QMS Software: Improving Quality Control for Businesses

• By Sanjai S
• 03-04-2024
• Software

Quality and consistency are the meat and potatoes of a successful business. That’s what drives the growth of a company in terms of customers, profits, and reputation.

However, manual quality control processes are daunting. The endless paperwork, data all over the place, and human errors can throw a wrench into the works.

Not to forget that such back-office tasks are time-consuming and irksome. Factor in non-compliance with regulatory standards, and your business is all set to derail.

That’s why it’s important to invest in Quality Management System (QMS) software. It serves as a linchpin for business efficiency and productivity.

This blog provides a detailed insight into what a QMS is and how it allows businesses to improve quality control. We’ll also dive into the top benefits of adopting the QMS software and how to implement it.

Understanding QMS Software

Quality management software is a system that contains all the necessary documents (policies, procedures, and processes) crucial for businesses to meet compliance standards and customer expectations.

It’s a one-stop destination for documentation, planning inspections and corrective actions, training employees, and monitoring production processes.

QMS software helps you automate quality control. As a result, you can quickly identify and address quality issues, reduce waste, and ensure uniformity across all products.

Quality Management System Standards & Regulations

A good QMS software should meet the basic quality management standard. Some of these are:

1. ISO 9001:2015

It specifies the 7 principles of quality management:

• Relationship Management
• Customer Focus
• Improvement
• Evidence-based Decision-making
• Process Approach
• Leadership
• Engagement of People

2. ISO 13485:2016

It lays down QMS requirements for organizations that provide medical devices and related services. A business compliant with ISO 13485 shows that it’s capable of offering products/services specific to the medical industry.

3. ISO/IEC 17025:2017

This standard emphasizes the criteria for testing and calibration laboratories to showcase their “commitment to quality, technical proficiency, and scientific rigor.”

Role of QMS Software in Quality Control

Here’s how quality management system software can help enhance quality control in your business:

1. Risk Management

With QMS software in place, you can identify and assess risks, and adopt the best mitigation strategies for your business.

It comes with a risk assessment matrix that allows you to define assessment criteria specific to your business needs. Once done, you can create a matrix and analyze different risks based on their likelihood and potential impact.

You can also collaborate using a brainstorming module. Thus, stakeholders and employees can engage in risk assessment simultaneously, generate mitigation ideas, and track their implementation.

For example, a food processing company can benefit from quality management software by monitoring its risk profiles and adapting to the changes.

Plus, it can identify biological or chemical hazards in food operations, manage environmental risks like temperature control, and deploy effective sanitation practices to provide quality food products.

2. Automation & Standardization

QMS also acts as a workflow automation software, crucial for large organizations suffering from operational inefficiencies.

For instance, dynamic routing can take off your burden of manually assigning the task to the right person.

The software automatically escalates issues from production floors to the quality control departments based on escalation conditions defined by you. It can also initiate a Corrective and Preventive Actions (CAPA) process by raising the concern directly to the CAPA team.

Tools like customizable reports and user-friendly dashboards help streamline quality control procedures. This also ensures standardization across all departments and levels within an organization—so that everyone is on the same page.

To reduce human error, QMS software can set reminders, send automatic alerts, schedule inspection sessions, and track progress.

3. Real-time Monitoring & Data Analysis

It’s important to be in the know if you want to implement timely quality control measures. That’s where real-time monitoring systems come in.

By integrating your QMS software with IoT devices like sensors, you can automatically collect live data feeds and track different critical process parameters (CPPs) to assess product quality.

For example, you can check temperature and pressure levels via the QMS and send out instant alerts to the concerned authorities.

Visualization and data analytics for quality control are indispensable. The QMS can churn out trends, and historical patterns in a comprehensible manner. So that you get actionable insights out of complex data sets within seconds.

Such capabilities come in handy for predicting equipment failures in a manufacturing facility, optimizing inventory, defect detection, etc.

4. Documentation

Process control is a significant aspect of a quality-focused approach. Quality management system software with strong documentation capabilities reinforces operational efficiency all the more.

For starters, a centralized repository for documents keeps your business organized, and uniform. You can store all documents—trivial or important—like policies, standard operating procedures (SOPs), product standards, incident response plans, HR records, surveys, etc.

Moreover, you can organize them, archive old reports, keep track of revision history, and control different document versions.

To top it off, QMS software provides role-based access to these records for security and compliance reasons. This is necessary to prevent misuse or misleading changes in the document that could affect product quality.

But that’s not all. You can also search and sort the repository based on numerous filters to retrieve documents without wasting any time.

For example, during quality control inspections, officers can quickly find details on quality standards for different products by entering certain keywords like the product name or category.

5. Compliance

Compliance is directly proportional to quality control in businesses. If your operations and resources are per the compliance regulations, your offerings are pretty much on the right track.

By centralizing documentation, a quality management system provides a sorted approach for storing compliance records. This helps your business stay current with the changing standards, guidelines, and best practices.

The software also extends an audit management system for performing different audits—internal, vendor, product inspections, and so on. You can add your auditing criteria, assign auditors, and plan resource allocation.

Incident reporting plays a massive role since it’s foundational to executing audits correctly and avoiding legal compensations.

Plus, business owners can track non-conformance and watch out for deviations from compliance levels. You can manage and monitor the CAPA process, track key compliance metrics, and strive for continuous improvement.

6. Supplier Management

Focusing on external business relations like vendors, third-party logistics, etc., is an integral part of quality control.

Thus, QMS software comes equipped with supplier performance management solutions. These include comparing different suppliers based on their capabilities, industry experience, reviews, and pricing.

You can also define assessment criteria tailored to your business requirements. For example, ranking suppliers depending on their ISO certifications and past performance.

Moving on to the next step in supply chain management, QMS software offers automated supplier onboarding. That means you don’t have to spend time charting onboarding procedures like document submissions. The QMS does that for you!

The system also keeps tabs on supplier metrics like deliverables, timelines, inquiries, contractual compliance, etc.

It also supports contingency planning so that business operations remain unaffected if a supplier fails to complete its task.

7. Product Traceability

QMS provides traceability and transparency solutions so that businesses can track the movement of raw materials.

You can keep a log for different product batches through the entire manufacturing cycle—production, quality checks, and distribution.

This helps you understand how your organization is utilizing raw materials, and if there’s any discrepancy between the amount of raw materials imported and the quantity of end products.

Quality management software also allows you to make quick and effective recalls.

For example, let’s say you’ve accidentally distributed a batch of defective products. Using QMS software, you can trace their locations (affected customers), and initiate returns or replacements.

8. Customer Feedback Mechanisms

Customer satisfaction is pivotal for every business. And that depends on the quality of your product and service.

Besides the above-listed features of QMS software that help improve quality control, the system integrates customer feedback mechanisms for capturing queries, complaints, and suggestions.

You can store all customer communication in a single place within QMS software, analyze it to identify emerging complaint patterns and improve processes accordingly.

This helps in understanding customer sentiment and the current level of satisfaction. With the help of predictive analytics, you can look out for emerging purchasing trends and prepare your inventory beforehand.

To seal the deal, most quality management systems can be integrated with customer relationship management (CRM) systems for seamless coordination!

9. Employee Training

Having talented human resources is the core of enhancing business quality and value. That’s why QMS solutions focus on HR modules like training and competency management.

From identifying training needs to tracking performance metrics (defect rates, resolution times), you can zero in on employee skill development to curate the right training content.

You can track competency levels like employee certifications, qualifications, and training history. With the help of QMS software, HR managers can create e-learning modules or suggest mandatory training workshops to develop employee competency.

The system also offers recognition programs to motivate employees and engage them in sharing knowledge—all while upskilling them to strengthen quality control in your business.

Benefits of QMS Software

Now that you’ve understood how QMS improves quality control, let’s take a quick look at the overall benefits of introducing this solution to your business:

1. Customer Retention

Enhancing quality control directly affects customer satisfaction levels. As a result, more customers will re-avail your products/services.

2. Productive Core Operations

From risk management to product traceability to employee training, QMS software lightens your load to a great extent. Thus, you can divert your focus to core business operations.

3. Decision-making

With a strong hand in real-time monitoring and data analytics, quality management systems clear the air for you. So that, you can take corrective actions within seconds.

4. Compliance

It’s tricky to keep up with changing regulations and industry standards. QMS software comes with quality management regulations like ISO 9001, ISO 17025, etc. This keeps your business aligned with compliance requirements and best practices.

5. Better Communication

QMS software focuses equally on internal and external communications. That means you can collaborate across all departments in your organization, and manage external relations with suppliers, customers, etc.

6. Efficiency

Quality management system software streamlines business operations by automating workflows and standardizing procedures. Thus, it reduces manual errors, frustrating repetitive tasks, and wastage.

7. Increased Profits

By identifying potential defects and predicting equipment failures, you can effectively reduce damage control costs and minimize waste.

How to Implement QMS Software?

Below is a quick and easy guide to implementing QMS software for quality control in your business:

1. Identify Your Needs

Start with assessing your business needs—current loopholes in quality control, how it’s affecting your business, the scale of your organization, etc.

Engage stakeholders and employees to understand ground-zero problems and the right way to move ahead.

2. Choose the Right QMS Software

Learn about QMS solutions and what they bring to the table. Find out what features are most likely to benefit your business.

Conduct market research to see the top software companies. Compare different vendors and their products. This includes features, pricing, reputation, performance, and customer reviews.

3. Customize the QMS & Migrate Your Data

Once you’ve purchased quality management software, it’s time to tailor it to your needs. For example, establish different criteria and metrics to monitor quality.

Migrate all the paperwork and scattered data to the QMS and integrate it with your existing system and tools.

4. Deployment & Training

Roll out the QMS software in phases to find out deployment challenges and if any changes are needed. Gradually scale it up across all departments and provide necessary training to your employees.

5. Track Progress

Finally, monitor the progress of your QMS software. Keep up with updates provided by the vendor, and communicate the scope of improvement.

Effivity QMS Software: The Ultimate Quality Expert for Your Business

Effivity QMS is a no-code quality management system software that’s secure, compliant, and fully customizable.

Whether you need QMS software for small businesses or large, we offer plans for startups as well as organizations.

Our ISO 9001 modules cover features like risk management, documentation, auditing, non-conformance management, purchasing, and HR among others.

You can go live in a couple of hours, start as low as $1/day, and add/remove modules depending on your requirements.