Special solutions with proven quality management software

Jvery business challenge is an opportunity for individual improvement. Nevertheless, Hans-Peter Kost, Managing Director of IQS AG in Zofingen, first swallowed empty when Thomas Baselgia, Managing Director of Finance & Administration at Herrmann AG in Walzenhausen, presented him with a special starting position on 21 December 2010:

An unusual problem

"We produce over 650 million plastic closures a year, about 60% of which are for the pharmaceutical industry. The problem is that we have around 4000 article specifications that change frequently. We now want to manage all these changes and all documents electronically in the future. However, the data for each article is stored in various databases and in a correspondingly large number of manually managed Word documents. We want to put an end to this. All duplications and errors must disappear. The data must be sent to a central administration via various interfaces - for Abacus, for example - and from there sent back to all databases after the daily update. Everything should be up to date every day everywhere and accessible to every employee at every workstation.

At trade fairs I have not found any product that can solve this task via document management. Is your IQSoft software capable of mastering this?"

Offer after 24 hours

Hans-Peter Kost consulted with his team. 24 hours later, Thomas Baselgia had IQS AG's offer in his hand. In February 2011, they met in Zofingen and defined the details. Baselgia explains to MQ: "Our standard range is small. Almost every closure is individually developed and protected by our clients and must be manufactured according to precise specifications. As a pharmaceutical supplier, we naturally often produce under very hygienic conditions (laminar flow or clean room) and are regularly visited and inspected by SQS auditors or by auditors from our customers.

Within this framework, we maintain a list of all details to be observed for each individual closure. And these details change regularly. There are 1001 sources of error in a production like this. It is all too easy for a change in a database to get lost somewhere in another part of the system. And then there are the work instructions: We used to print them out and hang them on the wall by the machines. A huge effort, day after day. That's why I was looking for a traceable and flexible document control system to finally be able to reliably reconcile all the data."

From standard software to individual solutions

The installation of the modular IQSoft went smoothly and quickly. And then things really got going - with heart and soul, as Thomas Baselgia knows to report: "Michael Kiel, our contact at IQS AG, understood us immediately. I think with a project like this you need a partner who 'thinks your way in'. Ideas were (and still are) constantly coming from him and from us, which we then incorporated or newly integrated. Of course, this made some things take a bit longer. On the other hand it was a total precision landing. Everything works absolutely the way we imagined it.

The duplications are gone. Errors no longer occur. And the auditors no longer find anything to criticize in the document control - we needed it for ISO 9000 anyway. Our customers, the pharmaceutical companies, love the system because of the flexible access options. They are amazed at how easy it is for every employee to get what they need to work cleanly at their workplace at the click of a mouse."

Every detail available on one document

Overview creates security: IQSoft allows Herrmann AG to combine any data from different databases on one document. This includes, among other things, the name of the article, its color, the plastic and its recipe, the technical data and a number of supplementary documents. Everything is linked and can be called up directly. Motto: Enter the article number. A moment later, everything is available. Even approvals of changes - often by several people - are controlled, logged and completely traceable, including numbering of the versions. Even the customer-specific logistics with notes on packaging can be queried. And every night, all the updates made somewhere are restored to all the databases. According to Thomas Baselgia, simplifications on the scale of "at least one 100% job".

Training for all: the web module as a key

In administration, for the maintenance of specifications, PC use is daily bread. Under Thomas Baselgia and with the active support of Q manager Guido Wirth, Herrmann AG went much further and launched a radical cultural change.

Baselgia: "All our employees have access to the IQSoft web module at their workstations. Even the mechanic and the machine operator. Some were not happy about this at first. Work on the monitor and electronic forms? That was alien to them. Of course, we did training and our Q manager Guido Wirth is our flying troubleshooter. You can find him everywhere in the plant!

The breakthrough comes at the same moment for all people: as soon as they see that their short moments at the PC make the whole work much easier every day, they embrace the new. It's cool when an auditor comes to your workstation, you can click the mouse to show why you're doing what you're doing, and bam: auditor happy. We're even getting suggestions for enhancements from our people now."

Quality management at all levels

Hans-Peter Kost from IQS AG likes to emphasize that with the numerous IQSoft modules, many things can be solved individually even in the standard version. Herrmann AG confirms this: "The general management via the standard modules is perfect for us. Since April 2013, all areas including audit and training have been actively in operation at our company. In addition to the individualized document control, we also like to use 'Opportunities for Improvement' or the operating equipment and test equipment management, for example."

Outlook and review

"Our latest project is to update our testing software. It is 20 years old and still based on Excel. It simply makes sense to replace it with IQSoft now. An electronic quality manager like this always gives you new ideas. Looking back, we completely changed our working methods within three years, always moving forward but never pushing. We wanted 100% satisfaction. Goal achieved."