Arena Solutions today announced a partnership with 1factory to provide OEMs with complete visibility of product quality from initial design through the quality control processes on their factory floors and across their supply chain. With this partnership, customers have an end-to-end quality control solution capable of identifying non-conformance to specifications early in the design/manufacture process and can accelerate the necessary corrective actions.
1factory’s cloud-based platform enables OEMs to employ a single quality inspection testing system for all parts and assemblies throughout the extended supply chain. The 1factory platform simplifies inspection and test planning, digitizes production floor measurement data, enables traceability (by batch, lot, serial number, operator, inspection equipment, etc.), and delivers real-time analysis to help prevent defects and improve processes.
The integrated solution connects product information in Arena with quality control data in 1factory. With the integration, inspection plans in 1factory are revised in sync with engineering changes in Arena. Associated documents such as drawings, work instructions, and inspection procedures, created and controlled within Arena, can be accessed directly from 1factory. When parts or assemblies fail inspection or test, a quality inspector can create an Arena quality object - a non-conformance material report (NCMR), supplier corrective action (SCAR), or if sufficiently serious, a corrective action preventative action (CAPA) - directly from within 1factory.
The 1factory integration with Arena provides a comprehensive quality assurance solution for OEMs and their supply chain partners. Together, the OEM and the supplier can identify quality issues, collaborate on resolutions and document the action plan from within a single quality process. Engineering teams have complete visibility with links between components and suppliers for all quality issues as they assess the part for future product inclusion. Impacted teams will be able to proactively analyze products returned from the field against the component’s design specifications and factory inspection data, driving a closed-loop quality process from manufacturing, to field repair, to the engineering team, in order to optimize product manufacturing quality and reduce field repair costs.
“I am excited that we’ve connected manufacturing quality processes at suppliers directly to the OEM’s quality, manufacturing, and engineering teams” said Steve Chalgren, executive vice president of product management and chief strategy officer at Arena. “Too often, the quality inspection results significantly lag the actual production process, making it extremely difficult for engineering teams to undertake proactive analysis. Now they can.”
“At 1factory, we’re focused on helping our customers ensure quality at source,” said Nipun Girotra, president at 1factory. “Combined with Arena, our customers now have complete visibility of all parts from design through manufacturing. Creating a comprehensive profile of parts and suppliers, related inspection plans, and inspection results provides more informed purchasing and design decisions early in the process.”