What you need to know about quality assurance and management for the automotive industry |

Quality can be defined as “fitness for use as defined by the customer.” A quality product or service contributes to customer satisfaction; poor quality means dissatisfied customers.

In today’s competitive marketplace, the process of controlling internal and external quality processes has become increasingly important and more complex for all companies. Especially in the automotive industry, in which the number of recalls is increasing, optimized quality management is mandatory. From a company’s operational point of view, a high level of internal and supplier quality is of the utmost importance.

Why quality management is necessary

Quality management is needed for continuous improvements, defect prevention, reduction of variations and reduction of waste. Compliance with ISO/TS 16949 and Global Material Management Operation Guideline Logistics Evaluation (GMMOG/LE) is a requirement for most automotive suppliers. Moreover, most companies are required to adopt the “Six Sigma” approach to proactive quality management.

In IFS Applications, we have integrated tools that make it easier and less costly to achieve and maintain ISO/TS 16949 compliance. You can map value streams with IFS Process Models, control all types of documents in IFS Document Management, and manage your processes in IFS Business Performance. In addition, IFS Human Resources helps you with successful strategic human resource planning. IFS’s enterprise software for engineering minimizes the work of specifying and configuring design elements and products. Quality is ensured by streamlining the administration of all related documentation, including revisions.

IFS Quality Management provides the ability to define control plans, test and inspection instructions and standards for parts, suppliers and manufacturing processes. The most common SPC charts for variables and attributes are supported, and capability indices can be calculated for any process. IFS’s maintenance components make up a complete maintenance system that provides the proactivity, openness and agility to develop and adapt to keep pace with the rapidly changing demands of the world around you.

Quality assurance should be part of your system

IFS Quality Assurance is a complete solution that can be deployed for all industries and markets. As the functionality is fully integrated, it means that the quality management processes become much closer to the business processes. As quality management is such an important part of your business, why shouldn’t it be part of your system?

With IFS Event Management, you can let the application become an active part of the business processes by immediately notifying employees, customers and suppliers as events occur. To see how IFS Applications supports ISO/TS16949 and GMMGO/LE and to learn more about quality assurance and management, read the Quality Assurance and Management for the Automotive Industry brochure.