Quality systems are the framework for implementing quality assurance and quality control. Quality assurance are "all the planned and systematic activities implemented within the quality system that can be demonstrated to provide confidence that a product or service will fulfill requirements for quality", while "Quality control focuses on quality requirements, such as ensuring a part meets specifications". (source)

The conceptual relationship between these terms is illustrated in this diagram, in which we can see that QC is part of QA, and both are parts of the quality system.

Making sure quality requirements are met is important both internally for management, and externally for those using the products. When using Matics as your quality system, quality assurance is implemented by establishing the testing policies, designing tests (the methodology for checking quality), creating testing groups, and managing the testing processes. This overall quality design will be performed by the site's quality director or manager. Quality control through Matics is implemented by providing options for testing the entire production process: testing raw materials, inline testing, lab tests and final-product testing. These activities are usually performed by production floor operators and QC personnel.

The embedded Matics quality module's advantage compared to other quality systems is that it's part of the Matics production floor management solution. It uses the solution's real-time data and historical data for optimizing quality processes. For example, if there was a change in a production parameter or an increase in rejects, QA managers can make without delay effective testing adjustments to ensure quality requirements are met.

Historical data facilitate identifying the point from which products should be recalled or scrapped if a defect is discovered post-production. Last but not least, using Matics obsoletes paper & pen-based QA/QC and also provides multiple options for QA/QC reporting & analytics.

As mentioned above, quality assurance determines the polices and methodologies used in quality control. Matics provides hierarchy and grouping options when designing tests for effective mapping of tests added to the tests library. This structuring through test types, quality groups, product groups and quality test groups increases systematic test design, as you map in advance which quality group runs this test, and if you know that a specific designation of testers should run this test you can fine-tune this by adding a quality test group tag.

Creating tests for product groups instead of tests for individual products (even though it is possible to create custom tests for each product) promotes efficient test management and maintenance. For example, you could create a test called Weight, which can be applied to different products in the product group when testing weight, and if a test field needs to be added later on to this test, it's an easy fix since it's only one test that you need to change.

After establishing test libraries, the next step is to determine the policy of when these tests are run. Matics provides automation through rules to automate running of QC tests.

Trigger types include:

Test results may also trigger actions automatically per set policies. For example, if the test fails, a notification can be sent to a designated user or a task opened automatically for running a subsequent test.

All aspects of quality policies can be constantly improved on and adapted to dynamic changes in the production process.

Quality management complements the quality policy. Management activities include organizing and maintaining the QC test library, looking through the list of tests, monitoring test results, analyzing past test results, searching for specific tests or specific test results. All this is easily achieved with Matics QC.

Matics also has a task management Kanban, which is a great tool for tracking and assigning QC tasks. It includes both QC test tasks that are generated automatically by the system through rules, and quality tasks that managers add manually. The Kanban is available from anywhere at any time and provides complete visibility of which tests are awaiting assignment, which tests are in progress and which have completed. As with all tasks, you can change assignee, add comments and change the task's priority. Auto-generated QC test tasks' progress is reflected automatically in the Kanban as a test progresses from one status to another (to do, in progress, completed, or canceled).

QC tasks can be assigned to individuals, groups and machines. The Kanban provides managers with the flexibility of applying dynamic changes, as well as leveraging it as a communication system for reporting defects and potential issues.

Carrying out QC tests is usually done by machine operators and QC personnel when they order the test through the Web app or the Operator tablet app. If testing is invoked automatically by rules, the auto-generated QC task will already include the test form that the assignee will click to open.

The test is an electronic form that can be manually filled in, and in some cases test values are populated automatically by data retrieved from the machine's controller or connected testing equipment. Some forms apply auto-calculations on the input to determine the test results. The input and calculated results determine whether a test passed or failed, per the tests' predefined value ranges and/or current job's recipe parameters. And all the data are then available for reporting and analysis.

There are different options that support different needs.

SPC provides an effective, powerful infographic of statistical process control on selected parameters. Through it you can view a series of tests for a scoped period, create an SPC display that will always present the last x sampling points, how much a parameter deviates from the upper and lower control limits, and much more.

In the QC Report you have a table with all the quality tests' data. As with all Matics tables you can rearrange and hide unnecessary columns, filter the data and share this customized table with others.

QC insights include the distribution of failed fields, and the number of tests per entity (machine, mold, product).

Online prediction (SPC)

Rules

Quality Test Groups