- October 27, 2008
- SigmaQuest
October 27, 2008 - SigmaQuest announced Process Flow Visualization (PFV) software, allowing users to quickly and easily track all phases of product development via intuitive, simple-to-read, graphical views of data. Because the software is interactive, users can quickly determine if their process flows are performing as intended and in turn get to the root cause of any potential product-quality issues, product recalls or other issues that could result in dissatisfied end customers.PFV presents information in the form of intuitive graphical charts that have drill down analytic capabilities. This means users no longer need to read through reams of spreadsheet data and other static databases. With this approach, military & aerospace, computing, consumer electronics, medical devices, and other product manufacturers can quickly tell if the documented process flow is followed and when and where their supply chain process isn’t working. Also, they can determine if products have been built to spec, gone through all appropriate tests, if tests were skipped, if products failed in the test process (and if so where), and how many times tests were repeated, and they get yield indicators at each stage of product development. The software is able to interpret data that comes directly from the manufacturers’ and/or suppliers’ test floor and points out the flows in the manufacturing process that warrant further inspection or refinement. The software also identifies faulty test stations and unusual operator actions to in turn identity potentially defective or aberrant end products. With PFV companies can more readily conform to varying compliance and quality initiatives. For example, medical device manufacturers can begin showing compliance with the upcoming Sentinel Initiative, whereby the FDA is seeking to monitor the performance of medical device products, sold in the U.S., throughout entire lifecycles. Alternatively, by law, any military/aerospace or FDA manufactured product that has failed in the test process more than three times must be scrapped. PFV tracks these failure cycles. On top of this, the software tracks the digital signatures used for signoff at the completion of a test, providing contract manufacturers with accessible proof that a product has passed testing in accordance with the OEM’s specific directions.Chris Rodriguez, global test engineering strategic planning manager at Power-One (NASDAQ: PWER) commented, “At Power-One, we are committed to building the highest-quality, energy-efficient power conversion and power management offerings and require best-in-class solutions to track and ensure product quality. We are very impressed with SigmaQuest’s PFV software, yet another innovation that differentiates Power-One from competition. In essence, PFV is a visual tracking tool for each product we build as it moves through the entire factory floor, from subassembly to finished goods. Very quickly we can see abnormalities that are otherwise undetectable with static data representation. Without a doubt, PFV is essential to assuring process flow integrity.”PFV comes as an add-on module to the SigmaQuest Manufacturing & Test Insight product. It is slated to be available as a bundle with other SigmaQuest SigmaSure offerings in 2009. It is available today On-Demand via the SigmaQuest website and has a monthly U.S. list price starting at $5,750.“Our customers continue to tell us that quality is their number one imperative. They cannot afford to have bad publicity, negative reviews or product recalls affect their bottom line,” said Nader Fathi, president and CEO of SigmaQuest. “PFV gives our customers a bird’s-eye view of their global product quality and helps them determine if there are any process violations. The best part about PFV is that it is faster, better and less expensive to use than other alternatives.”About SigmaQuest’s SigmaSure Manufacturing & Test Insight Manufacturing & Test Insight is a complete set of integrated software solutions designed to provide continuous collection, monitoring and analysis of manufacturing data associated with a product’s quality. The software can easily pull, in real-time, data from multiple geographic locations and organizations. About SigmaQuest SigmaQuest Inc., the On-Demand leader in scalable solutions for product quality management, helps brand owners and manufacturers worldwide build top quality, electronics-based products for medical device, energy, telecom, military & aerospace, consumer electronics, and other industries. The company’s SigmaSure suite of software leverages automatic data collection and a powerful root-cause analysis to help users find, fix and avoid quality issues throughout products’ entire lifecycles, from the time products are manufactured to when they are returned by a customer, should that occur. The SigmaSure modules include: Manufacturing & Test Insight, Supplier Quality Insight, Maverick Analysis, RMA & Warranty Insight, Repair & Rework Insight, and Process Flow Visualization (PFV). The company’s market-changing approach has been recognized in Managing Automation’s Top Ten Companies to Watch, Manufacturing Business Technology’s Top 40 Emerging Vendors, Test & Measurement World’s “Best in Test” awards, and Supply & Demand Chain Executive’s “Executive 100” list.
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