Quality Management#

The Quality Management Module (QM) is integrated with the base modules of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central¹. It supports manufacturing, warehouse, and batch tracking processes as well as financials.

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The following section of the online help is intended to assist you in completing quality assurance tasks using the QM module.

. QM allows you to manage test equipment and its calibration. With the help of defined inspection plans, you can perform and document inspections via incoming, intermediate and final inspections. Furthermore, the quality assurance module gives you the possibility to create a supplier evaluation taking into account the performed quality inspection.

Establishment#

Quality assurance facility#

Before you can use the QM quality assurance module in Dynamics 365 Business Central, you must go to QM - Quality Assurance > Administration > Quality Assurance Setup make basic settings.

Inforegister General#

Inforegister numbering#

Inforegister Vendor Rating Connection#

If the module for vendor rating (KUMAVISION Vendor Rating Management) is installed in parallel to the Quality Management module, these two applications can be set up in such a way that entries from the quality management automatically flow into the vendor rating. The communication between both modules is done via an API connection, where an authentication of the API calls is generally done via a service-to-service authentication. Only in an on-premise environment can a basic authentication by means of user ID and web service access key take place as an alternative.

To activate the interface to the Vendor Rating Management, the following settings must be made:

Action "Test vendor rating API connection"#

This action can be used to test the API connection to the Vendor Rating Management (VRM) module. The system issues a corresponding message here whether the connection could be established or not.

Functionality#

Through the API interface between the Quality Management (QM) and Vendor Rating (VRM) modules, vendor rating items are formed based on the inspection orders, which can be processed by the vendor rating functionality.

The basis for the supplier evaluation item is the "Quality score" field in the header of the inspection order. This quality score reflects the points that are written to the supplier evaluation item when the inspection order is completed.

The interface to the Vendor Evaluation module (VRM) only takes into account the inspection order types that have a reference to the vendor. These are the following inspection order types:

• Receipt check vendor
• Intermediate examination for external work
• Final inspection (with external work as the last operation)

Storage locations#

For those storage locations in which quality inspections are to be carried out, the necessary facilities must be provided. The basic prerequisite for storage locations with quality inspection is the setup and use of storage bins at the storage location. It is therefore only possible to set up the fields in the Quality Assurance tab if the Storage bin necessary field is set up with Yes in the Logistics tab.

Storage Location Setup in Inforegister Quality Assurance for Single-Level Logistics#

Storage Location Setup in Inforegister Quality Assurance for Two-Stage Logistics#

If the two-step logistics for goods receipt is set up in the storage location, i.e. if the fields Goods receipt required and Putaway required in the Logistics tab are set to Yes, additional facilities must be taken into account and are necessary.

It is mandatory that the storage location to be set up is also used as storage location blocked storage and storage location destroyed articles. In the case of an inspection decision in a goods receipt inspection, the stock transfer from the inspection storage bin initially takes place in total to the goods receipt storage bin (inspected). Depending on the inspection result, the stock placement from this storage bin takes place to the storage bin blocked storage and storage bin destroyed articles as well as to the putaway bin for the released inspection quantity via a putaway document.

For storage locations with two-tier logistics in goods receipt, the following fields must also be set up in the Quality Assurance tab:

Storage bin type code with the property#

Use of the storage bins for quality assurance in logistics processes#

The setup of the storage bins for quality assurance on the storage location map is strongly influenced by the selected logistics level for the storage location. The selected logistics level also determines what the QA process looks like when an item is received. Basically, two types of QA process are distinguished here:

• QA process for no warehouse logistics / single-stage warehouse logistics
• QA process for two-stage warehouse logistics The following sections describe the two QA processes and explain how the QA storage bins are set up and used in each process.

QA process for no warehouse logistics / single-stage warehouse logistics#

Here we show the setup and use of the QA storage bins, which come into play in the case of single-level logistics, as well as bookings without warehouse logistics.

"No warehouse logistics" is defined by not using warehouse documents such as goods receipt, putaway, etc.

"Single-level warehouse logistics" is defined by the fact that only the warehouse documents of the first level are used. In this case, only the goods receipt without putaway and goods issue without picking.

If no warehouse logistics or only single-stage warehouse logistics are used, the receiving process for items that must undergo QA inspection looks like this:

Therefore, the following setup of QA storage bins is recommended for the two storage logistics options mentioned above:

QA process for two-stage warehouse logistics#

Here we show the setup and use of QA storage bins when using two-tier logistics.

Two-level warehouse logistics is characterized by the fact that both the documents of the first storage level, such as goods receipt and goods issue, are used, and the documents of the second level, such as putaway and picking, are used.

The receiving process for items that need to go through QA inspection is as follows:

Notes General setup#

If the parameters of the QM app are set for a storage location with two-level logistics (See QM setup in the storage location map), all storage bins set there must refer to the same storage location. This is important because the inspected goods from an inspection order can be moved to respective storage bins within the warehouse by means of putaway (logistics document level 2). These include the stock storage bins for released goods, the blocked storage bin for blocked goods, and the destroyed storage bin for destroyed goods.

Furthermore, it is necessary to define the "Goods receipt storage bin (inspected)", as this is the storage bin in which the goods will be transferred after the inspection has been completed and will be ready for withdrawal for corresponding stock transfers.

Notes Handling of QA storage bins in logistics documents#

The QA storage bins (storage bins for the QA inspection itself, for inspected goods, and for blocked and destroyed goods) are all components of one and the same storage location. However, since these storage bins are not intended to manage available stock, but rather to support the processes in quality assurance, the following restrictions apply to these storage bins in connection with two-level logistics:

"QS" storage bin (field "Storage bin quality check"):
It is the storage bin where goods are moved for inspection. The goods are checked in this storage bin. This bin must not be used in the logistics documents (putaway, picking, etc.).

"QA checked" storage bin (field "Goods receipt storage bin (checked)"):
It is a storage yard used as part of two-stage logistics in test orders. The goods from the QA inspection are moved to this storage bin when the inspection is completed. This storage bin is then used as a transit storage bin to store the inspected goods in accordance with the inspection result, in which it serves as a withdrawal storage bin for the stock placements from the inspection order. In connection with logistics documents, this storage bin may only be used for stock placements as a withdrawal bin (take) in order to place the goods into stock storage bins and the blocked/destroyed bin.

"QS Blocked" storage bin (field "Blocked storage bin"):
It is the storage bin to which the blocked goods are transferred when the inspection order is completed. In connection with logistics documents, this storage bin may only be used in a putaway as a putaway bin (place) if the blocked goods are put away in the blocked storage bin after an inspection order.

"QS Destroyed" storage bin (field "Storage bin destroyed items"):
It is the storage bin to which the destroyed goods are transferred upon completion of the inspection order. In connection with logistics documents, this storage bin may only be used in a putaway as a putaway bin (place) if the destroyed goods are transferred to the destroyed bin after an inspection order.

These storage bins may also not be used in other logistics documents.

To ensure that the stocks in the storage bins listed above are not included in the "Available quantity for order picking" in the picking worksheets. Quantity for picking" in the picking worksheets, the "Dedicated" checkbox must be activated in the storage bins.

They are also not taken into account when creating a pick. On the one hand, these storage bins are excluded from the creation of the picking (withdrawal lines of a picking), on the other hand, these storage bins may not be used as target storage bins in the putaway lines of a picking.

Although the QA storage bins are not intended for managing the available stock, they are also not excluded from the available stock of the storage location. Therefore, it is important to check the blocked and destroyed stocks from the QA inspections regularly and, if necessary, to remove them to a separate storage location.

Notes Management of blocked / destroyed stocks in two-tier logistics#

Stocks in the "Destroyed goods" and "Blocked goods" storage bins should be transferred to a separate storage location using a stock transfer ledger sheet.

This is a manual process. (For this, it is recommended to use the "Get bin contents in stock transfer journal" function). This corrects the stock in the main storage location by removing the unusable stock in the "Blocked" and "Destroyed" storage bins to a separate storage location. Return documents for the blocked goods can then be triggered from this separate storage location. This is not possible in the main warehouse because the QA storage bins are ignored when using two-level logistics in the creation of a pick.

The QA storage bins (including the storage bin for blocked goods and storage bin for destroyed goods) are ignored during picking so that in normal operation only inspected/released goods from the stock storage bins are used during picking.

Notes Automatic return creation with two-stage outbound logistics#

Automatic returns creation for two-tier logistics in the goods issue area is not supported.

In this case, the stock must be transferred from the blocked storage bin to a separate storage location (the "Get storage bin contents in stock transfer journal" function is recommended for this). A return document can then be created manually from this separate blocked storage location.

The direct creation of a return for the blocked storage bin from a storage location with two-level outbound logistics is not possible, since the goods issue here also requires picking and the blocked storage bin is not taken into account during picking.

Notes on the creation of putaways for two-stage logistics#

The Quality Management module limits the standard Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central¹ functionality for creating putaways.

Putaways for a posted goods receipt can only be created for lines whose goods are not in an open inspection order. You can view this in the posted goods receipt line via the "Quantity to be inspected (base)" and "Open inspection order no." fields.

For goods that are in inspection, putaways are automatically created when the inspection order is completed.

This restriction ensures that goods in inspection are not transferred from the QA storage bin to an inventory storage bin by a separate putaway.

It also prevents the inspection order from not being completed due to a lack of the appropriate stock of goods to create putaways from the inspection order.

In such cases, if a putaway created from the test order is accidentally deleted by the user, the following should be noted:

If the quantity of the posted goods receipt line has been completely checked and there is no longer an open inspection order for this line, a corresponding putaway can be created using the standard functionality for creating putaways. However, it must be taken into account that in this putaway the quantities of the goods are not differentiated according to released goods or blocked goods and are therefore not distributed to the corresponding storage bins. This differentiation must be done manually. If there is still an open inspection order for the posted goods receipt line, because only a partial quantity was released from the inspection, the standard functionality for creating a putaway can only be used when the open inspection order has also been completed.

Quality Employee#

You must define the employees who are assigned to a test order or who are set up in the test equipment card as the person responsible or deputy as "Quality assurance employees".

To do this, first call up the "Quality assurance employees" page via the user search.

You can create new quality assurance employees via "New" in the ribbon. Use the "No." field to select an employee from the "Employees" page. The other fields are then automatically transferred from the employee card.

Further information can be found at: "Recording an employee".

User setup#

Inventory processing#

Report selection#

In the "Report selection", the corresponding report must be set up for the respective use (inspections). Report 5483763 - "Inspection order" is available in the QM and can be used for all inspections. Report usages for which customized reports can be created and assigned if required are:

• Incoming inspection
• Intermediate inspection operation
• Intermediate examination external work course
• Final inspection
• Manual test

Exams facility#

Test characteristics#

Recurring inspection characteristics can be set up via the "Inspection characteristics overview". These inspection characteristics form the basis for creating inspection plan lines. The Code and Description fields identify and describe the inspection characteristic. The Attribute field defines whether the characteristic is to be inspected attributively or whether it is a characteristic with measured values to be recorded.

Additional lines with a further description of the inspection characteristic can be created for an inspection characteristic. If an inspection characteristic is specified in an inspection plan line, these additional description lines of the inspection characteristic are transferred to the inspection plan lines below the selected inspection characteristic.

Via Further options > Navigate > ActionGroup2 > Translations, a translation for the required language codes can be set up for each inspection characteristic. The translations are accessed when an inspection order is printed for a vendor with the corresponding language code.

Error category#

Error categories can be assigned to the detailed test errors and serve as a grouping element of the test errors. To create a defect category, first call up the "Defect categories" via the user search. Via "New" in the menu ribbon, you can define a new defect category with the help of the table below.

Via Further options > Navigate > Translations, a translation for the required language codes can be set up for each error category. The translations are accessed when a check order is printed for a vendor with the corresponding language code.

Test error#

When recording the test data of a test order, a defined test defect can be assigned if defects are detected. Test errors are used to evaluate and group the test data. To define the test errors, call up the "Test errors" via the user search. Via "New" in the menu ribbon, you can define a new test error with the aid of the table below.

Via Further options > Navigate > Translations, a translation for the required language codes can be set up for each check error. The translations are accessed when a check order is printed for a vendor with the corresponding language code.

Test Equipment Group#

A test equipment group can be assigned to a test equipment. To define a test equipment group, call up the "Test equipment group overview" via the user search. Via "New" in the menu ribbon, you can create a new test equipment group using the table below.

Via the test equipment group list, remarks can be stored for a test equipment group via further options > Navigate > Test equipment groups > Remarks.

Sampling regulations#

Both standardized and freely defined regulations can be set up as sampling regulations. A sampling regulation is a basic element of the inspection plan. For each inspection plan, 3 sampling regulations must be assigned: * Sampling rule Code (Normal) * Sampling requirement code (Tightened)
-> Sampling rule Code (reduced)
Therefore, it makes sense to set up three sampling rules with the respective inspection severity for a basic sampling rule.

To set up the sampling regulations, call up the sampling regulation overview via the user search. You can define a new sampling regulation via "New" in the menu ribbon.

Sampling regulations consist of a header (info tab "General") and the sampling regulation lines (info tab "Lines").

Inforegister General#

Inforegister lines#

Jump instructions#

The jump instructions can be used to set up dynamic modification of the sample size for goods receipt inspections. The jump instructions can be set up ...

1) ... for a specific item and vendor
The Article no. field is filled with the respective article no. The Vendor no. field is filled to the respective vendor

2) ... for a specific vendor - regardless of the item.
The Item no. field remains empty The Vendor no. field is filled to the respective vendor

3) ... for a specific item - regardless of the respective vendor.
The Article no. field is filled with the respective article no. The Vendor No. field remains empty

4) ... for generally valid for all articles and creditors
The fields Item no. and Vendor no. remain empty

The system checks in the sequence listed above whether a jump instruction is set up for the combination of article and vendor and accesses the first set up found. According to the jump instruction found and the previous inspection decisions in the goods receipt inspections, the current goods receipt inspection is created with the corresponding sample size. The history of the goods receipt inspections can be found in the skip lot history overview.

When an incoming inspection is first created for a specific supplier and specific item, an incoming inspection is always created with the Normal sampling rule.

To define the jump instructions, call them up via the user search. Via "New" in the menu ribbon you can set up a new jump instruction with the help of the table below.

Tolerance classes#

The tolerance classes are used to create the individual dimensional categories for the free size tolerances. Common tolerance classes are: * f (fine) * m (medium) * c (coarse) * v (very coarse)

To define the tolerance classes, call them up via the user search. Via "New" in the menu ribbon you can create a new tolerance class with the help of the table below.

Tolerances of free dimensions#

Via the free size tolerances, the free size tolerance ± is set up for the respective tolerance class and the nominal dimension range above ... / to ... . Tolerances are used in inspection plan lines. The minimum nominal value and the maximum nominal value of the inspection characteristic are automatically calculated from the nominal value of the inspection characteristic and the tolerance of the inspection characteristic. Nominal value of the inspection characteristic.

To set up the tolerance, call up the "Tolerances" via the user search. Via "New" in the menu ribbon you can define a new free size tolerance with the help of the table below.

The table for limit dimensions for linear dimensions ...

Limit dimensions in mm for nominal dimension range in mm#

... are to be set up in the table of free size tolerances as follows as an example:

Fit tolerances#

To set up the fit tolerances, call them up via the user search. Fit tolerances are used in inspection plan lines. The nominal value of the inspection characteristic and the fit tolerance of the inspection characteristic automatically result in the min. nominal value and the max. nominal value of the inspection characteristic. Nominal value of the inspection characteristic.

Fit tolerances can only be created with the tolerance abbreviations for outer dimensions (lower case) and inner dimensions (upper case) if a distinction between upper and lower case is technically activated in the database for primary key fields. If this is not the case, no distinction is made between a fit tolerance h13 and H13 and the creation of the second fit tolerance leads to an error:

"The record already exists in the Fit Tolerance table. Identifying fields and values: Fit='H13'.

In such a constellation, the fit tolerances must be created with unique code, such as:

H13 (A) ... for outside dimension fit tolerance H13 (I) ... for inside dimension fit tolerance

The table of fit tolerances (example: h6) must be created as follows

External dimensions (shafts): Limiting dimensions in µm (1 µm = 0.001 mm)

Example setup of the fit tolerance h6

Testing equipment#

Call up the "Test equipment overview" via the user search to access the test equipment list. Test equipment is the equipment that is used in the test to determine measured values. A piece of test equipment can be assigned to the respective test plan line with which the characteristic in question is to be measured. Within the inspection plans and inspection orders, a check is performed to determine whether the specified test equipment has the status Released or Not subject to calibration in order to be used in the inspection line. However, there is no check whether the technical specifications in the test equipment card, such as unit code, reading accuracy or measuring range, match the characteristic and value range to be measured.

Test equipment card#

The TEST EQUIPMENT CARD consists of the GENERAL, USE, CALIBRATION and CALIBRATION LINES tabs. These are explained in more detail below.

Inforegister General#

In the GENERAL INFO tab, enter the master data of the test equipment.

Inforegister Use#

In the USAGE info tab, you can additionally specify which persons are responsible for the test equipment and to which department of the company the test equipment is assigned.

Inforegister Calibration#

In the Calibration tab, you can store the regulation, location, cycle, etc. according to which the calibration takes place.

Inforegister Calibration Lines#

The calibrations performed are documented in the calibration lines. The calibration lines are created automatically from the calibration specifications when a new calibration is created. See Calibrating test equipment.

Right-click in the Calibration Date column heading to expand or collapse all rows. Click on a Calibration Date value to collapse or expand just those calibration rows.

Test equipment Remarks and translations#

Additional data can be maintained via the menu ribbon using Further options > Associated > Test equipment: Comments
This form can be used to record internal remarks about a piece of test equipment

Translations
In this form, a translation for the required language codes can be set up for each piece of test equipment. The translations are accessed when an inspection order is printed for a vendor with the corresponding language code.

Calibrate test equipment#

The module enables you to schedule necessary calibrations and to record and thus document calibrations that have been performed.

Create calibration presets#

Before you can document a calibration for a piece of test equipment, you must enter calibration specifications. To do this, go to the Calibration specifications call in the test equipment CARD IN the menu ribbon. In the CALIBRATION SPECIFICATIONS form that opens, you can enter the measured quantities and conditions to be inspected for the test equipment. The following table describes the fields of the CALIBRATION SPECIFICATIONS FORM.

Document calibration#

To perform a new calibration, you must first set the status of the test equipment to "In test". Note that test equipment with the status "In test" cannot be used in test orders, or can only be used to a limited extent.

A new calibration is created via the "Create new calibration" function. Here, the current calibration specifications are copied into the calibration lines. The working date is used as the calibration date. The calibration date can be changed manually if required.

For calibration lines to be measured, enter the respective measured value in the Actual value field. If the actual value is within the limits specified in the calibration specification, Min. Setpoint, the indicator OK is automatically set. No actual value can be entered for attributive calibration lines. In these lines, the OK indicator must be set manually.

Once all calibration lines are acquired, the overall result must be set on the calibration date line.

Finally, the status of the test equipment must be set. If all lines including the overall result line are marked with OK, the status of the test equipment can be set to Released. By setting the status, the next calibration date is automatically calculated using the calibration date of the calibration line and the date formula from the Calibration cycle field.

If not all lines are marked with OK, the status of the test equipment must be set to Locked.

Copy test equipment#

To create similar test equipment, an existing test equipment can be used as a copy template. Proceed as follows when copying a piece of test equipment:

First create a new empty data set. Then call up the Copy from function from the menu ribbon of the test equipment card. Select the test equipment that you want to use as a template from the test equipment overview that opens. Confirm the selection with OK. The copy function copies all fields from the test equipment selected as the source as well as the calibration specifications. The Next calibration date field is also copied. If you create a new gage that requires calibration, you should record an initial calibration in order to have the next calibration date calculated after the gage has been released.

Test plans#

Call up the "Test plan overview" via the user search to access the test plan list. The test plan is the basis from which test orders are created. The test plan contains the parameters relevant for the test order. The characteristics to be inspected are also defined in the inspection plan. Which inspection plan is to be used in which process by the system is defined in the inspection plan usage.

Via "New" in the menu ribbon you can define a new test plan using the tables below.

When a new inspection plan is created, it initially receives the status New. The status can be changed to In development, Certified or Expired using the functions in the test order header menu. Only with the status Certified can an inspection plan be used as a default for creating inspection orders. In the Certified status, no changes can be made in an inspection plan. To change a certified inspection plan, the status must be reset to In development. Changes are also possible in the New or Expired status.

Create test plans#

Inforegister General#

In the GENERAL info tab you will find general information such as description, status and version.

Inforegister lines#

The Lines info tab lists the characteristics to be inspected with detailed information such as description, inspection equipment, nominal values and inspection notes, etc.

Inforegister sampling requirement#

The SAMPLING REGULATION info tab contains the sampling regulations to be used in general if no other sampling definitions are shown in the rows.

A sampling specification must be entered in the Sampling specification field, otherwise the inspection plan cannot be released and a corresponding message is issued.

Inforegister Management#

In the ADMINISTRATION tab, you will find information about who created or modified the test plan and when.

Test plan remarks / test plan notes#

Test plan remarks#

You can store any number of remarks for each test plan. Click on the test plan card in the "Related>Test plan>Remarks" menu band. The "Remarks" window opens in which you can enter your remarks.

The remarks can be viewed and also changed via the same path.

Test plan notes#

The test equipment notes are recorded in the "Notes" info box and are also displayed there with date and user name after "Save".

Test plan uses#

Call up the "Inspection plan usages" via the user search. In the inspection plan usage, you must set up in which processes which inspection plans are to be accessed in order to create the process-relevant inspection orders.

The "Inspection plan usage" can also be opened directly from the inspection plan map or the inspection plan overview. Furthermore, this can also be called up in the vendor, customer, article, work center groups, work centers, operation filtered to the respective data record.

The USAGE TEST PLAN page is divided into a header and a row area. The header area is used to filter the usage lines.

Test plan Use filter area#

You can perform the following filtering for the test plan usage lines:

Test plan use lines#

The test plan usage is set up in the lines described below. Mandatory fields for the complete setup of a test plan usage are:
-> Type of origin
Depending on the selected origin type, further fields are to be filled differently.
-> Type
Depending on the selected type, further fields are to be filled differently
-> Test plan
The inspection plan to be used for the combination of origin type and species, which is used to create the respective inspection order.

Test plan#

Inspection plan usages can be set up for the following processes. Which inspection plan is used to create the inspection order depends on the following hierarchy:

Incoming inspection use priorities{ #incoming-inspection-testplan-use-priorities }#

Example: A goods receipt is posted for vendor 10000 and item 70011. The inspection plan usage is run through in the following hierarchical order to determine the valid inspection plan for creating the inspection order:

If the test plan usages are managed with start date and end date, the entry with the most recent start date is used within the same priority. The sorting is therefore ascending within the priority level according to the start date. The last entry of the test plan usage is accessed.

If test plans are managed with versions, the version with the most recent start date is used within the same priority.

Intermediate exam#

Example: A routing 1001 is available for the article 1000 "Touring bike" to be produced. In operation 40 at work center 110, an intermediate inspection is to be set up before the touring bike is packed.

In the inspection plan usage, the trigger for creating the intermediate inspection with the required inspection plan can be set up in different ways. The priority rule is "from the most accurate assignment to the most general assignment":

If the test plan usages are managed with start date and end date, the entry with the most recent start date is used within the same priority. The sorting is therefore ascending within the priority level according to the start date. The last entry of the test plan usage is accessed.

If test plans are managed with versions, the version with the most recent start date is used within the same priority.

Test plan usage Incomplete data records in the test plan usage#

An incomplete data record in the test plan usage is ignored by the system. Mandatory fields are marked with a red star depending on the line type.

Incoming inspection#

Example:
A data record exists in the inspection plan usage for the vendor 01254796 and the article 70000. This data record does not contain an assigned inspection plan. A goods receipt is posted for vendor 01254796 and item 70000.

In this case, the goods receipt is posted without creating an incoming inspection or issuing an error message.

Intermediate exam#

Example:
A work plan with the following operations is available for item 1000:

Intermediate tests for article 1000 are set up in the test plan usage with
-Intermediate inspection Operation with operation no. 20 without inspection plan assignment
-Intermediate test workstation 120 with test plan PP-00004

When the production order is released, the first line of the inspection plan usage is ignored, an intermediate inspection is created according to the (less relevant) second line for work center 120 via the stored inspection plan PP-00004.

Copy test plan#

You have the possibility to copy an existing test plan. To do this, proceed as follows:

1.) Create a new test plan with a new test plan number under Planning > Test plans using the New button.

2.) Click the Copy test plan function in the ribbon.

3.) In the TEST PLANS form, select the test plan to be copied.

4.) The header and row information of the selected test plan will be copied to the current test plan.

The newly created inspection plan must be assigned in the inspection plan usage to the business transactions in which the inspection orders are to be created from it. (See also Inspection plan usage)

Versioning the test plan#

You can create any number of versions for an existing test plan when making changes to the test plan. A prerequisite for the versioning of inspection plans is the assignment of a number series in the inspection plan header in the Version numbers field. To avoid working with a consecutive version number for all inspection plans and their versions, create a number series with purely manual number assignment. This number series can be used in every inspection plan. When creating a new test plan version, you can now manually assign the respective version number of the test plan version (V-001, V-002, V-003 ...).

An inspection plan version does not have to be set up in the inspection plan usage. The test plan usage accesses the stored test plan and the latest certified version available for it. (See Test plan usage)

To create a new version for an existing test plan, proceed as follows: 1. From the test plan list or from the test plan map, you can call up the test plan version overview using the Versions function. 2. In the test plan version overview, call up the New function. 3. Depending on the setup of the number series in the test plan header for the version numbers, a new test plan version number is assigned automatically or must be assigned manually by the user. 4. You can manually fill all header and row fields in the new test plan version as described above. Likewise, you can use the inspection plan header as the basis for a new version or use an existing inspection plan version as the basis for a new version. To do this, use the Copy test plan or Copy test plan version function. The header and line information will be copied from the selected source to the new test plan version. 5. Use the Start date field in the test plan version to specify from which working date this version should be automatically used by the system. The most recent certified version of a test plan is always accessed. 6. Finally, you use the functions to define the status of the current test plan version:
-Certify
The version receives the status Certified. From the inspection plan usage, the most current inspection plan version according to the work date is accessed for creating inspection orders.
-Reset status
The version receives the status In development. In this status, changes can be made to the version. The test plan usage does not access this version when creating test orders.
-Exit
The version receives the status Expired. The test plan usage does not access this version when creating test orders.

Quality checks#

The QM module creates quality inspections in the various business and manufacturing processes. The chapter describes how quality inspections are created on the basis of inspection plans and sampling regulations. The quality inspections can be subdivided as follows: * Incoming inspection * Intermediate exam * Intermediate examination external work course * Final inspection * Manual test

QM also supports quality inspections in production in interaction with external work (intermediate inspections and final inspections).

Incoming inspection#

The incoming goods inspection is intended for the purchasing, sales and stock transfer process.

The incoming inspection in purchasing is intended for the inspection of purchase deliveries. Purchasing deliveries can be posted directly via the purchase order or the goods receipt, depending on the setup of the storage location. If "Perform quality inspection from purchasing" is activated for the storage location in question and an inspection plan has been set up in the inspection plan usage for the combination of article and vendor, the system automatically creates an incoming inspection for the posted purchasing delivery.

Receipt check in sales is intended for checking incoming postings from posted returns due to a sales complaint. Returns can be posted directly from the complaint or the goods receipt, depending on the setup of the storage location. If "Perform quality inspection from sales" is activated for the storage location in question and an inspection plan has been set up in the inspection plan usage for the combination of article and customer, the system automatically creates an incoming inspection for the posted return.

The incoming inspection for transfer order is intended for the inspection of transferred items. The incoming inspection from transfer order is created automatically if “Perform quality inspection from stock transfer” is activated for location (field “Transfer-from Code”) of the stock transfer order and an inspection plan with the origin type “Incoming inspection from stock transfer” has been created for the item to be transferred in the inspection plan usage. The inspection order from a stock transfer order is identical to an inspection order from a purchase order or a sales complaint.

The list of incoming inspections to be processed from purchase deliveries, sales complaints or transfer orders can be called up directly via the corresponding tile in the “Quality Management (QM)” role center. You can also open the list of incoming inspections to be processed from the ribbon of the role center via “Tasks > Inspection orders > Incoming inspection”.

The list of incoming inspections to be processed can be opened from the purchase order, sales complaint and transfer order via the relevant document line and the call “Line > Inspection orders”. In this case, the list is filtered to:

• the origin number (order number / sales complaint number / stock transfer order number)
• the origin type (purchase line / sales line / stock transfer line)
• the origin line number

By displaying the filter area and removing the filter on the origin line number, the list view can be expanded so that all incoming inspections to be carried out for the relevant purchase order / sales complaint / stock transfer order are listed.

Intermediate exam#

Intermediate inspections are created automatically when production orders are processed. If "Perform quality inspection from production" is activated for the storage location in question and if an inspection plan has been set up in the inspection plan usage for a combination of article and work center, work center group or operation in the routing, the system creates the respective inspection order for the intermediate inspection. This means that several intermediate inspections can exist for different work steps in a production order.

Intermediate checks are created automatically when a simulated or firmly planned production order is transferred to a released production order via the status change.

If a released production order is created directly, the execution of the function Update production order triggers the creation of the intermediate inspections. If changes are made to a released production order for which interim inspections already exist, executing the Update production order function again causes existing interim inspections to be deleted and new interim inspections to be performed based on the current data of the released production order.

The list of interim inspections to be processed can be called up directly in the role center QM - Quality Assurance via the corresponding tiles. There are two tiles, one tile for intermediate inspections from in-house production operations and one tile for intermediate inspection of external operations. You can also open the respective list of interim inspections to be processed from the role center ribbon via Tasks > Inspection orders > Interim inspection or Interim inspection (external).

From the production order, the list of intermediate inspections to be processed can be opened by calling Line > Inspection order.

Final inspection#

The final inspection for a production order is created automatically if "Perform quality inspection from production" is activated for the storage location of the production order and an inspection plan is set up in the inspection plan usage for the origin type final inspection for the article to be produced. A final inspection is created automatically when the last operation is posted via the production ledger sheet or the actual message ledger sheet.

If the last operation is an external work, the final inspection is generated by posting the delivery of the external work order.

The list of final inspections to be processed can be opened in the QM - Quality Assurance role center directly via the corresponding Final inspections tile. You can also open the list of final inspections to be processed from the role center menu via Tasks > Inspection orders > Final inspection.

Manual test#

The QM quality assurance module allows you to create manual checks.

To do this, go to the menu Departments > Quality assurance > Manual inspection and select the menu item Create manual inspection.

By means of the Stock transfer book sheet you can transfer an article to the storage location or storage bin of the quality inspection. The stock transfer creates a manual inspection.

The following table describes the fields of the CREATE MANUAL CHECK form.

To fill the Book. sheet and create a manual check, proceed as follows on the CREATE MANUAL CHECK form:

1. Navigate to the function Get bin contents in the menu.
   
2. Enter a posting date and document number.
3. In the request window you can make further restrictions so that only the desired items appear.
4. After you have executed the Get bin contents function, the book.sheet will be filled automatically.
5. For the New storage location code and New storage bin code fields, make sure that the storage location has been set up for quality inspections and that the new storage bin code corresponds to the set up QA storage bin on the storage location map.
6. You can use the Post & Create Check Orders function to create a Manual Check for the generated rows.

Via Departments > Quality assurance > Manual inspection > Manual inspections, you can perform the generated manual inspection.

When creating a manual inspection, it can basically come to the state that the quantity to be inspected is fetched from several different item items, each of which can have its own dimensions. However, because this is not clear, no dimensions are seen on the inspection order. If dimensions are stored at the test order, only these are written to the incoming article items, the outgoing dimensions compensate for the old items. Important: The check order does not add any dimensions to the article item, but replaces them, if they exist. However, if no dimensions are stored in the check order, then the dimensions of the existing item are passed on to the new item.

Test order#

Test orders have an identical structure, regardless of their origin. A test order is divided into a test order header and the associated test order lines. The basis for the test order is the test plan described in the basic setup.

Inforegister General#

Inforegister origin#

Inforegister lines#

The test order lines are filled from the specifications of the test plan when the test order is created. In addition, the results of the individual tests are displayed in the test order lines. A final test result must be set in each test plan line. The following table describes the fields of the test order line.

Default fields#

Fields filled when performing the check#

Example for the calculation of the quality number#

With the setup for the weighting of the defect findings shown above and the adjacent illustration of the test results, the formula ...

Quality number = 101 - (Total number of tests
+ Weighted minor error deviations
+ Weighted main error deviations
+ Weighted Critical Error Deviations)
/ Total number of tests

Quality number = 101 - ( 15 + ( 2 x 10) + (0 x 30) + (1 x 60) ) / 15 = 94.67

Perform quality check#

The following sections explain how a quality inspection is performed. The execution of an inspection is identical for all inspection order types. Completed quality inspections of the type incoming inspection (vendor) are included in the supplier evaluation. The inspection result can be made available as a document to the supplier in the event of justified complaints. Within production, the intermediate inspections performed and the final inspection performed can be used as proof of quality for documenting the production process.

Set quantity to check#

In the inspection order header, the required inspection quantity has been calculated via the sampling specification and the document quantity. The quantity to be inspected defines the actual quantity to be inspected. In principle, the quantity to be inspected can be kept different from the calculated required inspection quantity. You can set the quantity to be inspected lower and you can also increase the quantity to be inspected up to a maximum of the total document quantity.

Item without article tracking
For items without item tracking, the required check quantity is automatically written to the Quantity to check field.

Item with article tracking
For articles with article tracking, it is mandatory that the indicator "Batch no. warehouse" or "Serial no. warehouse" is set to Yes for the article tracking codes used. The item tracking information must also be carried across storage bins.

For items with item tracking, the required inspection quantity is automatically written to the Quantity to inspect field only in the intermediate inspections of production. In incoming inspections, final inspections or manual inspections, the quantity to inspect must be defined via the item tracking lines assigned to the inspection order. To do this, use the Assist button of the Quantity to check field. In the page opened by this, all posted batch numbers with movement quantity (base) or all posted serial numbers with movement quantity (base) = 1 are displayed. In the Quantity to check column, enter the required check quantity for the respective batch number. For serial numbers, you must enter the quantity to check = 1 for the respective serial number to be checked until you have reached the required quantity to check.

Record test results#

The inspection results for the individual inspection order lines can be recorded in two different ways:

Recording in the test result matrix#

The test result matrix is called up via the Test result matrix button in the menu ribbon of the test order.

In the inspection result matrix, all inspection order lines are displayed one below the other. Behind the information from the inspection order lines (position, inspection characteristic code, unit code, attribute, min. nominal value, nominal value and max. nominal value), the fields for recording the inspection results are displayed in the following numbered columns. Target value), the fields for recording the inspection results are displayed in the following numbered columns. The number of columns corresponds to the quantity to be inspected defined in the inspection order. A maximum of 32 columns for recording the results can be displayed on one page of the test results matrix. If the "Quantity to check" is larger, you can scroll to the next recording record using the "Next record" button. The "Previous record" button is used to return to the previous record of test results. In the test results matrix, no more results can be recorded than have been defined via the quantity to be tested.

General information from the test order is displayed in the header of the test result matrix. Filters of the test result matrix are displayed in the Display options area. These display options can be changed. According to the display options set, it is possible to switch to the test result matrices of other test orders without having to leave the test order itself. The buttons on the left and right of the test result matrix page are used for this purpose.

Acquisition via test data#

The test data is called up via the Lines > Test data button. In the test data page, the individual test results are recorded line by line for the test order line from which the call was made. No number of lines is predefined based on the quantity to be inspected. If test results have already been recorded via the test result matrix, they are displayed line by line on the test data page. The test data can be used to record other values in addition to the pure test result.

Fields of the Test Data table#

Test feature Test result#

After an inspection has been performed and recorded for all test items, the "Inspection data" window or the "Inspection results matrix" can be closed. The entered data is transferred to the lines of the test order. From the input of the actual values, the minimum and maximum actual values are determined and an average is calculated. These values are entered by the system in the Actual value (min.), Actual value (average) and Actual value (max.) fields. The number of your test data per test order line is displayed in the Number of tests field. Via Drilldown you can display the respective test data.

On the basis of the test data entered and the min., max. and average values determined from them, you must carry out a test result for each test item. To do this, select your assessment in the "Test result" field. The following options are available: * blank
No check result set * in order
The inspection characteristic is free of defects. This result can only be set, if there are no deviations. * Minor defect
The inspection characteristic is not free of defects. The error is classified as a minor error * Main error
The inspection characteristic is not error-free. The error is classified as a main error * critical error
The inspection characteristic is not free of errors. The error is classified as a minor error

The definition of a minor, major and the critical error must be defined internally. A minor defect is not of great importance, while a major defect restricts the use of the item and a critical defect could have serious consequences. If you leave the field blank, you have not recorded a valuation for this inspection item and cannot complete the inspection order. The characteristic of the result is subject to the subjective assessment of the user and can be fixed per inspection characteristic, but not per inspection item.

Test decision for a test order#

An inspection order is completed via an inspection decision. Depending on whether the Inspection requirement on release field is activated, the inspection can only be completed if you have entered the specified quantity to be inspected in the inspection data for each inspection order line. Once you have recorded all the prescribed tests and assigned a test result to each test order line, you can use the menu with the respective buttons to complete the test order as follows:

• Release document quantity
• Release
• Special release
• Document quantity locks

The following table illustrates which inspection decision is possible depending on which recorded inspection data and quantity fields.

Change inspection plan for inspection order#

Via "Action>Function>Change test plan" you have the possibility to manually use another test plan for the test order instead of the test plan set up in the test plan usages.