standard

Today’s end consumers demand quality, and they are quick to try a competitive product when disappointment hits. For manufacturers, the quest to achieve less variability, more consistency and enhanced customer satisfaction has never been more critical. To consistently produce high-quality products, the key is to improve standards of quality control throughout the manufacturing process, and that requires an effective quality management system with the ability to oversee all activities and tasks that must be accomplished to maintain the desired level of excellence. Such a system helps manufacturers identify potential issues and rectify them before they escalate, leading to improved customer relationships and company growth as well as greater productivity and cost efficiencies.

Quality Driving Factors

• Customer retention – Given that it can cost up to five times more to acquire new customers than to retain existing ones, customer retention is a top priority. Ensuring high-quality standards and delivering consistent standards go a long way towards keeping existing customers.
• Compliance – For manufacturers, compliance entails complying with the ISO 9001 standard which helps drive quality management practices in metal fabrication. ISO 9001 helps companies improve quality throughout the operation from development and material sourcing right through to product delivery and customer interaction.
• Product recalls – A product recall is something manufacturers try to avoid at all costs. Statistics show that 25% of consumers reported being less likely to buy products from a company involved in a recall and 65% of consumers said they would be less likely to recommend a company following a recall.
• Continuous improvement – Continuous improvement is a systematic approach to consistently enhance processes, products (such as water tanks), and services over time. It involves making incremental and sustainable changes to achieve higher efficiency, effectiveness, and quality. By fostering a culture of continuous improvement, businesses encourage employees at all levels to identify problems, suggest solutions and implement small-scale changes to optimize operations.

ERP – Implementing Quality Management

One of the most effective ways of getting quality management right is by implementing an ERP solution that provides the data, tools and infrastructure manufacturers need to gather insights, make informed decisions, and continuously refine their operations to achieve higher levels of efficiency, quality, and competitiveness. A good ERP solution is geared towards helping manufacturers set quality criteria against the products they buy and manufacture to ensure any inputs and outputs from their production lines conform to these standards. This is especially important in today’s competitive market where data is one of the top 3 manufacturing technology trends. Businesses can no longer rely on manual processes and tools to manage quality; it is simply too important to leave up to chance. On the question of customer retention, for example, manufacturers need to manage customer complaints as effectively as possible. An ERP system should provide the tools needed to log, collaborate on, escalate, and resolve customer complaints quickly and smoothly. That way, manufacturers and structural steel fabricators can quickly turn the situation around and build up data at the same time. Similarly, an ERP system with recall management capability enables manufacturers to recall products that are serial or lot traceable. With access to real-time information on affected customers, sales orders, Work in Progress jobs, suppliers and purchase orders, manufacturers can quickly ringfence the problem and stop it from spreading. Effective product recall may be a last resort in the realm of quality management, but it is a crucial one.

Closing Statement

Creating a strong quality management process is essential for manufacturing companies. Not only can it help avoid regulatory fines, good quality can also ensure that the firm is meeting customer expectations and drawing repeat business. A fully integrated ERP quality management system helps manufacturers improve quality performance by reducing variability and costs while ultimately improving customer satisfaction. As the saying goes, there is no substitute for quality – and manufacturers need to always abide by this!