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More customisation on production quality software

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jun 15, 2001

Material Quality Management, available as a stand alone product, is also now an integrated option with the new fifth-generation of QISoft's production, quality and environment management software

Accurate, timely and relevant information is the cornerstone for any industrial process quality system.

A new fifth-generation of QISoft's production, quality and environment management software will meet this need for applications in food and beverage production, chemical processing, paper manufacture, printing, converting and other continuous process industries.

Built on the same robust logic as QIS4, a product proven by such demanding users as Unilever and Avery Dennison, version five will offer more user definable options and customisation.

Material Quality Management (MQM), available as a stand alone product, is also now a fully integrated option with QIS5.

Users can monitor performance from raw material receipt, through production to customer distribution.

There are now more charting options to choose from and users have greater freedom to define areas of criticality, scale the screens and to interrogate data.

Through the extensive data library it is possible, using simple double-clicks, to conduct a detailed drill down analysis by event, customer, product class, shift or batch.

A major addition is the document management module that enables organisations to centrally manage all process related documents.

An extensive library of associated documents may be accessed from within the programme.

This makes it possible to recall to screen at any time documents such as reference product data, bills of materials, QA standards, health and safety standards, ISO 9000 procedures, hazard analysis critical control points, environmental specifications and so on.

Through the powerful QIS Report Writer customer specification documents such as certificates of analysis can be quickly designed and e-mailed directly to the customer prior to delivery of the finished product.

Universal changes are now easy to implement.

Critical parameters, such as moisture content or weight can be standardised over a complete range of products without the need to call up and change each individual specification.

Formula changes where one parameter changes as a proportion of another can also be pre-programmed.

Similarly, variations to bills of materials or recipes can be made and stored as versions of an existing document.

For QA purposes all such variations are fully documented with details of who made the change, when and who approved the amendment.

The system can be programmed to recognise and block unauthorised changes.

Likewise changes can be set for implementation at a specified time.

QIS Process Link has been redesigned to give more flexibility when interfacing with leading enterprise resource planning and process control systems.

Information flow is integrated and smooth without the need for re-keying; this eliminates time lags and potential sources of error.

By making management data readily available to the wider work group timely intervention is possible to control quality and remove waste.

QIS5 presents a familiar screen set to users.

The logic behind the system is unchanged and data entry is exactly the same.

Screen colours still give clear visual confirmation of status: green for in-specification, yellow for borderline and red when the process is outside required standards? The new software suite is simple to install, intuitive and easy to learn.

Full training and consultant support are also available.

Tim Perris of QISoft explained, "We have listened carefully to feedback from users of QIS 4.

Our aim with QIS 5 has been to provide customers with easily accessible information, in a usable format so that they can take more effective control of their processes.

Existing users will find the program familiar but support will be given during changeover and training can be delivered on client premises or off site.".