can be detrimental to a company’s brand reputation and bottom line, and forward-thinking companies are recognizing the need for more effective quality processes to govern their global operations,” says Jim McGowan, chief executive officer of Sparta Systems. “While the economic downturn and recent product recalls have made this front-page news, life science leaders understand that proactively automating quality management processes across the global enterprise can result in both a significant return on quality investment and a reputation for putting customer safety at the forefront despite challenging economic times.”

For more information, please contact Jon Rabinowitz at jonr@spartasystems.com or (732) 203-0400, ext. 121.