Extending its push to enable a more interconnected manufacturing enterprise, Apriso Corp. late last week released a new version of its quality management software that is said to add real-time visibility and stricter controls over key aspects of the production process.
Functioning as an integrated component of its FlexNet Operations Execution Platform, which includes MES, WMS, CMMS, manufacturing intelligence, and time and labor software modules that tap a single data model, FlexNet Quality takes the basic principles of quality management -- traditionally the concern of a single area of the business -- and applies them across the entire enterprise and supply chain network, the company said.
The new functionality adds visibility to quality noncompliance in manufacturing operations, and fosters improved workflows and decreased cycle times, the company added.
The integrated nature of Apriso's software modules is a major part of its competitive differentiation, Tom Comstock, Apriso's senior vice president of product management, said in an interview.
Simon Jacobson, manufacturing operations analyst with AMR Research, agreed. While the "majority of MES vendors have quality functions baked into their applications," he said in an interview with Managing Automation, they either don't reach far beyond traditional applications, or, more significantly, they partner with third-party vendors for quality functions -- which can introduce issues with disparate data models, Jacobson said.
This is significant to an organization trying to implement a lean initiative, according to Comstock. FlexNet's use of an integrated solution negates the need for re-entering data into multiple systems each time a different function is performed throughout the plant, or at different sites.
Eliminating stovepipes is critical to consistently improving manufacturing quality across the far-flung enterprise, Jacobson noted. Manufacturers often are able to "contain issues with a single site, but multiple sites is a hurdle," he said, noting that FlexNet's process-based architecture and unified data model enable application interoperability across the platform. This allows best practices to be shared throughout the enterprise and minimizes variability throughout a production lifecycle, Jacobsen added. That, in turn, can be the difference between catching an event early in the production run, before it results in costly scrap.
With FlexNet Quality, manufacturers can "roll up key performance indicators [KPIs] and dashboards" -- for example, as defined for one facility -- and deploy them across facilities, Apriso said.
Moreover, FlexNet's process-building capabilities eliminate the need to "hire a team of system integrators" each time two or more programs need to talk to each other, Comstock stressed. "A lot of [other vendors'] quality products are designed to be purchased by the Quality department but not necessarily tie into manufacturing or WMS operations," Comstock claimed.
Comstock also said the new version of Quality provides flexibility in the way it is deployed, meaning a manufacturer can decide how much data management is done within the ERP system and how much is done in the plant via an MES, for example.
Most of Apriso's customers are large organizations that want their SAP ERP to remain the main material repository, Comstock said. Apriso takes that data and applies quality , he added.
FlexNet Quality supports the prerequisites for effective implementation of Six Sigma, including implementation of the DMAIC process (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control) and SPC (statistical process control) techniques, Apriso said. It also assists with ISO 2859 implementation, complying with other quality standards and the institutionalization of local initiatives as methodical, global programs, according to the company.
Quality is a big driver in many industries, but particularly in aerospace and defense, where one of Apriso's major customers, an unnamed missile manufacturer, recently deployed FlexNet Quality to work with its ERP system, Comstock said.
Apriso also counts process manufacturers among its major customers in industries such as mills (pulp & paper, metals, where complex production parameters such as thickness and moisture provide challenges to quality control).
Quality is also an issue across the globe, Comstock said, pointing to China, where some Apriso customers and prospects are beginning to realize the need to compete on quality, not just on price.
FlexNet's pricing model is based on factors including the number of sites running the software, the number of people or pieces of equipment tied into the system, and how many, and which, modules a customer buys.