By means of constant searching for the causes of errors, all systems from production and back office as well as other business activities should be continuously improved. iqs CAQ system is based on the principles of W. Edwards Deming and strives for quality and continuous improvement (CIP) within the production process. All iqs modules are based on the PDCA system.

Expect the unexpected
iqs FMEA

The FMEA plays a central role in the iqs CAQ system and is the pivotal point for effective error prevention. But iqs goes a step further. All complaints and deviations that occur within a products life cycle including the analysis thereof, result in a change in the corresponding FMEA. An immediate feedback to planning occurs creating a control loop between complaints management and FMEA. That means all production experiences are collected in the FMEA and can be used as a knowledge pool for the business. Each newly created FMEA can access the quality know-how of the business.

Plan–planning,
a continuous process

A solid quality planning is the basis for stable processes and the minimization of inspection and failure costs. Before start of production all requirements and specifications together with potential product and process errors must be identified and corresponding actions set in place.

Do – produce
quality

From the control of goods received, to production accompanying inspection and onto the administration of inspection equipment – everything is relevant to production quality. As later inspections on quality assurance are costly, these should only be carried out where failures are to be expected. Therefore it is important to use all findings and knowledge not only for determining the current quality situation but also for expanding the knowledge pool of the business. Functioning control loop processes that are applied to deviations as well as the documentation have a special meaning.

Check – comparison
with reality

In order to avoid repeated errors it is important during the quality planning that prognosis are compared to reality. At start of production defined actions are checked for their effectively and corrected if necessary.

Act – learn
from mistakes

Knowledge is gained during the complete product development. These findings are priceless when actively used for process optimization. This is where iqs CAQ comes into its own. All data is recorded centrally. Errors, complaints and information feeds back into all modules and lifts quality to a new level. The goal; sustainable error prevention.