Quality Assurance & Engineering

Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety

Quality Assurance

Providing total solution for the quality assurance has been one of the main areas of our expertise. Our Quality Assurance team has performed hundreds of projects for the customers in the wide range of industries. Our QA team consists of more than 30 quality experts with deep knowledge of the whole range of the quality assurance tasks.

Quality Assurance Strategy and Activities

Development of a company’s quality assurance strategy is an indispensable part of the business strategy. The goal of our quality assurance experts is to analyse the real and unique needs of each customer in order to establish the QA strategy. Application of the modern methods of strategy development: SWOT analysis, PDCA (plan-do-check-act) improvement cycle, QFD (quality functional deployment) metrics, results in creation of realistic, clear and goal-oriented quality strategy.

Industries

• Electronics
• Software
• Semiconductor
• Pharmaceutical
• Chemical
• Food
• Textile
• Military
• Municipal
• Plastic
• Mechanical

Quality Metrics Development

Appropriate quality metrics underlie any an effective QA system.

We will develop and implement:

• Quality metrics
• Cost of Quality (COQ) System
• Qualimetry & Control Models

Guidance for the QA Standards Certification

We will guide your organisation through the process of international quality standards certification.

Certification itself is only the final and formal stage of the sequence of steps:

• Analysis of the existing quality system
• Adaptation of the quality system to the requirements of a specific quality standard
• QA procedures and working instructions creation
• QA training for high management, middle management and employees
• Simulation of the certification exam
• Participation in certification
• We’ve guided dozens of organizations through the process of certification:
• Our Expertise
• ISO 9000 v. 2000
• TL 9000
• CMM
• QS 9000
• GAMP
• GMP
• FDA / MCA

Software Quality Assurance

Since 1995, Software Quality Assurance (SQA) has become one of our leading QA services. Our SQA experts have defined and established software QA systems, provided guidance to corporate managers and support to managers of software projects. Our experts are incorporated in organisations’ QA teams, where they help to develop QA methodologies and techniques, including compilation of projects management plans and software quality plans, establishment of software metrics systems, configuration management and software development processes auditing. Our experts are well known in guiding organisations through the ISO 9001 certification process with expansion to ISO 9000-3, and recently also through CMM qualification process.

Organisational Methods

Achievement of the goals defined by a company’s quality assurance strategy is inseparable from the application of the modern organisational methods. Application of organisational methods allows performing an accurate analysis and characterisation of a company. Our experts gained their industrial expertise from dozens projects ensuring the maximum productivity improvement by implementation of the appropriate organisational methods.

In close cooperation with your company’s decision makers our organisational methods team will determine the major targets and will help you to analyse and establish:

• Organisations’ Strategy and Goals
• Organisational Structure Design
• Process and Methodology Analysis
• Procedures and Methods for Operation, Maintenance, Handling & Storage
• Building of Budgeting, Accounting and Management Systems
• Human Resources Management
• Development of the Work Compensation System
• Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

Suppliers Past Performance

Confidence in a prospective contractor’s performance is an important factor in making a best value selection. Our experts will evaluate a prospective contractor’s performance on recently completed or ongoing contracts, and will create a data base for gathering of the Past Performance Information (PPI). PPI data base is very useful both for selection itself and for increasing contractors motivation to improve their performance. After analysing your requirements and assessing contractors’ performance with the help of the PPI data base, our experts will give you detailed recommendations for the best value selection.

Plastics Industry Quality & Technology

Our Plastics industry quality experts have the first-hand experience in all activities connected with the injection molding process as well as other processes widely used at the plastics factories around the world.

By using the FMEA methodology we will:

• Build quality system for injection molding and other plastics industry processes
• Improve procedures
• Solve technical problems
• Provide training on the FMEA methodology in application to the injection industry.

See also software tool for Process/Design FMEA

Engineering

Our Quality Engineering Methodology

Our Quality Engineering (QE) team will assist your company to reach productivity, quality and cost effectiveness using methods of Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma. Our highly professional QE experts provide service and training to the leading companies in wide range of industries for all process phases.

Product & Process Design

Quality Engineering should be applied to a product, a process or a new technology from the design phase.

Our QE team will ensure the design optimization through implementation of modern methods:

• Design for Six Sigma (DFSS)
• Quality Function Deployment (QFD)
• Design for Manufacturability & Assembly (DFMA)
• Design Failure Mode & Effect Analysis (DFMEA)
• Design of Experiments (DOE)
• Rational Tolerancing (RT)
• Design for Six Sigma (DFSS)

Industries

• Electronics
• Semiconductor
• Fabrication
• Chemical
• Food
• Textile
• Military
• Plastic
• Pharmaceutical

Application of quality engineering methods at the design stage will result in:

• Increased product quality and robustness
• Time-to-market reduction through accelerated process ramp-up and no need in redesign

Statistical Process Engineering & Control (SPEC)
Unique QE Methodology

SPEC – QE Methodology developed by our experts is easily adapted and customized for a specific process. The SPECs’ slogan is “Less Data – More Information”. SPEC applies engineering expertise and novel statistical methods to raw data, combining them into ‘Clever & Pure’ database. SPEC proved to bring increase in yield and cost reduction in various projects and tasks for major corporations.

Suppliers Assessment

At the pre-process stage our Quality Engineering team assists in suppliers & subcontractors management ensuring the improvement of process inputs (raw materials, parts, components, modules, etc.) and providing the relevant and reliable estimators of incoming quality.

For the efficient management of suppliers and subcontractors our quality engineering team will develop:

• Two-Party Approved Specification Requirements
• Appropriate Metrics for Suppliers / Subcontractors Assessment
• Appropriate Metrics for Suppliers / Subcontractors Assessment

Suppliers Assessment

The QE team’s activity includes performance of projects for Process Yield Enhancement and Product Quality Improvement through implementation of modern QA Methodologies such as Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing and ACE:

• Value Stream Mapping
• Five S & Kaizen Activity
• SMED and Quick Changeover Implementation
• Process Capability & Performance Studies
• SPC Setting for Long and Short Runs
• Process Failure Mode & Effect Analysis (PFMEA)
• Process Optimization Through DOE on Shop Floor

Our QE team will improve your manufacturing process achieving:

• Reduction of Throughput Time and Cost: minimized non-value-added efforts, shorter setup procedures, less over-adjustments and firefighting,
• Quality & Uniformity Improvement: optimised ‘operating windows’ for critical parameters.

Measurement Study & Inspection Optimisation

The QE team’s activity includes performance of projects for Process Yield Enhancement and Product Quality Improvement through implementation of modern QA Methodologies such as Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing and ACE:

• Sampling Procedures & Plans
• Inspection Effectiveness Evaluation
• Conventional and advanced methods of Repeatability & Reproducibility (R&R) study, Defect Budgeting
• Field Data (Failures/Rejects/Complaints) Treatment & Analysis

Our QE experts will allow you to reach the main goals of the inspection cost-effectiveness:

• Inspection Cost Reduction and Increased Reliability (optimized procedures of sampling, tests & measurements, data treatment)
• Root-Cause Analysis of Defect Sources (design, suppliers/subcontractors, manufacturing/assembly/integration, packing & storage, delivery/installation, etc.).