A metrology standard currently under development has the potential to save millions of dollars for any organization that shares quality management data with its suppliers or original equipment manufacturers. The standard is being developed by a technical committee organized by the Automotive Industry Action Group. It will enable a seamless exchange of quality measurement information among disparate and proprietary gages and reporting tools. Currently, manufacturers—especially automotive manufacturers—lose millions of dollars and significant product development time because of a lack of interoperability with proprietary quality data collection systems. Many companies integrate data from as many as 1,500 different data formats.

“The cost savings from this standard are potentially massive,” says Robert Brown, a member of the technical committee developing the standard and a project manager for Mitutoyo America. “We often spend weeks just integrating data, which wastes valuable time. Now, we can spend that time innovating, instead of integrating data.”

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