Quality Management System

QMS stands for Quality Management System. That refers to any system designed to promote quality, increase productivity, improve regulatory compliance and improve worker safety within a manufacturing or industrial context.

QMS software digitizes the functions of a more traditional QMS based on pen-and-ink records. QMS software (also known as EQMS) has nearly unlimited storage capacity, speed, and responsiveness. This benefit makes it easier and more effective to promote quality within an organization.

We can use quality management software for various applications, including document control, audit management, environmental health and safety, nonconformance management, supplier quality management, and more. Nearly every industrial or manufacturing organization needs these applications to some extent.

Yes. Quality management software tracks progress towards meeting critical quality benchmarks, and tracking is the first step to improvement. In addition, tracking quality throughout the organization allows you to pinpoint areas where it’s lacking, allowing you to iron out production challenges and create better products faster.

Yes. QMS software integrates with applications such as CRM, ERP, PLM, MES, SPC and more. APIs allow you to build integrations in areas where they don’t already exist.

Many quality management systems include built-in identity and access management systems that allow external teams—such as vendors and suppliers—as much controlled access as is required. That makes it easy to share your requirements with other organizations securely.

Quality management software creates audit trails using its built-in audit management and document control applications. The application sorts and tags data related to various processes and products automatically. When those processes undergo an audit, you’ll be able to retrieve the preexisting audit trail automatically, saving hours or days of effort.

With the right QMS software, you’ll be able to automate many of your existing quality management processes. For example, you’ll be able to perform automated analytics on your production queue, automatically initiate an audit in the event of a nonconformance, and automatically assemble and fill out paperwork to create a change request.

QMS includes detailed reporting and analytics features. You’ll be able to assemble a custom dashboard that includes all the metrics you need to keep track of in real-time with native integration to Power BI.

The most common QMS use cases include document and change control, enterprise and operational risk management, nonconformance management, supply chain quality management and audit management.

QMS allows quality organizations to transform quality from a cost center into a force that drives revenue for the entire business, allowing it to increase customer satisfaction, avoid costly recalls, improve regulatory compliance, and maintain good relationships with vendors and suppliers.