MasterControl News Archive

This is Part 1 of a series on maximizing efficiency and improving data analysis. Read Part 2: Integrating Disconnected Data Systems and Part 3: Using Process Automation to Reduce Human Error.

In today’s marketplace, building in quality is a critical competitive differentiator, but seemingly conflicting priorities between quality and manufacturing departments have put each of these critical pieces at odds and undermined their shared objective of getting the best possible products into the market. However, fully connected digital solutions in either quality or manufacturing help the other department and show how interdependent these two groups are.

For example, less than a decade ago, Megadyne Medical Products, an end-to-end, full-solution electrosurgical equipment and accessory developer and manufacturer, used a paper-based system for document control and change control processes. During the routing process, the company discovered multiple employees from different departments were making changes to documents, which caused additional delays as each revision needed to be rerouted through the approval process again. This inefficient system made it difficult to comply with regulations standards. Megadyne’s paper-based system also caused delays during audits with regulatory agencies. Their warehouse contained stacks of banker’s boxes for storing documents. When auditors requested specific documentation to show compliance, the document control staff needed to sort through piles of hard copies to find the documents they needed.

“The paper-based system was constraining for us,” said Haven McCall, vice president of quality and regulatory affairs at Megadyne Medical Products. “It soaked up a lot of time, money and resources just to make a minimal change.”

Read the full article here: Avoiding the Ripple Effect of Bad Data: Quality and Manufacturing