Even the smallest manufacturer would never consider using a typewriter to develop an invoice, or manage a sales prospect list from a Rolodex. So why, when it comes to quality management, are they often still using manual methods or home-brewed software that was never intended for today’s quality mandates?

In manufacturing, quality is the heartbeat of success. It drives customer satisfaction, brand reputation, compliance, and long-term profitability. As products, supply chains, and global regulatory landscapes grow more complex, managing quality without an automated, strategic structure is now simply untenable.

Quality management has moved from a discretionary function to a core tenet of the business. In fact, according to the “ETQ Pulse of Quality in Manufacturing” survey, 60% of respondents from manufacturing firms of all sizes planned to increase spending on quality. The tools and programs they will invest in include generative AI, automated quality management tools, human resources and staffing, predictive quality analytics, workforce connectivity solutions, and lights out/autonomous operations. The survey found that 55% of respondents use a quality management system (QMS) to manage quality processes, and they overwhelmingly stated that the top business drivers for investing in quality include increased revenue, better compliance, a stronger supply chain, reduced costs, and reduced risk.

Just as most manufacturers couldn’t imagine life without Microsoft Office, an enterprise resource planning system (ERP), or invoice software, a QMS is now an essential resource for all manufacturers. It provides a solid framework for consistent processes, continuous improvement, and compliance to industry standards.

The steps to get started with a QMS

For manufacturers looking to establish or modernize their QMS, getting started can seem daunting and disruptive to traditional processes. But if it’s approached strategically and incrementally, a QMS can drive quality throughout the manufacturing plant and across the enterprise.

Consider the following six steps to get started.

1. Assess the situation. Even before researching various QMS solutions, take a step back and define what you’re really trying to solve. Where do you fall short on quality? What regulations or standards do you need to comply with? What would success look like: reduced scrap, better traceability, fewer customer complaints, faster audits? Defining your objectives ensures your QMS is built with intent and meets your organization’s specific needs.

2. Secure leadership buy-in. To work most effectively, a good QMS should integrate throughout all operations in the organization, centralizing data from the manufacturing floor to the C-suite. To that end, a QMS must have executive and cross-functional buy-in that can trickle down throughout the organization and reinforce the value being placed on quality as a business imperative.

Leaders should put their money where their mouth is, allocating the necessary budget, resources, and people to make it work smoothly. They also should work with the quality team to set measurable quality goals aligned with business strategy. And, finally, they should communicate the importance of the quality culture companywide.

3. Map your core processes and workflow. To be most effective, a QMS must reflect your organization’s core processes, such as the various manufacturing steps, inspection, and auditing procedures and remediation methods you use when issues arise. It’s important to map out your core processes from order intake through product delivery, and to document how these processes work today—even if they’re informal. From there, identify gaps or inconsistencies and gradually standardize them.

4. Evaluate the QMS options. Once you understand your requirements, most pressing needs, and your current workflow, it’s important to do a thorough evaluation of the leading candidates. When evaluating technology, look for systems that integrate with existing ERPs, manufacturing execution systems, and product life cycle management platforms. It’s also important that the QMS supports corrective and preventive action (CAPA) workflows, offers audit trails and electronic signatures, enables data visualization and reporting, and scales with your organization. Additionally, cloud-native solutions can make it easier to deploy and maintain compliance, especially for small to midsize manufacturers without large IT teams.

5. Know where to begin. Once you’ve identified a QMS solution best for your organization, you can continue your quality planning and scope out your organizational QMS goals. Think short-term goals and immediate wins, as well as how your QMS environment will evolve over time to respond to changes in your business and industry. Each quality team has a different and unique set of goals. Some companies start by addressing document control or employee training needs. Others have real supplier quality and nonconformance problems. Identify which applications will be a good place to start and gradually build on them until you’re optimizing the potential of your QMS.

6. Train the workforce to embrace automated quality. Even the best QMS can fail if employees don’t understand it or are threatened by it. It’s important to invest in thorough training for the QMS among staff—in the plant and throughout the lines of business—teaching them not just how to use it, but why it’s essential.

However, training should never be a one-and-done checkoff item. As your QMS scales to meet changing needs, training should be offered regularly to take advantage of new capabilities and features.

Jump-starting automated quality management with ETQ Reliance Go 

Shifting from manual operations to electronic quality management requires not only careful planning but also a significant investment. To make it easier, ETQ offers Reliance Go, an electronic QMS designed exclusively for small to midsize manufacturers. This solution can be a good way to reduce time to value, and a cost-effective entry point to an enterprise-grade QMS. As a self-service implementation option, ETQ Reliance Go provides built-in best practices for automating quality processes, simple licensing-only pricing, and detailed setup guides that enable system administrators to deploy the solution independent of IT or vendor services support.

Automated quality management is the only way to compete today against a backdrop of rising product recalls and defects, complex compliance requirements, and supply chain disruption. By understanding your unique challenges, embracing change, and building a culture of quality, manufacturers can turn quality from a cost center into a true business driver.

Click here to learn more about ETQ Reliance Go.