Forward View
Leveraging PLM to deliver Enterprise Quality Management System (EQMS) functionalities that streamline, standardise, and centralise quality process data and content takes these existing functionalities to new levels. PLM as a quality platform can help SMBs address the challenges noted in the survey as well as provide some additional benefits with the ability to:
➊ Reduce Independent Systems and Separate Silos of Data. PLM provides a central location to track and manage all product related information such as component data, BOMs, product documentation, engineering changes and revisions, quality issues, and compliance data. PLM reduces the number of manual/home-grown systems that are commonly used by SMBs such as Excel spreadsheets, network files and folders, and paper process.
data including specifications, engineering parameters and documentation.
A
By using PLM as a platform for quality management, SMB manufacturers are able to develop a unified information management system for engineering and quality. This offers a single point of entry for all product and quality information and eliminates the duplication of data in various systems. Streamlining independent data sources delivers more accurate product information, improves knowledge sharing, supports better design processes, and provides improved visibility into quality information.
Chuck Cimalore is the CTO and Co-founder of Omnify Software, Portsmouth, NH, USA.
www.omnifysoft.com
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www.engineerlive.com
➋ Provide a Holistic View of Quality Metrics. Many SMBs rely on relationships with a number of suppliers to help bring their products to market. As a central hub, PLM facilitates the secure sharing of product information among internal and external team members, streamlines the
PLM system is crucial during the design phase, where engineers need instant access to product
communication of information such as new products, changes, revisions, Corrective and Preventive Actions (CAPAs), and product configurations, and provides automated alerting and approval tracking processes in a closed- loop system.
➌ Facilitate Adherence to Growing Compliance Requirements and Industry Standards. Regulatory requirements such as RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances), REACH (Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals), FDA (Food and Drug Administration), and ISO (International Organization for Standardization) standards create additional pressures for SMBs. These companies are faced with the challenge of how to handle their product design and development to meet existing and impending guidelines while maintaining product quality. PLM ensures that SMBs have the
proper processes in place to be in compliance. PLM systems facilitate compliance management by storing all compliance data, automatically tracking all product changes, managing all quality items such as CAPAs, and providing the necessary audit reports.
➍ Help Improve Product Design to Gain a Competitive Advantage. PLM delivers key functionality to streamline each phase of a product’s lifecycle from product conception and design, to manufacturing and support, which reduces time-to-market, decreases product costs, dramatically reduces waste and rework, speeds New Product Introduction (NPI) cycles, and improves product quality. Implementing a quality system at
the product concept stage in PLM gives SMBs early visibility into how products will be designed and built, which can help avoid potential manufacturing issues before the build stage.
➎ Lower the Cost of Quality. As reported by LNS, catching and resolving quality issues before they become a larger problem is vital to maintaining a low cost of quality. l
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