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Jakub Cieśla
Engineering Manager at Exact x Forestall Group
The automotive industry faces the challenge of maintaining high quality while reducing costs and increasing productivity. In response to these needs, outsourcing is emerging as a possible solution, but it brings with it problems such as communication barriers, difficulties in quality control, and limited insight into production processes. This article presents a cloud-based solution that can address these challenges by providing real-time data analysis, facilitating communication, and increasing transparency in quality control processes.
Application of cloud solutions
By using cloud-based reporting, outsourcing companies, manufacturers and customers gain flexible access to real-time mobile analytics. Such a solution reduces waiting times for product quality information and allows immediate access to data. However, the implementation of cloud-based quality reporting systems comes with its own challenges, such as the need for data security, access management, and data quality control.
Benefits and challenges of cloud solutions
The benefits of cloud-based quality reporting systems include:
- High productivity: Faster quality control and report generating.
- Flexibility: Easily scaleable operations and being able to adapt to changing requirements.
- Security: Higher level of data protection through modern IT tools.
- Online collaboration: Facilitating communication between outsourcing companies, manufacturers and other stakeholders.
- Tracking of results: Ability to monitor quality control results in real time.
However, implementing such solutions requires attention to security issues, such as protection against malicious attacks and unauthorized access. Detailed customization processes for employees are also required to ensure uniform understanding and management of data. Cloud solutions in quality control represent an opportunity for further development for researchers and automotive players. By closely collaborating and integrating supplier and customer systems, it is possible to increase process productivity and improve the quality of operations. In summary, cloud reporting has the potential to change the rules of the game in automotive quality control, offering modern tools for data analysis and supporting effective communication between all stakeholders.
Case Study: Exact x Forestall Extranet Platform
The case study in the article concerns the xExtranet platform offered by Exact x Forestall. This platform is an example of an advanced quality control reporting system developed for the automotive industry.
The collaborative model involves the Exact x Forestall, as the outsourcing company, carrying out component inspection and sorting on behalf of the suppliers. The system allows the results of the work to be updated in a sophisticated database that can be accessed by all partners via individual logins and passwords. Reports are available immediately upon completion of the inspection.
Key features of the system
The cloud-based system includes:
- Placing of an order by the client, to the outsourcing company.
- Detailed definition of control/sorting activities.
- Confirmation of the scope of the audit by all stakeholders.
- Reporting and sharing of real-time data after inspections.
- Closing of control and commercial formalities.
- Access to the dashboard that allows for generating automatic statements.
Benefits of the Extranet Platform
The methods of quality control reporting by in-house staff and the outsourcing company may differ, but they must include common elements such as analysis of quality control requirements, configuration of methods, testing, implementation and monitoring of results. Exact x Forestall offers the following benefits:
- Quick access to data: Immediate access to quality control results.
- Highly efficient: Automation of reporting processes.
- Flexibility: Ability to scale operations and adapt to changing requirements.
- Security: Advanced data security tools.
- Close cooperation: Enabling easy online communication and collaboration.
Challenges of the Extranet Platform
The implementation of the platform comes with challenges, such as ensuring data security against malicious attacks and unauthorised access. This requires solutions such as two-factor logins, data encryption and appropriate access policies.
Exact x Forestall, through its Extranet platform, demonstrates how modern cloud solutions can support quality control processes by offering efficient, flexible and secure tools for quality management in the automotive industry.
This article is based on the publication THE FUTURE OF QUALITY CONTROL IN MOTORIZATION: HOW REPORTING IN THE CLOUD CHANGES THE RULES OF THE GAME by Jakub Cieśla and Robert Ulewicz of the Częstochowa University of Technology.
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