Tracking and stopping nonconformance used to be a time-consuming procedure. Compliance management software helps you identify and correct problems faster than ever.
How Compliance Management Software Prevents Nonconformance
Nonconformance has plagued manufacturing since the beginning, and even today, as machinery becomes more precise, it still crops up as a regular problem. The costs of nonconformance, from material disposal to wasted manpower, increases costs and reduces a company’s profitability. It could even affect consumer safety or brand reputation if nonconforming parts and products are not identified before they reach consumers. In the past, manufacturers have relied on spreadsheets to track nonconformance, resulting in information being siloed and unavailable across the global enterprise. Today, savvy businesses make use of compliance management software with nonconformance modules.
Tracking Nonconformance to the Source
There can be a variety of causes of nonconformance. In the best case, it’s an isolated incident caused by easily-corrected user error. But when it turns out to be a more wide-spread issue, it’s important to have the tools to track it to the source and inform any other factories or projects that could be impacted. When a specific machine is the source of nonconformance, compliance management software can show you where else within your organization that equipment is in use, and the history of when those machines have been serviced, calibrated, and repaired. One error may help you uncover a company-wide need for an equipment audit to prevent future problems. When a part or material from a supplier is to blame, you can log the incident, see which other facilities receive supplies from that source, and see whether any other complaints have surfaced. This can help you identify patterns over time and end relationships with unreliable suppliers who would damage your business.
Compliance Management Software Places the Data into the Right Hands
With isolated incidents of nonconformance, it’s often easy to address on the shop floor. Log the incident, make the necessary adjustments to prevent a repeat, and move on with the work day. But in the case of widespread issues, compliance management software helps make sure that the data gets into the right hands so decisions can be made. Back in the day, if you suspected there was an issue with a supplier, you had to call the other plants and ask around to see if anyone else had received nonconforming parts. You might have to wait for paper reports to be faxed or even emailed to you, collect them all and fax, mail, or hand-deliver them to management. Now, with all reports stored in a central location, anyone with the right level of access can see incident reports from all locations of a distributed enterprise and collate a report on the nonconformance issue, whether it’s happening at a local, national, or even global level. Because all incident reports are being logged with the same software, consistent reporting and formatting is ensured, making it quicker and easier to track patterns and grasp the full scale of the issue.
When it comes to nonconformance, time really is money. The longer it takes to spot a problem, track it to its source, and take corrective actions, the more resources are being wasted on producing flawed products. Compliance management software helps you be quicker and more efficient in getting your manufacturing back in true.
