April 9, 2013 - Siemens introduced a quality management solution for issue management and CAPA (Corrective and Preventive Action). The Teamcenter solution provides greater visibility into quality management processes and faster time-to-closure of quality issues. It also offers a more complete and consistent process for root-cause identification, correction, prevention and verification, which directly impacts the risk of recurrence and enables continuous quality improvement. According to an Aberdeen Group report, product lifecycle management (PLM) and quality management interoperability can help reduce internal and external failure costs by more than 50 percent and reduce the total cost of quality by eight percent. CAPA processes are a critical component of quality management solutions.
The issue management and CAPA solution is a web-based offering that is part of Siemens' Teamcenter portfolio, the world's most widely used digital lifecycle management software. The new solution integrates quality and change management processes, enhances decision-making and supports Eight Disciplines Problem Solving (8D), a method used to approach and resolve problems, typically employed by quality engineers. Formal CAPA activities which focus on the systematic investigation of discrepancies (customer complaints, defects, failures, etc.) in an attempt to permanently solve root causes and prevent recurrence are a widely used process for ensuring the quality and safety of products. When issues arise, time-to-closure is critical.
Until the issue's root-cause is identified, corrected, validated and closed, manufacturers must spend time and effort on workarounds, repairs and rework. Even when issues are detected internally, they have a significant impact on manufacturing productivity. This situation worsens when issues are detected post-production by customers or regulatory bodies, potentially creating a liability and impacting customer satisfaction.
"As we continually advocate for collaboration in manufacturing, LNS Research believes that PLM is a strong focal point for managing quality within single processes and across the enterprise. Delivering an issue and CAPA management solution on a PLM foundation is a great start to managing the overall quality lifecycle," said Matthew Littlefield, President and Principal Analyst, LNS Research. "Quality management is often an informal or inconsistent process that is typically managed outside the PLM environment. Quality managers don't have visibility to product requirements and manufacturing processes, which makes it difficult to effectively and proactively manage quality," said Eric Sterling, Senior Vice President, Lifecycle Collaboration Software, Siemens PLM Software.
"Teamcenter links product and quality data to provide manufacturers with enterprise-level visibility to quality issues. Teamcenter can help reduce the time-to-issue-resolution, helping manufacturers mitigate the risk of nonconformance and more efficiently manage quality." The Siemens Industry Sector (Erlangen, Germany) is the world's leading supplier of innovative and environmentally friendly products and solutions for industrial customers. With end-to-end automation technology and industrial software, solid vertical-market expertise, and technology-based services, the Sector enhances its customers' productivity, efficiency, and flexibility.
With a global workforce of more than 100,000 employees, the Industry Sector comprises the Divisions Industry Automation, Drive Technologies and Customer Services as well as the Business Unit Metals Technologies. The Siemens Industry Automation Division (Nuremberg, Germany) supports the entire value chain of its industrial customers – from product design to production and services – with an unmatched combination of automation technology, industrial control technology, and industrial software. With its software solutions, the Division can shorten the time-to-market of new products by up to 50 percent.
Industry Automation comprises five Business Units: Industrial Automation Systems, Control Components and Systems Engineering, Sensors and Communications, Siemens PLM Software, and Water Technologies.