Case histories may best underline the importance of quality control in manufacturing. Toyota in 2009 was forced to recall 12.4 million cars due to sticky gas pedals and floor mats that caused accelerators to jam. The cost to the company was a staggering $12.4 billion.
Firestone, Tylenol … the list goes on. Even the Titanic disaster may have resulted from a quality fiasco caused by faulty rivets in the part of the hull that rammed the iceberg.
Manufacturing quality control has come a long way from a single manager monitoring a plant using a caliper and a clipboard. Today, this critical function can no longer be pocketed into a single department, but must be extended throughout your facility. No longer a manual process, it requires a tech-based enterprise quality management system, or EQMS. Using this strategy-based approach, critical quality data flows across all the functional levels of your facility and business.
Centralize Data Collection
By centralizing data collection and document control on the shop floor, quality processes are standardized and data flows through the plant in real time so you can react more quickly.
- Using an EQMS, revisions, non-conformances and changes in control or inspection plans are immediately replicated across the system. Everyone in all operational areas works from the same data at the same time. The result is faster turnover and better decision-making.
- Enterprise quality systems build profitability. They improve visibility and provide more effective metrics. By reducing or preventing failures, you enhance customer satisfaction and reduce costs associated with waste and extra labor.
- The bottom line is continuous improvement. Your EQMS allows you to formalize lessons learned from customer complaints and issues and feed them back into the system. This can take place at the design, planning or management review level.
Simple and Effective
An EQMS needn’t be complicated or burdensome. The number-one necessary component is a central repository where all your latest quality data is compiled in one place. And, your system must integrate well with your other enterprise solutions. When this is achieved, you begin to reap the benefits of effective, ongoing quality control: increased market share, sales margins and growth, and an improved competitive edge.
It sounds great, but how can you get started in developing your industry-leading quality control system or bringing your current methods up to date? The specialized workforce team at Premium Staffing can assist with their niche expertise, resources and market intelligence. Contact us today to learn more.