There have been two sea changes since the widespread introduction of QMS solutions in manufacturing environment—and a third change is on its way.

Our modern history is defined by the advent of writing. Writing is humankind’s principal technology for collecting, manipulating, storing, retrieving, communicating and disseminating information. 

In today’s increasingly connected and intelligent production environment, manufacturers are inundated with data. It can be challenging to see quality data throughout an entire enterprise, which makes it more difficult to lower costs, advance product quality, decrease waste, maintain compliance and boost profitability.

To save time and money throughout the course of product development, quality professionals rely on first article inspection (FAI), which is a popular way to examine and test products in the early stages of production.

So your team has been charged with selecting, purchasing and implementing a key manufacturing system like SPC. In addition to searching for qualified vendors, these teams are tasked with building a financial case for return on investment. 

Quality and time and valuable commodities for all manufacturers. Basic use of statistical process control (SPC) enables you to improve both quality and efficiency. But when you take SPC analysis to the next level, you get even greater benefits.

As manufacturers look ahead to 2021 and beyond, they know that building resilience into operations is critical. They must achieve multiple goals: superior quality, lower costs, improved yields, efficient processes, and minimized waste. The opportunity for meeting all those goals depends on one foundational requirement: enterprise-wide visibility into data.

Inspection reports that take less work can be a great way for an organization to save time and money. Manufacturers have always been interested in being efficient, but during these uncertain times, it makes more sense than ever. 

Those of us on the march towards Quality 4.0 in our manufacturing companies are grappling with the challenge of producing high quality parts with a minimal investment of time and resources into new inspection methodologies.