2012 - PageSuite

INFOCUS
Measuring quality
through software
Matthew Littlefield
LNS Research
LNS Research has released its
Enterprise Quality Management
Software Selection Guide, which
looks at 18 major vendors in the
spaces and offers comparisons on
performance and applicability to
individual industries. Matthew Littlefield,
president and principle analyst
at LNS Research, discussed with
CFE Media the value of measuring
quality with software, and how the
acceptance of such tools is growing
throughout the plant.
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Plant Engineering: In evaluating the top vendors for
Enterprise Quality Management Software, what criteria
would you say is most critical for an effective system
for end users
Littlefield: There are a number of factors that determine
how well suited a particular vendor is for a particular client.
First and foremost I think comes industry experience, some
vendors have experience in life sciences, others have experience
in discrete manufacturing like automotive or aerospace
and defense, still others have started to develop experience
in consumer products or food and beverage. The drivers and
needs are very different in all these industries and very few
vendors have expertise across all these industries.
Second, I would say existing IT infrastructure, some companies
are heavily invested in ERP, others have a large PLM
footprint, still others have disparate systems at the enterprise
level, again different vendors have different strengths in this
regard. Finally I would recommend looking at the technology
itself. Originally EQMS vendors were very form based, over
time many have updated their technology to be work-flow
based that has a more solid data model and ability to interoperate
with other systems through web-services.
Finally, is the vendor continuing to invest in areas like BI,
Mobility, and an enhanced user-experience. Some companies
are and others are still behind the curve.
PE: Why is software the best measuring tool for quality
What industries might benefit the most from such a
system Conversely, which industries are not a good fit
for EQMS
Littlefield: Software is an important tool for a number of
reasons but I think one that stands out the most is our changing
business environment. Companies are continuing to expand
globally, products are continuing to increase in complexity,
regulations continue to expand, and consumer demands
continue to increase.
Companies that don’t specifically invest in a platform to
manage how quality impacts the entire value chain and how
input #13 at www.plantengineering.com/information
18 • November 2012 PLANT ENGINEERING