"Quality management is not a marketing gimmick".

For 35 years, flexible solutions for medium-sized companies have been created at abas Software with headquarters in Karlsruhe. In the worldwide abas group of companies, more than 1,000 employees work on international projects at 65 locations in 29 countries. More than 3,300 companies worldwide use the modern, industry-specific ERP systems, e.g. in mechanical and plant engineering, in the electrical or metal industry, in medical technology or in trade.

Software-supported QM system required
The software company promises its customers to map the entire process chain with abas ERP and to control it in a goal-oriented manner. It is obvious that this claim also applies to the internal processes of abas. For this reason, those responsible sought external support when the software developer sought certification according to DIN EN ISO 9001 at the headquarters in Karlsruhe four years ago. "Until then, we had worked with PDF documents in quality management. It was clear that a software-supported system would be necessary in the future in order to reduce the administrative workload," explains Benjamin Trautwein, Quality Manager QM/QA at abas Software AG.

In an internal workshop, the requirements for software-supported quality management were collected. The result was 19 points that were weighted and compared with the range of services offered by various providers. "The top three of our requirements were: Mapping of the manual in the system, automatic workflows to guide the company through all QM documents such as work instructions, lists, templates, etc. and a digital mapping of the release processes," says Benjamin Trautwein.

At abas Software AG, the decision was made to use ConSense IMS|QMS|PMS from Aache ner ConSense GmbH. The company is one of the technologically leading providers of software for quality management and integrated management systems. It develops innovative, integrated and particularly user-friendly solutions for the complete electronic support of ISO 9001 and numerous other standards. ConSense QMS for quality management ensures that the specified standards for documentation are carried out seamlessly and in compliance with the standards. The software offers complete electronic support through automated routines as well as the systematic provision of information and the electronic monitoring of QM specifications.

Carefully planned introduction pays off
The project of the two software companies started on June 1, 2014. The go-live date was set for March 30, 2015, as the defined goal was that audits due in 2015 should be carried out with the new software. A project plan with defined stages showed the way: First, the infrastructure and hardware were prepared. Installation, user training and testing of the system began in September 2014. At the end of November, a second training block and the final installation and configuration were on the agenda.

Between December 2014 and March 2015, the processes were finally transferred to the new system. "These were already described and certified and were therefore transferred to the new system as they were," explains Benjamin Traut-wein. The process representation in ConSense IMS|QMS|PMS is in the form of flow diagrams. This helped those responsible at abas to recognize inaccuracies or logical errors in the previous process descriptions. "For example, we had decision processes that ended with only one output option instead of two. The transparent process representation of ConSense QMS helped us to identify possibilities for improvement. These were transferred directly to the action management system so that they could be followed up," explains Trautwein. The module

ConSense Action Management, which complements the QM software, records all pending actions and ensures their implementation with gapless task tracking and control.

During the process transfer to ConSense IMS|QMS|PMS, it became apparent that the previously described processes from the marketing, support and administration departments no longer corresponded to reality. "In workshops with the employees involved, it made sense to develop clean processes that corresponded to the actual processes and to transfer them to the new system. The time delay that occurred at this point was compensated for by the buffer incorporated into the schedule, so that our go-live date was never in doubt," explains the expert.

At eye level to success
The implementation of ConSense QMS was successfully completed on schedule and those involved draw a positive conclusion. "We were lucky that we were supported internally with sufficient resources and could always rely on ConSense externally. Our direct contacts were sometimes quite challenged with our requests," smiles Benjamin Trautwein.

In the meantime, the advantages of the software-supported QM system have long since proven themselves: Among other things, ConSense QMS has a dedicated roles and rights concept that precisely regulates responsibilities and access rights to content and sets in motion defined approval or acknowledgement workflows. In this way, the system automatically or ganizes the fast, targeted flow of information within the company. The personalized start page shows every abas employee at first glance all pending tasks, innovations and information which are relevant for his activity or the processes he is responsible for. The detailed role concept makes interfaces and dependencies between the business areas more transparent and provides information about who is the right contact person in which case. "This creates synergy effects between the departments and simplifies, for example, the start of new employees or the transfer to another department in the company: In ConSense QMS, everyone can find out exactly how our processes are structured," explains the Quality Manager.

Acceptance is the most important prerequisite for success
"The success of such an implementation project stands and falls with the acceptance of the people who will later use the system. Those responsible at abas, who experience this themselves in their daily work, therefore knew exactly what was important in the planning and implementation of the individual project phases," says Dr. Stephan Killich, member of the management board of ConSense GmbH.

For Benjamin Trautwein, it has proven successful to involve the employees in the optimization of the processes from the very beginning and to make department heads responsible for the technical aspects. "The employees who are curious and open to innovations come of their own accord, want to actively participate, then become ambassadors and promote the system within the company. This way, the penetration takes a little longer, but is all the more effective." For the expert, who has extensive experience in project management, acceptance is also dependent on the fact that the management level of a company is behind such a project. At abas Software AG the process landscape was approved by the board. "This has a signal effect and underlines that the system is taken seriously in the company. This is important, because quality management is not a marketing gag. My tip for anyone planning a similar project: When introducing a software-supported QM system, those responsible must make it clear to their employees that it is not only being introduced for the standard or the certificate. Quality management is an added value for the company - this must be communicated sustainably."