New FlexNet offering provides real-time results for immediate corrective action and corporate planning.
Apriso, a purveyor of manufacturing operations management software, rolled out a new version of its FlexNet quality execution application that acts as an enterprise quality management hub.
The latest version of FlexNet Quality 3.0, unveiled earlier this month, allows quality characteristics to be collected according to an inspection plan residing within FlexNet, instead of relying on external systems such as ERP, which may lead to unnecessary delays or disruption of material flows, impacting lean and other continuous improvement initiatives, the company said.
This integrated data model creates and expands sampling procedures — including those based on ISO 2859 sampling standards for inspection of attributes — which can then be scheduled across manufacturing, warehouse, and supply chain operations. Results are available in real time, enabling immediate corrective actions as well as providing valuable information to corporate planning and reporting activities within enterprise applications, such as ERP and PLM.
Apriso’s FlexNet delivers all the functionality of a quality management system (QMS), leveraging a unified data model to join multiple quality, traceability, and containment management capabilities working across a manufacturer’s operations, the company said.
“Manufacturers can leverage FlexNet Quality Planning to perform inspections within production, warehouse, and supply chain processes before final assembly,” said John Fishell, Apriso’s director of product management, in a statement. “Based on the inspection results, corrective actions can then be performed in a timely manner, whether that involves containment, process adjustment, or a complete shutdown of production. The direct result is a lower total cost of quality and an overall reduction of ‘muda,’ or waste.”
Recognizing that one size doesn’t fits all, Apriso has designed the quality application to be modular, including as much or as little quality management functionality as needed so that manufacturers can complement and leverage their existing IT, QMS, or ERP investments.