Inspired performance: how MES can help with quality control and compliance
Quality and compliance. Two critical aspects of manufacturing that have many things in common in terms of outcomes and escalation procedures. But arguably one of the most important attributes they share is the need for proactive problem resolution.
A fact summed up in the often-heard statement: “it’s no good making changes after the event, as the damage has already been done”:
- For quality control, it can mean lost productivity (the need for work to be redone), increased scrap levels, or customers unhappy with the finished product
- For compliance, it can mean an inability to demonstrate that correct processes have been followed, or the right components used etc.
The challenge of course comes when paper-based record keeping is the norm. Each time an individual writes down the cause and effect of an issue, they inadvertently create a static workflow – and deny the business real-time visibility into what’s happening where, when, and how often (paper-based information is likely to be looked maybe once a week).
By comparison, being proactive means having this insight both consolidated and immediately available to help operators get ahead of the problem. A reality made possible when a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) like MESTEC is available on the shop floor. So, let’s take a brief look at the key factors involved.
Quality Control (QC)
Most QC processes can be broken down into two core activities:
- Regular checks identify instances where production falls below a set quality threshold
- Assessing the underlying cause of these quality issues and initiating a remedy
The value of MESTEC is that it can be adapted to any QC workflow to provide an array of actionable intelligence. For example, managers may spot in the data the need to introduce a quality check before a certain component is fitted. For the operator, this check becomes an action they have to complete and log before they can continue the workflow.
Armed with such real-time visibility, quality supervisors can also identify the root cause behind any recurring issue. What’s more, this insight helps to greatly accelerate the goal of pro-active resolution. Where speed is combined with data analytics to determine both short- and long-term fixes:
- Scrap issues could be tracked back to an individual supplier sending imperfect components, and be quickly rectified
- Operator behaviour could also be the problem, and tackled either through training or with ‘at hand’ support such as videos from experienced employees, showing how to complete a task at the point it needs to be done
- Close analysis of persistent problems can also detail any shortfall in the QC process, thereby guiding supervisors to insert new checks at critical stages of the production workflow
As every manufacturer knows, the quicker a problem is identified and corrected, the less chaos is caused further down the assembly line. As a consequence, less time is wasted and workforce productivity gets a significant boost. The result is a more efficient operation that’s infused with best-practice guidance, which in turn reduces the burden on more experienced operators to pause their own work to help out colleagues.
Compliance
The MES story for compliance is not too dissimilar to that for QC: providing insights to help detail those operations being done correctly, or the root causes when they’re not. That said, compliance also places some unique demands on the technology:
- In the food industry, there exists the need to detail (often inside a timeframe measured by hours) the source and quality of every ingredient going into a finished product. Doing this with paper records can be a nightmare, but with the combination of MES and product batch number, the detail is available in minutes
- For the pharmaceutical and medical devices industries, surrounded by intense regulatory frameworks, the emphasis is on detailing the exact production processes followed, and showing a comprehensive audit trail of adherence to set rules
- In high-tech manufacturing, it can also be important to prove the precise machine settings involved. It’s here that the MES, when able to interface directly with a machine, can instantly provide a breakdown of the calibration ranges used etc.
A tool like MESTEC can also help compliance teams to analyse performance trends over time to further encourage the right behaviours. This is an important point, as one of the biggest barriers to change is the “this is how we’ve always done it” mindset. By having real-time data at hand, it becomes far easier to enforce compliance – as well as highlighting how a new procedure makes life easier for all involved.
Summing it all up
Both QC and compliance can place significant demands on a manufacturer, but neither sits in isolation of wider business goals. The drive to working smarter, faster, and more efficiently is also a day-to-day priority – and the test of a MES tool is to combine all these outcomes into one system that fits seamlessly into established workflows. This we believe is the essence of MESTEC’s true value.
To find out more about how MESTEC’s can boost your QC and compliance activities, get in touch.
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