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Quality
Quality
SAP ERP
A comprehensive approach
to quality management
one that integrates information and processes across
departments and corporate
boundaries empowers
your employees and supply
chain partners to maintain
and improve quality levels.
The SAP ERP application
provides a single, powerful
solution that lets you take
a comprehensive, broadbased approach to total
quality management. It
delivers a wide range of integrated quality management
functionality and supports
collaborative business processes for cost-effectively
ensuring the quality of your
products and processes and
transforming quality management into a competitive
advantage.
Quality Management
with SAP ERP
CONTENT
4 To the Reader
5 Modern Quality Management:
An Integrated Management
Approach
5 Offering a Total Quality
Management Solution
6 Internal and External Integration
8 Quality Management with
SAP ERP
8 Take a Closed-Loop Approach
to Total Quality Management
9 The Planning Phase
11 The Implementation Phase
16 The Usage Phase
18 Inspection Planning: Putting
Quality Strategies into Action
18 Closed-Loop Inspection Planning: Failure Mode and Effects
Analysis and Control Plan
20 Integrated Inspection Planning
21 Basic Data for Inspection
Planning
23 Planning Tools
25 Quality Inspections:
Achieving Reliable Results
25 Inspection Lot Processing
28 Inspection Results
32 Sample Management
34 Quality Certificates:
Guaranteed Reliability
Printed or on the Internet
34 Certificate Processing in
Sales and Distribution
35 Certificate Creation
Meeting Your Requirements
36 Certificate Processing at
Goods Receipt
37 Collaborative Business:
Certificate Data for the
Whole Company
To the Reader
SAP ERP is designed for easy integration with other SAP and non-SAP applications for supply chain management,
customer relationship management,
supplier relationship management, and
enterprise resource planning. As a
result, it streamlines information sharing and supports true end-to-end
business processes.
Service-Oriented
Architecture
Knowledge
Management
SAP
SCM
Sales and
Distribution
SAP
NetWeaver BW
Customer
Service
Plant
Maintenance
Production Planning/
Process Industries
Controlling
QM within
SAP ERP
Classification
System
Quality
Manager
Materials
Management
Quality Planning
Quality Inspections
Quality Control
Quality Certificates
Quality Improvement
Test Equipment Management
Audit Management
SAP Business
Workflow
Document
Management
System
Office
Quality
Planner
External
URL
Production
Planning
Engineering
Change
Management
SAP
ArchiveLink
Inspection
Planner
Test Equipment
Manager
Notification
Processor
Quality
Inspector
Figure 1: Internal and External Integration of Quality Management with SAP ERP
Benefits:
Increased customer
satisfaction through
better product quality
and enhanced complaint management
and tracking (corrective and preventive
action)
Increased revenues
by retaining custom
ers and strengthening
customer loyalty
Increased efficiency
through improved
asset utilization
Market
research
Disposal
Maintenance
Design
Testing
Usage
Planning
Production
planning
Shipping
Implementation
Warehousing
Procurement
Final
inspection
Production
10
Six Sigma
Having SAP ERP and SAP Business
Suite in place in your company allows
you to implement your Six Sigma
initiative. SAP ERP supports most of
the elements that are essential for Six
Sigma, such as the definition of a
structured problem-solving road map
such as DMAIC (define, measure,
analyze, improve, and control); a clear
setup of tasks and responsible persons
by using collaborative projects software; the calculation of risks and costs;
the linking of related documents, notifications, inspections, and audits; the
determination of capability and performance indicators, for example, from
statistical process control (SPC) monitoring of control charts and Cpk index;
and a failure mode and effects analysis.
Process data can be extracted from
the source and transferred into SAP
NetWeaver BW and an executive information system for general analysis
purposes. SAP NetWeaver BW and the
executive information system provide
all the functions needed for calculating
key performance indicators (KPIs),
feeding balanced scorecards, or other
assessment techniques.
Collaborative scenario:
quality notifications
In the product development stage,
if you are working with customers or
partners, QM with SAP ERP offers you
the opportunity to initiate product ideas
or changes to products using quality
notifications. Customer complaints,
which can be entered on the Internet,
can be used to determine product quality. Vendors can ask for permission to
deviate from specifications if they
11
12
Source inspection
Occasionally, inspections can be performed at the vendors premises to
replace a goods receipt inspection.
If this occurs, the software takes the
target delivery deadline into account
and creates an inspection lot in time
for the source inspection. You can now
perform a source inspection at the
vendors site, because it is possible
for you to access SAP ERP using
SAP NetWeaver Portal. This is possible even if the vendor does not use
SAP ERP.
Goods Receipt
Reminder
Certificate
Requirement
Inspection Lot:
Confirm receipt when or after
making usage decision
No
No Inspection Lot:
Post goods to blocked stock
Certificate
Included?
Yes
Update Certificate Record
Dynamic modification
If the quality of a supply relationship is
consistently high, you may want to
waive the goods receipt inspection,
particularly if the vendor has a certified
QM system. For partial lots, you can
set the software to inspect a goods
receipt only once for each purchase
order, goods receipt, or batch. If you
do not want to waive the goods receipt
inspection completely, you can reduce
the scope of the inspection as far as
the quality level allows. The reduction
of the inspection scope may lead to a
skip lot. If you allow a skip lot and an
automatic usage decision for a material, the software processes skipped lots
without intervention. It then immediately posts the inspection lot quantity to
unrestricted-use stock (ship to stock).
Receiving inspection
If the prerequisites for ship to stock
are not fulfilled, SAP ERP automatically
triggers inspection lot processing upon
goods receipt. In addition to the goods
receipt document, the application
also creates an inspection lot record,
selects an appropriate inspection plan,
and determines the sample size based
on the quality level.
Physical-sample drawing
If goods are delivered in containers,
you can take samples in accordance
with a sample-drawing procedure. The
documents you need (such as sampledrawing instructions, sample labels,
and inspection instructions) are available for printing immediately. You can
then proceed with the inspection.
Inspection completion
The processing of an inspection lot
in QM with SAP ERP ends after the
inspection is completed and the usage
decision is made (see Figure 4). The
accepted inspection lot quantity is
posted manually or automatically to
unrestricted-use stock. Special stock
postings are available to you for
rejected quantities, including posting
to blocked stock, transfer posting to a
different material, returning to the vendor, or posting to scrap. If the material
is handled in batches, the software
proposes a batch status that is compatible with the usage decision.
Once the usage decision is made,
SAP ERP updates the quality level and
the QM information system and makes
the quality score of the inspection lot
available for the vendor evaluation.
SAP ERP also updates material and
vendor information in the quality data
record. For example, once the
inspection lot has been completed,
Purchase
Order
No
Goods
Receipt
Quality
Notification
Inspection
Stock in Quality
Inspection
Yes
UnrestrictedUse Stock
13
Production
Materials planning
When you are inspecting raw materials
or semifinished products, the planned
duration of the receiving inspection is
taken into account in materials
planning.
Inspection during production
QM with SAP ERP integrates quality
inspections into the production process
(see Figure 5). It supports different
types of production, from order-related,
lot-based production and the assembly
process in mechanical engineering,
through repetitive manufacturing in the
automotive industry, to batch-based
process manufacturing in the chemicals, pharmaceutical, and food and
beverage industries.
You can initiate inspections on the
basis of different types of goods movements. Inspection lots can be created
automatically when a material component is removed or when a product for
the production or process order is processed at goods receipt.
Inspection Lot 1
4711
Automatic
Defects
Recording
Inspection Point
Quality
Notification
Characteristic Target
Length
50.0 mm
Width
30.0 mm
Actual
49.8 mm
31.2 mm
Tasks
14
Inspection points
Several inspections are performed
for each inspection characteristic.
Inspection points can be userdefined, and they can be planned
in advance if necessary. They can
be related to production quantities
or production times (for example,
inspection of a wire basket or silo
once during each shift or every two
hours).
Physical samples
These can be planned in advance
using a sample-drawing procedure,
or they can be unplanned.
Partial lots
Production quantities of the same
quality can be grouped together.
Batches
Inspection results can be used for
batch determination at a later stage;
for example, they can be applied
when choosing products at the delivery stage or when deciding which
subcomponents to use for
production.
Serial numbers
This applies if the inspection results
are to be assigned to a single unit.
In this case, the serial numbers can
be copied from the production order.
Inspection completion
The inspection is completed when the
usage decision is made. Employees
with appropriate authorizations can
post stock quantities, classify charges
according to their quality, and perform
Variant configuration
in the sales order
At the time of sales order creation,
customers can specify quality characteristics for the desired variant. This
information then flows into all inspections during production in the form of
inspection specifications.
15
Batches determination
If you manage the stock of a material in
batches, QM with SAP ERP allows you
to select suitable batches at delivery
using batch characteristics. These
characteristics can be populated with
quality results via valuation based on
multiple specifications.
Inspection for delivery
or for goods issue
Inspection lots can be created at the
picking stage or at goods issue. After
you have chosen a suitable inspection
plan, the sample size is calculated and
shop papers (sample-drawing items,
inspection instructions, and sample
labels) are printed. When the inspection results have been recorded, the
inspection is completed with the usage
decision.
Certificate at goods issue
At goods issue, you can use a quality
certificate to document that the inspection results are in accordance with the
customers specifications. You can
enter inspection characteristics from
the inspection plan and characteristics
that were defined in the batch determination as inspection specifications on
the certificate. The form, content, and
means of output are customer-specific.
These are derived from the specifications made by the recipient of the certificate at picking or at goods issue.
Quality data interchange
Formatted quality data contained in a
quality certificate can be sent electronically and then automatically transferred
into an inspection lot at the customer
site. It is also possible to make this
data available on the Internet.
16
Processing complaints
and handling returns
You can create customer complaints as
quality notifications on the Internet. You
can document defects and tasks, and
you can also perform various follow-up
functions using the action box. For
example, you can process returns or
repair orders, enter costs, perform
stock postings, or trigger inspections.
Batch management
Materials management can manage
stocks for materials in batches, and it
can recognize the difference between
batches in unrestricted-use or blocked
stock.
You can use QM with SAP ERP to
monitor the shelf life of batches and
deadlines for recurring inspections. In
addition, you can change the batch
status and perform stock postings
automatically. For example, you can
post to blocked stock when the expiry
date is exceeded.
Batch tracking
The batch where-used list helps you
determine which raw-material batches
or semifinished products make up the
batch of a finished product (top-down
analysis) or, conversely, which batches
of semifinished or finished products
are made up of a particular batch of a
raw material (bottom-up analysis). The
where-used list also forms the basis
for printing inspection results from the
previous assembly stages (for example,
semifinished products) for an end
product on a quality certificate.
17
18
Specification
Characteristics
CAD
Stamping
FMEA
(Product/
Process)
Defects
Characteristics
Control
Plan
Defects
Characteristics
Inspection
Plan
Defects
Characteristics
Defects
Complaints
(8D-Method) Characteristics
SPC
Zero-Defect
Production
Defects
Characteristics
Characteristics
8D = eight disciplines
CAD = computer-aided design
FMEA = failure mode and effects analysis
SPC = statistical process control
Figure 7: Closed-Loop Inspection Planning According to ISO/TS 16949
Within the closed-loop inspection planning, you usually start an FMEA for a
product to evaluate product- and
process-related characteristics with a
high failure risk. These characteristics
are transferred into the control plan.
The control plan includes an overview
of all inspections that are relevant for
a particular product and all its components. This is the basis for developing
inspection plans and inspection operations in the subsequent production
process.
Once a product is part of serialized or
mass production, it is still necessary to
check the previously defined risks as
well as the control plan itself. In the
course of the continuous improvement
19
Inspection Plan 1
Material 1
Material 2
Vendor 1
Vendor 2
Operation 1
Operation 2
Operation 3
Customer 1
Customer 2
Inspection Plan 5
Characteristic 1
Inspection Plan 6
Inspection Plan 7
Characteristic 2
Operation 4
20
Method 1
Administrative data
This type of data can include the
validity date, change status,
responsible planner group, task-list
usage, and processing status.
Control data
This type of data can include the
dynamic modification rule for
adapting the inspection scope.
Operation
You can maintain the following information for each inspection operation:
A description of the operation and
control parameters for the operation
Reference to a work center
Specifications for scheduling and
calculating the appraisal costs
List of relevant test equipment,
documents, and production resource
tools
Inspection Method
An inspection method describes how
a characteristic is to be inspected.
You can assign documents that are
stored in a document management
system (such as drawings and descriptions) to an inspection method. Inspection methods are assigned to master
inspection characteristics or inspection
characteristics in task lists. You can
assign several inspection methods to
a master inspection characteristic.
Characteristic
In the inspection characteristic, you
can:
Specify the characteristic description
and define the control parameters for
results recording
Reference an inspection method,
sampling procedure, or a dynamic
modification rule
Define qualitative or quantitative
specifications for the inspection and
results recording, depending on the
characteristic type
Define individual specifications for
every task-list assignment to a
material, vendor, or customer. This
means you do not have to create
redundant inspection plans to modify
customer- or material-dependent
target values and tolerances.
Figure 11: Inspection Plan Structure and the Use of Master Data in Inspection Plans
21
Catalog
A catalog is a summary of codes for
content-related terms. Catalogs can
make it easy to uniformly describe qualitative data (for example, attributes for
qualitative characteristics, defect types,
or usage decisions). For each catalog,
you can:
Define code groups with codes and
enter explanatory texts in different
languages
Select codes from one or more code
groups and combine them in a selected set. This allows you to create a
value list that applies to a specific
situation.
Sampling Procedure
and Sampling Scheme
The sampling procedure specifies how
the sample size is calculated and how
the inspection characteristic is valuated
(attributive, variable, or manual). You
assign sampling procedures in the
material master or in the task list at
characteristic level.
QM with SAP ERP supports all common
sampling types (for example, 100%
inspection, sample based on percentage, fixed sample, and sample in accordance with a sampling scheme). If the
sampling types and valuation rules provided with the standard software are
not sufficient, you can supplement them
with your own self-defined function
modules.
22
You can plan independent and dependent multiple samples and record the
inspection results from several samples
for an inspection characteristic. Each
of these samples may contain several
values, and each is valuated individually.
On the basis of the individual sample
results, SAP ERP automatically determines the characteristic result (for
example, based on the worst-case
principle).
Ready-to-use sampling schemes in
accordance with ISO 2859-1 for qualitative inspections and ISO 3951 for
quantitative inspections are delivered
with SAP ERP and any upgrades. You
can also create your own acceptable
quality level (AQL) sampling schemes
and define rules for automatic stage
changes up to an inspection skip. You
can also implement industry-specific
procedures.
Dynamic Modification Rule
In a dynamic modification rule, you
define the number of inspections and
skip stages, and the rules that control
such stage changes, either in accordance with appropriate standards such
as ISO 2859-3 or to suit your own
requirements. The sample size may vary
between a 100% inspection and a skip.
When you use a sampling scheme, the
software switches between a normal,
reduced, and tightened inspection,
depending on the quality level.
The inspection stage is then changed
depending on the inspection results for
inspection lots or characteristics. You
can control the dynamic modification of
the inspection stages either by accepting or rejecting the inspection lot or
Processing area
Change number
Key date
Validity area
Key date
Time frame
Context block
Planning Tools
The following sections discuss various
planning tools provided by QM with
SAP ERP. Such tools include the engineering workbench, product structure
browser, and where-used lists.
Engineering Workbench
The engineering workbench, shown in
Figure 12, is an efficient tool that you
can use to process several task lists
simultaneously (routings, reference
operation sets, and inspection plans).
The data you require can be read from
different task lists and restructured.
You can perform a variety of tasks
using the engineering workbench,
including the following:
Structural
display
Detail screens
Integration into
document
management
23
24
Stability Studies
SAP ERP provides a comprehensive
planning tool for stability studies or
shelf-life tests.
The special quality notification type
stability study is the central business
object that represents a stability study
in the application. All of the following
objects created in the course of a
study are assigned to the quality
notification:
Initial sample
Stability bill of material (BOM)
Various documents
Inspection lot for initial test
Physical samples (stability samples
for storage conditions)
Testing schedule for storage conditions with corresponding inspection
plans
Inspection lots for stability tests
You can assign other objects that are
defined as business objects in SAP
applications to the stability study. Using
the document flow function for quality
notifications, you can graphically display all objects assigned to a study and
their relationship to one another.
Based on this setup, you can trigger
various process steps that need to be
executed in the course of a stability
study, including the following:
Creating and confirming the initial
sample
Assigning and processing the stability BOM
Defining storage conditions
Creating and maintaining the testing
schedule
Starting the initial test
Benefits:
Integrated inspection
planning
Lighter workload as
a result of modular,
reusable basic data
Efficient management
of inspection data
using mass processing tools
Parallel task-list
processing using
the engineering
workbench
Time and money
savings with crosssystem data transfer
by means of application link enabling
Quality Inspections:
Achieving Reliable Results
As a quality inspector, you are responsible for proving that a material meets
predefined quality requirements. With
QM with SAP ERP, you can show that
these requirements have been met.
Inspections can be triggered for inspection points during production, for physical samples in the process industry,
or automatically for goods movements.
Planned inspections in QM with
SAP ERP can be used to document
quality using quantitative and qualitative
inspection results. In addition, you
can also create a record of unplanned
events in the form of defect data or
quality notifications.
For all quality inspection tasks, SAP
ERP and SAP NetWeaver provide you
with the tools you require for the role of
quality inspector, as well as the opportunity to customize the settings:
With SAP NetWeaver Portal you
have a role-based portal with work
centers that are tailored specifically
to the needs of the quality inspector
for results and defects recording,
notification creation and processing,
confirmation processing for production orders, and execution of quality
reports.
With QM functions in SAP ERP you
have support for all the required
steps for recording and documenting
quality-related data as well as tools
for integrated processing and evaluation of the data.
With support for collaborative business, your internal and external business partners can record inspection
results on an intranet or the Internet.
There are different variants for inspection lot processing. In QM with SAP
ERP, these are defined as inspection
types (for example, goods receipt
inspection and inspection during production). The variants include:
Inspection with or without a task list
or material specification
Recording of inspection characteristic results and defect data
Manual or automatic specification
assignment, sample determination,
and usage decisions
Control of inspection stock posting
Inspection Lot
Creation
Determine samples
Print shop papers
Confirm activities
Complete inspection
Inspection
Inspection Lot
Completion
25
Creating
inspection lot
Determining
the inspection
specifications
Determining
the sample
Printing shop
papers
26
Making the
usage decision
Determining
the quality score
Updating the
quality level
Performing
follow-up actions
27
Inspection Results
There are two types of inspection
results in QM with SAP ERP (see
Figure 16):
Results for the planned inspection
of inspection characteristics (characteristic inspection results)
Unplanned defects defined during
the inspection (defect data)
Characteristic inspection results are
generally recorded for each operation.
For this, inspection specifications must
be assigned to the inspection lot, and
sample calculation must be completed.
You can record both characteristic
inspection results and defect data
for an inspection lot with a task list.
If characteristics are rejected, defect
data records can be created automatically. Also, you can record defects in
an inspection without inspection
specifications.
Characteristic Results
You record and valuate characteristic
results according to inspection
specifications.
Characteristic types
You can record inspection results for
the following types of characteristics:
Qualitative characteristics
Nonnumerical characteristic values
or variables stemming from these
values
Quantitative characteristics
Measured values or variables stemming from these values
Recording forms
Depending on the detail you require,
you can choose from the following
recording forms for a characteristic:
Summarized values such as the
mean value and standard deviation
of several measured values or an
individual measured value
Unplanned
Planned
Defect Data
Characteristic
Results
Defect Data
Defect Type
Defect Location
Cause
Qualitative
Characteristic
Active Quality
Notification
Figure 16: Types of Inspection Results
28
Quantitative
Characteristic
Quality
Control
Valuation
You can confirm the characteristic
inspection results recorded in different
inspection operations. During results
recording, an inspection characteristic
undergoes a series of status changes.
The authorization management function
controls who has the authorization to
record, valuate, or close results. To
fulfill special security requirements, for
example, GMP, a digital signature may
be required.
You can use the following valuation
modes to accept or reject an inspection result:
Manual valuation
Attributive inspection based on the
number of nonconforming units or
defects
Decision based on the attribute
codes of qualitative characteristics
Decision based on the tolerance
range of quantitative characteristics
Variable inspection with single-sided
or double-sided tolerance limits
Valuation based on the action limits
of a control chart
Characteristics with independent, multiple samples are valuated at the sample
level. For example, you might valuate
such samples based on the worst-case
principle, last-case principle, or bestcase principle. You may also valuate
inspection points.
Inspection points
You can use inspection points to
perform several inspections on one
characteristic. You can define various
inspection points in SAP ERP,
including:
29
Results Copy
The copy inspection results function:
Copies inspection results from a
source inspection lot into a target
inspection lot
Is highly flexible and can be tailored
to your needs
Supports several business
processes
Is a requirement from various
industries
This function is applicable for the transfer of results from precursors along the
production chain (parent-child relationships) and for all types of recurring
inspections, including the following:
Periodic retests of batches
Only some characteristics need to be
reinspected, but all values from the
initial inspection should be visible in
every inspection lot.
Calibration inspections
During inspections of equipment or
functional locations, some values of
the previous inspection lot should
be taken as the new starting point.
Stability studies
Some results from the initial test
should always be available when
scheduled inspections are carried
out.
Inspections during production
Results of previous inspection points
should be selected and copied to the
next inspection point.
The function for copying inspection
results supports you in your inspection
process in the following ways:
Saves time during inspection
processing
Is applicable for a wide range of
processes
30
PC interface
You can transfer inspection results
from a measuring device into the relevant results fields in SAP ERP using file
transfer. You can trigger the results
transfer from external systems and also
from within the results recording function in SAP ERP using driver programs.
SAP provides examples for the driver
programs.
Inspection data interface
The QM inspection data interface
(QM-IDI) supports data exchange with
external quality systems, such as
computer-aided quality assurance
(CAQ) systems and laboratory infor
mation management systems (LIMS).
You use QM-IDI to process inspections
in an external system.
During inspection planning, you decide
in which system an inspection operation should be processed. The inspection specifications are transferred to
the external system during inspection
lot creation in SAP ERP. After results
are recorded in the external system,
the inspection results or usage decisions are confirmed in SAP ERP. You
can protect your IT investment by
requiring that the external system is
certified for the interface.
Figure 17: Example for Portal Work Center for a Quality Inspector
Statistical interface
The QM statistical interface (QM-STI)
links QM functionality with SAP ERP
to external evaluation systems. As a
result, you can perform evaluations that
are not supported by the statistical
functions in SAP ERP for results
recording (control charts, histograms,
and process capability indexes). You
can use a format defined by SAP to
31
32
Sample Management
When sample management is active in
QM with SAP ERP, you can use the
application to manage samples. To help
you manage samples effectively, a
unique physical-sample record is
created for each physical sample. The
physical-sample record contains the
following information for the sample:
Physical-sample number
Physical-sample type, such as sample from goods receipt, production,
or customer complaint
Physical-sample category, such as
primary sample, pooled sample, or
reserve sample
Information for the physical-sample
drawing with data on the sample
origin, such as material, batch,
material document, and order
Detailed information about the physical sample, such as the inspection
lot or storage information
Processing status of the physical
sample
When the inspection planner defines a
sample-drawing procedure and assigns
it to the inspection plan, routing, or
master recipe, physical-sample records
are created automatically for the
Valuation
Once you have performed all inspection operations and have recorded the
inspection results, the physical samples must be valuated on the basis of
the operations (that is, accepted or
rejected). When all physical samples
in the inspection lot are valuated, you
make the usage decision for the lot.
Unplanned Samples
It is possible to manage unplanned
samples using QM with SAP ERP. You
can perform the following tasks:
Create the physical samples manually
without reference to an existing
physical-sample drawing or inspection lot
Supplement an existing physicalsample drawing by creating additional
physical samples
Create a new physical-sample
drawing manually, with reference to
an existing inspection lot, production
order, process order, or production
version
Benefits:
Integrates in the
process of the
product lifecycle and
the supply chain
Provides real-time
data, transparent
for employees,
compliant with legal
requirements
Creation
Planned
Physical Samples
Unplanned
Physical Samples
33
Quality Certificates:
Guaranteed Reliability
Printed or on the Internet
Certificate Processing
in Sales and Distribution
Your company produces high-quality
products. As quality manager, it is your
responsibility to provide evidence of
the quality of your goods for your customers. Whether you require certificates of analysis for the chemical or
pharmaceutical industry, or certificates
of conformity, test certificates, workstest certificates, or inspection certificates for material inspection laboratories in the steel industry the quality
certificate fulfills all of your
requirements.
In addition to the usual output forms
for certificates (printer or fax), you can
make certificates available to your
customers on the Internet, or you can
transfer certificate data electronically
for further processing.
Flexible Certificate Planning
You define the layout and content of a
certificate in certificate planning. The
form determines the layout of the document that is, the appearance and
Product:
Batch:
Char:
Char:
RAW01
R1-1
R10
R11
Product: SEMI01
Batch:
S1-1
Product:
Batch:
Char:
Char:
RAW02
R2-2
R10
R11
Product: SEMI02
Batch:
R2-1
Char:
S20
Product: RAW03
Batch:
R3-1
Char:
R30
Product:
Batch:
Char:
Char:
SEMI3-1
S3-1
S31
S32
Product:
Batch:
Char:
Char:
SEMI04
S4-1
S41
S42
Product:
Batch:
Char:
Char:
FIN01
F1-1
F10
R11
Product: R10
Batch: S20
Char:
S41
Char:
F10
Figure 19: Example of a Quality Certificate for a Finished Product with Characteristic Values from Raw Materials and Semifinished Products
34
Certificate Creation
Meeting Your Requirements
For single delivery items, certificates
are issued automatically when goods
are shipped, together with delivery
notes. These certificates are then
included with goods deliveries. You can
create certificates at any stage of the
shipment process, as long as the data
required is accessible; for example,
when picking is completed or goods
are issued. If you want to make certificates available to customers before
goods delivery, you can make them
accessible on the Internet or send them
electronically.
35
Benefits:
Easy creation
of certificates
Automatic warnings if
a certificate is missing
at goods receipt
Fewer errors by using
electronic data transfer at goods receipt
Time and money savings through using
individualized and fully
automatic certificate
creation for deliveries
System-independent
access of certificates
on the Internet or
intranet
Multiple output
formats: XML, PDF,
fax, or print
Electronic transfer
of quality data to your
business partners
Certificate Processing
at Goods Receipt
As a quality inspector, you are responsible for monitoring the receipt of certificates during the procurement process.
If you have marked a material as requiring a certificate, you must confirm that
a quality certificate has been received
for purchase orders or goods receipts.
You generally confirm this information
at goods receipt. However, you can
wait to confirm that a certificate has
36
Vendor
SAP ERP
Certificate
Creation
Customer
IDOC*
Reference Data
IDOC
Reference Data
EDI**
Quality Data
Certificate (PDF)
XML
Other
Reference Data
Quality Data
Certificate
Record
Certificate (PDF)
Certificate (PDF)
Optical Archive
37
Notification Processing
Unplanned
Event
Internet/
intranet
Description/
assignment
Workflow
Analysis
Solution
database
38
Tasks/
activities
Entering costs
Solution
Evaluations
Action
box
Status
management
Customers
Company
Customer
complaint
Complaint
against
the vendor
Vendors
Internal
problems
Notification Processing
If you manually enter and process general notifications, you can use simplified or enhanced processing views.
The simplified view is meant for
employees who do not require the
whole range of notification functions.
This view is used to quickly record
problems. All notification functions
Quality Notifications
You can adapt the structure and information in a quality notification to meet
your requirements. In addition to the
notification types supplied by SAP, you
can define your own notification types.
For each notification type, you can:
Select a simple or enhanced processing view
Determine screen areas and their
content
Structure notification data using tab
pages
Include your own functions in an
action box
Configure shop papers for printing
Activate digital signature for distinct
business transactions at header or
task level
As the responsible notification processor, you are informed about notifications using work lists or through workflow. You can implement tasks and
record costs. You can also perform
39
Notification Item
Individual problems or errors that have
occurred are documented as notification items. They contain information
relating to defects analysis, such as
the defect type and location. You can
assign various causes to a notification
item. You can access user-defined
catalogs to describe the defect type,
location, and cause.
Tasks and Activities
The tasks and activities used to correct
the defects are subordinate to the notification item. Tasks and activities can
be assigned to the notification header,
so that you can take the first steps
to resolve a problem even before the
analysis is available.
Quality Notification
Partner
Defect Item
Activities
Activities
Tasks
Causes
Tasks
Partners
The partners involved in the creation or
processing of a notification (for example, vendors or customers) are listed in
the notification. You can also include
departments and people within your
company who are involved in notification processing as partners.
40
Optimized Usage
SAP ERP has several useful functions
that optimize the use of quality notifications. In addition, several tools can
streamline notification processing.
Action Box
You can use the action box to flexibly
enhance the functions in the notification
to suit your needs. You can simplify
Solution Database
Complaints must be processed quickly
and efficiently. With an integrated solution database, you can quickly find
solutions when processing notifications. You access the solution database from the action box and start a
free-text search in the database using
the entered problem description. You
can quickly determine whether similar
problems have occurred in the past and
which tasks were used to solve them.
Document Flow
You can display all documents that are
linked to the notification in a list or as a
graphic.
Digital Signature
By activating the digital signature for
notifications, you can request a digital
signature for selected process steps
when processing a notification; for
example, when setting a status such as
released. The activation can be done
at the header or task level for any business transaction and notification type.
Signature strategies can be applied.
Tasks
A task is a processing step that is performed during notification processing.
You can track the processing status of
the task with a status sequence that
you define. You can specify the deadline for completion and the person
responsible for each task. SAP ERP
manages the status of each task and
allows you to complete a quality notification only when all the tasks have
been processed. The structure of the
quality notification differentiates
between immediate and corrective
tasks.
Immediate Task
The purpose of an immediate task is
to provide an immediate response to
the problem that produced the quality
notification and to prevent any further
damage from occurring. These types
of tasks are assigned to the quality
notification header and can be implemented without specifying a defect or
defect cause. Examples of immediate
tasks include the following:
Blocking warehouse stock
Triggering an additional inspection
Sending a confirmation letter
Corrective Task
The purpose of a corrective task is
to eliminate the defect and its cause
and to prevent it from recurring. You
assign corrective tasks to an individual
notification item (defect). Examples of
corrective tasks include the following:
Changing a work instruction
Implementing training
Modifying a routing
41
Follow-Up Actions
You can link tasks with automatic
follow-up actions. As a result, you can,
for example, initiate inspections, block
supply relationships, or create a
purchase order for a return delivery.
Activities
You can define activities to document
that a specific action has been
implemented.
Support Functions
Additional functions are available to
support quality notifications. You can
make notification recording available
to business partners on the Internet.
In addition, you can archive quality
notifications using SAP ArchiveLink.
Communication
Notifications on the Internet and
intranet
Using an Internet connection for quality
notifications, you can reduce the
resources and time needed for recording a complaint, thereby improving notification processing. A customer records
a problem on the Internet. QM with SAP
ERP then triggers internal operations
using the workflow function. The customer can display the processing status
of the notification at any time on the
Internet.
If notifications are created for general
requests or problems from an employees working environment, the Internet
service request is the medium for finding solutions quickly and through which
the following are performed:
Recording different issues
Searching for solutions using the
integrated solution database
42
Benefits:
Rapid processing
of unplanned events
Active participation
by employees in the
continuous improvement of processes
Easy communication
and work processing
by using the Internet or intranet
independently of
the application
Time and money
savings because
of the optimal control
of subsequent
processes
archive and manage printed or electronically transmitted documents. Outgoing
documents, printed or transmitted by
fax, are stored in an optical archive.
Incoming documents can be recorded
with SAP ArchiveLink and assigned to
a new or an existing quality notification.
If processing is to start immediately, a
workflow can be triggered when the
incoming document is recorded. The
workflow function forwards tasks to
the partner responsible for processing
work items using the business workplace function.
Lot level
Quality level
Characteristic level
Sampling
Inspection instruction
Quality inspection
Characteristic
inspection result
Usage decision
Assignment
Sampling Scheme
Sampling Plans Based on Lot Size
Inspection
Stages
43
44
45
46
Quality Scores
Quality scores for inspection lots are a
proven tool for quality control. QM with
SAP ERP provides you with several
ways of determining the quality score.
It uses information from the following
sources:
Usage decision
Estimated fraction of nonconforming
units in the lot
Estimated fraction of nonconforming
units for characteristics
Maximum share of defects
Weighted average share of defects
Quality score of the characteristic
defect classes
Minimum (worst) quality score
Weighted average quality score
Procurement
Main Criteria
Weighting
Subcriteria
Weighting
Price 30%
A1
A2
A3
Price level
Price behavior
Other
%
%
%
Quality 40%
A1
A2
A3
A4
%
%
%
%
Delivery 20%
A1
A2
A3
A4
%
%
%
%
Service 10%
A1
A2
Technology
Other
%
%
Determined automatically
Vendor
Evaluation
47
48
49
50
Appraisal Costs
Appraisal cost orders are stored in the
material master and assigned by SAP
ERP as cost collectors to individual
inspection lots. If, however, a special
settlement is required for an inspection, that settlement takes precedence.
This can happen, for example, when
the lot belongs to a production order or
when it comes from a goods receipt for
a purchase order that is assigned to a
cost center account.
SAP ERP calculates appraisal costs
using the activities that you, as the
inspector, confirm. You can confirm
activities, for example, on the basis
of the hours worked. Accounting fixes
the types of activities, such as setup or
inspection time, and the valid charges
for the cost center that performs the
activity. The activities performed for
inspection lots are logged during
results recording or when the usage
decision is made. Activities performed
for inspections during production are
confirmed when confirmations for production orders are made. Other inspection costs, such as material usage, are
settled to the order in which you confirm the inspection activity.
Nonconformity Costs
To settle nonconformity costs for a
quality notification, you create a QM
order when processing a notification.
You assign the order to the notification
header and use it as a cost collector
Benefits:
Use dynamic modification to reduce your
appraisal costs
Monitor processes
continuously using
quality control charts
Access important
company key figures
and evaluations
immediately
for costs such as those relating to a
warranty, to scrapping, or to the settlement of activities performed. You can
also assign rework orders to this cost
collector account. This allows you to
debit all costs for a quality notification
to the appropriate personnel and analyze the costs.
Calibration Inspections
and SAP ERP
As shown in Figure 30, test equipment
management in SAP ERP combines
important planning and processing
functions from QM with SAP ERP that
are needed for master data management and for planning and performing
calibration inspections.
Releasing Test Equipment
You can use the inspection results to
decide whether a piece of test equipment can be released for further use.
Inspection
Decisions
Usage
List
Order
Processing
Master Data in a
Calibration Inspection
Several master data records are used
during a calibration inspection: equipment master data, maintenance plan,
and maintenance task list.
Equipment
In SAP ERP, your companys test
equipment data is stored in an equipment master record. This master
record contains all of the data relevant
to test equipment (such as acquisition
value and date, manufacturer, work
center, cost center, and location).
To organize your test equipment and
make it easier to locate, you can:
Combine similar test equipment into
groups
Use the classification function to categorize test equipment according to
technical features
Assign test equipment to a construction type (material)
Results
History
Work
Lists
Master Data
Calibration Planning
Calibration
Orders
Notifications
Calibration Inspection
Trend
Analysis
Link Insp.
Char. & Msmt.
Pnts
Calibration
Intervals
51
Maintenance Plan
The maintenance plan is the central
planning object in which you assign the
list of equipment to be inspected, the
maintenance task list, and the calibration schedule.
The maintenance plan specifies which
types of activities must be performed
periodically and how often they are to
be performed. In the maintenance
plan, you can enter time-based or
performance-based intervals for performing these activities. When maintenance deadlines are reached, SAP ERP
automatically creates maintenance
orders.
Maintenance Task List
In the task list, you plan the recurring
work processes in a standardized form.
To perform a calibration inspection, you
can include inspection characteristics in
the maintenance task list. In turn, you
can include a maintenance task list in
a maintenance plan. The task list specifies the activities to be performed for
individual maintenance deadlines.
52
Maintenance Task
List
Test Equipment
(Equipment
Master Records)
Maintenance
Strategy Cycle
Maintenance
Item
Maintenance
Order
Maintenance Plan
Inspection
Characteristics
Figure 31: Objects in a Calibration Inspection
Calibration Inspection
A calibration inspection covers the following activities:
Scheduling the maintenance plan
and creating the maintenance order
and inspection lot
The maintenance plan is usually
scheduled automatically using a periodically run program. When this
Usage Decision
Inspection Lot
Equipment
No. 12345
Update
equipment status
Adjust
cycle modification factor
Update
measurement documents
Release or Block
Equipment
Reduce/Increase
Inspection Interval
Document
Inspection Result
53
54
Benefits:
Guaranteed quality
and reliability of your
test equipment
Safe production process because of early
forecasting of possible weak points in
technical installations
Ability to track your
test equipment
Enabling an Integrated
Enterprise Laboratory
Information Management
System with SAP ERP
Audit management
Bar coding and labeling
Batch management (batch traceability
and electronic batch record)
Calculations and formulas
Calibration of instruments
Certificates of analysis
Change management (audit trail)
Complaint and problem management
and corrective and preventive action
Data retrieval and archiving
Digital signatures
Document management
Engineering change management
(audit trail)
Flexible inspections
Goods receipt inspections
Information system and reporting
In-process control
Inspection plan maintenance
Interfaces (inspection data and
statistical data)
Inventory control
Invoicing and billing of analysis
Laboratory statistics
55
56
Benefits:
Reduced workload for
system administration,
less training, and fewer
upgrades by not using
numerous fragmented
systems
Better processes
with standardization, increased efficiency, and
ease of collaboration
Better product quality,
fewer defects, and
less rework and waste
Increased accuracy
and security of data,
which reduces costs
associated with
regulatory compliance
Improved data quality
and visibility because
data is consistent,
transparent, and
available throughout
the company
57
58
Audit processing
Release of the audit, invitation to participants, provision of the documents,
examination of the audit object with
regard to the criteria (questioning and
viewing), and recording of findings
(statements and documents)
Assessment
Valuation of the criteria (question list
items), rating and grading of the audit
object, and creation of an audit report
(draft and final report with signature)
Follow-up actions
Determination of a subsequent audit;
corrective, preventive, and improvement actions and the persons
responsible; monitoring of the subsequent steps; and verification of the
effectiveness of all actions
Analysis and evaluation
Overview of the entire audit program
or of selected groups of audits, of
audit questions and results, of findings and actions as well as feedback
of audit results to audit planning
To summarize: audit management is an
intuitive, yet powerful tool that you can
use to manage your audit processes.
Regardless of your industry sector, this
tool supports you throughout the entire
audit process, from the planning phase,
through audit execution and valuation,
to the evaluation phase. This is a highly
flexible tool with open interfaces, such
as the cockpit shown in Figure 35. It
allows you to perform internal or external audits of systems, processes, or
59
Management
(Sponsor Champion)
Project Lead
(Black Belt, MBB)
Define
Statistician
(Green Belt)
Project Member
(Inspector, Analyst)
Measure
Analyze
Improve
Control
60
Of all the ERP and dedicated QM software solutions, SAP Business Suite is
an excellent choice for implementing
Six Sigma methodologies. In particular,
SAP ERP supports most of the elements that are essential for Six Sigma.
61
Service-Oriented Architecture
for Services-Based Business
Solutions
62
Appendix
Key Terms
CAPA
Corrective and preventive action
(CAPA) is an instrument for compliance
management in terms of systematic
processing of quality deficiencies,
errors, and malfunctions. Its aim is to
document the entire process of solving
the issue and providing appropriate
corrective actions and further preventive actions to avoid a recurrence of
an issue in the future.
CAQ
Computer-aided quality assurance
(CAQ) is the application of computers
and computer-controlled machines
for the definition and inspection of the
quality of products.
collaborative business
Collaborative business occurs between
companies using a regulated exchange
of information and data on the Internet.
LIMS
A laboratory information management
system (LIMS) is computer software
that is used in the laboratory for the
management of samples, laboratory
users, instruments, standards, and
other laboratory functions such as
invoicing, plate management, and work
flow automation.
SAP Business Suite
SAP Business Suite is a comprehensive
family of adaptive business applications
that provide industry-specific functionality. The software is built for complete
application integration, scalability, and
collaboration over the Internet. SAP
Business Suite applications help to manage critical business processes and form
63
Quick facts
www.sap.com /contactsap
Summary
The SAP ERP application provides a single, powerful solution that lets you take a comprehensive, broad-based approach to total quality management. It delivers a wide range of
integrated quality management functionality and supports collaborative business processes
for cost-effectively ensuring the quality of your products and processes and transforming
quality management into a competitive advantage.
Business Challenges
Gain visibility into complex and global production cycles
Engineer quality into the design of new products and business processes
Track quality through procurement, production, and delivery
Keep pace with customer expectations and competitive pressures
Key Features
Inspection planning Put quality strategies into action with integrated data and planning
tools
Quality inspections Achieve and document reliable results while automating and
streamlining inspection activities
Problem management Improve quality with targeted quality notifications and follow-up
actions
Test equipment management Automate the calibration of critical equipment and
maintain ongoing evaluations
Audit management Continuously check processes, products, and systems and trigger
corrective actions
Business Benefits
Increased customer satisfaction and loyalty Provide better product quality and
enhanced complaint management and tracking (corrective and preventive action)
Accelerated employee performance Increase efficiency with automated tasks that
guide employees through key steps
Greater transparency Make quality decisions based on reliable, integrated, traceable,
and accurate data
Enhanced collaboration Integrate employees and business partners in your entire
product lifecycle and the supply chain
For More Information
For detailed information about SAP ERP, visit our Web site at www.sap.com/erp or contact
your SAP representative.