24 March 2014: Stephan Sprink

This article describes aspects to be considered while defining and implementing a performance measurement system and offers some examples of case studies.

The basis is proper planning

The implementation of the Q-DAS CAMERA Concept starts with a workshop in order to define the future system layout. However, we keep this layout as flexible as possible in order to adapt to future changes in the
process and to add extensions later on. The most important aspect of this definition workshop is the detailed description of the processes to which the implementation of the Q-DAS CAMERA Concept applies.
Experienced Q-DAS employees and customers work together to find a possible solution based on a guideline. Cornerstones of the process description are information about the manufacturing structure, e.g. information about production lines, operations, machines and tools, test plan structure (e.g. relating to customers or products) and variable additional information (batches, shifts, cavities, …) that have to be recorded.

The detailed planning follows the process description. You have to define the desired evaluation criteria, i.e. how you want to evaluate which information statistically. Already available data will guide you, e.g. existing
reports / evaluations, measurement reports or solutions to be superseded at the customer’s.

Already established standards such as AQDEF (Automotive Quality Data Exchange Format) provide helpful information at the conception stage. They help defining the data structure for installing and operating a performance measurement system.

You have to provide the data fields in the Q-DAS data format; this is the most important basis for operating a performance measurement system and lays the foundation for the configuration of the Q-DAS system.

In order that customers can keep their working language, you adapt the program texts of the graphical user interface to the respective use of language (e.g. part description becomes material description or operation
becomes work step). Subsequently, you will find these configurations consistently in all areas of the CAMERA Concept, i.e. in input masks, reports and test planning or in graphics, diagrams and tables showing evaluation results...