Texecom manufactures security and alarm products that protect millions of properties and businesses worldwide.
In 2017 the Texecom quality team decided to move away from their spreadsheet-based legacy systems and manage quality in a new and more efficient way - with the EQMS platform supplied by Qualsys.
We visited James Seel, Production Manager at Texecom's Haslingden site, to learn about the impact of EQMS 2 years on.
Watch our interview video, or read the case study below.
Looking after the things people care about
Texecom works to multiple quality standards to support its overall mission of providing high-quality security products that protect lives and property.
Texecom's quality management system is built around compliance with:
- ISO 9001
- OHSAS 18001 (transitioning to 45001)
- The EN54 fire alarm quality standard
Quality is the backbone of success in a marketplace.
The bringing in of EQMS was an understanding that our quality systems weren't fit for continued growth.
We'd reached a size and scope where the way we were doing things wasn't allowing us to keep to our standards or push forward.
- James Seel, Production Manager, Texecom
Texecom implemented EQMS in 2017 to eliminate compliance burden, slice their cost of poor quality (COPQ) by 5% annually, and free up resource with a single system to drive future business growth.
A single system for holistic quality control
All our test logs and process quality checks were listed physically on paper.
Our work instructions and quality documentation were in antiquated file structures on local PCs.
We wanted to improve our efficiency and our auditability, and have a centralised location where we could log our information regarding our quality adherence and our process documentation.
- James Seel, Production Manager, Texecom
Texecom implemented Document Manager to house all quality and process information in a single area.
They then implemented a string of additional EQMS modules to handle and automate the remainder of their quality management system:
- Audit Manager was implemented to handle all internal auditing, including 5S housekeeping and total preventative maintenance (TPM) audits on production machinery
- Issue Manager was configured to log, control and funnel customer complaints with designated workflows, as well as to to address non-conformances with CAPA workflows and to onboard new business areas into the 5S program
- Equipment Manager handles all equipment calibration and acts as a complete physical asset log
- Supplier Manager was applied for supplier assessment and control, and to hold suppliers to account with a trackable scorecard dashboard
Impact
Since switching on EQMS 2 years ago, Texecom reported a raft of business benefits:
- Process audit time reduced from 3 hours to 30-45 minutes with electronic mobile checklists
- Extra employment to support admin was no longer necessary, saving 40 manhours a week (and around 640 hours so far) of salary costs
- Post-calibration data recording and storage time reduced from 2 days to 6 hours per month
- NCRs and customer complaint response time sliced significantly and supported by more thorough documentation within the electronic quality system, saving around 2 hours a week of data admin time
- Monthly quality report creation time sliced from one day per month to 2 hours
- As a result, around £48,000 saved through process efficiencies in the first year alone
An even stronger operation
EQMS was definitely the best choice.
And it continues to be the choice that we're glad we made.
- James Seel, Production Manager, Texecom
With a more efficient operation for the quality team powered by EQMS and a string of tangible benefits unlocked in the first 2 years of the project, Texecom plan to roll EQMS out to the rest of the organisation, beginning with the operation and production departments.
With 5S and DMAIC auditing expanded to the entire production area, the quality and management teams will gain even deeper visibility of the quality landscape and be able to embed continued improvement into the business operation.
What to do next
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