Managing QC Tests

Quality Control is a major method of providing process control within DEACOM. Quality Control ensures that required Quality Control Tests are performed when Raw Materials are received on Purchase Orders, when Finished Goods are produced on production Jobs, and when previously sold products are returned. Quality Control is an optional feature with a wide array of settings, ranging from completely disabled to enabled with extremely strict requirements, and can be established on an item-by-item basis. This means that some items can have absolutely no quality control, while others can have many required QC tests.

Quality Control Tests are required to do QC testing. The Quality Control Test describes the base name of the test as well as any applicable testing methods and the Unit of Measure that should be used for testing. Quality Control Groups are a list of sequenced Quality Control Tests for the group to perform. QC Groups can be attached to a Part's Item Master to indicate testing required upon PO receipt or on a Bill of Materials to indicate testing required prior to, or following, finishing of material on a production Job. If two items have identical QC Tests and allowable results, they can share the same QC Group. If two items have different QC Tests or different allowable results, they would each have a different QC Group. A system can have as few as one QC Group, or as many QC Groups as there are items, or anything in between. Items may also have multiple QC Groups assigned based on different testing levels. For example, all Raw Materials may be assigned a basic QC Group, with a certain sub set of Raw Materials being assigned an additional QC Group on the Item Master record to ensure these materials undergo additional QC testing requirements.

Quality Control Security Groups are assigned to each Quality Control Test when the test is added to a Quality Control Group. User Groups are then assigned to QC Security Groups using Quality Control Group Security. This grid must be updated whenever a new Quality Control Security Group or User Group is created to ensure the new group has appropriate access. Specific test protocols and security for entering QC data are configured via Quality Control Groups and security for who can enter QC values is configured via Quality Control Security Groups. Additional system security is required to perform functions such as creating or modifying QC Tests and QC Security Groups.

Information on how to create and configure Quality Control Tests and Groups is available on this page. Information on how to perform QC testing in DEACOM is available via the Entering Production and Stability QC Test Results, Entering Purchasing and Stability QC Test Results, and Performing QC Tests on Sales Order Returns pages. Process information related to marking results as approved or failed is covered in Approving QC Results and Failing QC Results, respectively, and various reporting options are discussed in Quality Control Reporting.

If there is any open Job with an assigned Quality Control Group, do not add Quality Control Tests to the group. If tests are added, the system will require test results, but it will not be possible to enter them since the test was not originally assigned to the Job. An External Program is required to correct the issue and continue processing the Job.

Configuration

In order to utilize the quality control features in DEACOM; Quality Control Tests, Quality Control Groups and Quality Control Security Groups must first be created in the system. Once created, these are then assigned to the appropriate items or item formulas (Bill of Materials). These steps are covered in the process section below.

  • Prior to configuring the QC master data above, the following master data needs to be created.
  • Item masters - Items are created via Inventory > Item Master.
  • Formula revisions - formula revisions or bills of material are created via Inventory > Bills Of Material.
  • If companies will assign Quality Control Groups to Vendor Parts or Customer Parts in DEACOM, these will need to be created as well.

Process

Creating Quality Control Tests

  1. Navigate to Inventory > Maintenance > Quality Control Tests.
  2. Click the "New" button to display the "Edit Quality Control Test" form.
  3. Enter a name in the "Name" field. All other fields on the form are optional. See the Edit Quality Control Tests form encyclopedia section for more information.
  4. Once all the information is complete, click the "Save" and "Exit" button to complete the process. Note: QC test user fields can be marked as required when creating new QC Tests.

Creating Quality Control Security Groups

  1. Navigate to Inventory > Maintenance > Quality Control Security Groups.
  2. Click the "New" button to display the "Edit QC Security Group" form.
  3. Enter a name for the group in the "Name" field and ensure the "Active" box is marked. If desired, the "Default" box may be checked to have this security group entered as the default when adding new QC tests to QC Groups in the system. Only one security group may be set as the default. This setting is optional.
  4. Once all the information has been entered, click the "Save" and "Exit" button. Optional: Users can add QC Test user fields to the Edit Quality Control Group form to assist users when creating or modifying QC Groups and adding QC tests to the group.

Creating Quality Control Groups

  1. Navigate to Inventory > Maintenance > Quality Control Groups.
  2. The "Quality Control Groups" form, which contains a list of quality groups available in the system, will be displayed.
  3. Click the "Add New" button to display the "Edit Quality Control Group" form.
  4. Enter a name for the group in the "QC Group Name" field.
  5. The "Active" box will be checked by default and should be left this way to ensure the group can be used in the system.
  6. Check any additional boxes that are required on the "Edit Quality Control Group" form. See the Edit Quality Control Group form section for more information. Note that in version 17.00, multiple e-signatures can be required on QC entry passes via the "e-Signature Counts" field on the Edit Quality Control Group form.
  7. Click on the "Add" button to display the "Edit Quality Control Item" form where individual QC tests and test parameters are entered. The same QC Test may be added to a QC Group multiple times if, for example, something like temperature should be tested at multiple, separate times throughout production.
    1. Note: Users may also use the "Same As" button in situations where a new QC Group will have QC Tests similar to existing ones. Once the QC Tests from the other QC Group have been copied, users may go back and modify individual test settings appropriate for the new group.
  8. Fill in the required fields and any additional fields or parameters as required on the "Edit Quality Control Item" form. Additional information regarding the fields available are included in the "Edit Quality Control Item" form encyclopedia section.
  9. Once all additions have been made, click the "Save" and "Exit" button to commit the changes and add the QC Test to the QC Group.
  10. Repeat steps 7-9 for any additional QC Tests that need to be added.
  11. Once all additions/changes have been made click the "Save" and "Exit" buttons on the "Edit Quality Control Group" form to complete the process of creating a new QC Group.

Assigning User Groups to Quality Control Security Groups

  1. Navigate to System > Maintenance > Quality Control Group Security
  2. The system will display a grid with names of all active User Groups across the top and all active Quality Control Security Groups down the side.
  3. The process of granting User Groups access to different Quality Control Security Groups is handled by a toggle function. To assign or unassign a User Group to specific group, double click on the "Yes" or "No" value to toggle the selection.
  4. Once complete, click the "Save" and "Exit" button to complete the process.

Assigning Quality Control Groups to Item Masters

  1. Navigate to Inventory > Item Master.
  2. Select the appropriate part in the "Part Number" field and click the "Modify" button to display the "Edit Item Master" form.
  3. Click the "QC/Stability Tests" tab.
  4. Click the green plus sign to display the "Edit QC/Stability Tests" form.
  5. Select a QC Group from the "QC Group" field drop down.
  6. Select a "Frequency Type" and enter a value in the "Frequency" field. If the test will be associated with Stability Result Entry, enter a value in the "Stability Days" field. See the "QC/Stability Tests" form encyclopedia section for more information.
  7. Once all the information is complete, click the "Save" and "Exit" buttons.
  8. If necessary, additional QC Groups may be assigned by repeating steps 4-7.
  9. Once complete, click the "Save" button on the "Edit Item Master" form to complete the process.

Notes:

  • Customer specific Quality Control Groups may be added to Customer Part Cross References in DEACOM. See the "Managing Customer Specific Quality Specifications" help page for additional information.
  • Version 17.01.006 adds a new field "QC Freq Lot Type" field, both on the item master and Bill of Materials revision level. Options are Follow Inventory Options, System Lot, or User Lot. Setting the option on the item, or revision level, supports scenarios where the QC frequency differs based on the item type. For example, setting the QC frequency to System Lot may be useful for raw materials and components, where lots will be tested on a system lot basis. Having the QC frequency set to User Lot may be more useful for lots that are produced (finished goods and sub-assemblies) that will be tested by user lot. Example - If a pallet containing 400kg of powder is made up of 10 kg per finish, that is 40 different system lots, but the user lot remains the same across all 40 finishes and all 400 kilos need to stay unified for testing purposes on the user lot level.

Assigning Quality Control Groups to Formula Revisions

The option to perform both types of production QC testing is accomplished by assigning two QC Groups to an item’s BOM; one flagged for before production and the other flagged for after production. In general, the key factor in determining when to perform production testing is based on how long it will take for testing results to arrive or be recorded and whether the production process should be help up waiting for the results.

  1. Navigate to Inventory > Bills Of Material. (Users may also navigate to Inventory > Item Master, view the part and select the "Edit BOM" button.)
  2. Select a part in the "Part Number" field and click the "View" button.
  3. The system will display a list of active revisions for the part.
  4. Select the appropriate revision and click the "Modify" button to display the "Edit Bill of Materials" form.
  5. Click the "QC/Stability Tests" tab.
  6. Click the green plus icon to display the Edit QC/Stability Tests form.
  7. Select a QC Group from the "QC Group" field drop down.
  8. Select a "Frequency Type" and enter a value in the "Frequency" field. If the test will be associated with Stability Result Entry, enter a value in the "Stability Days" field. See the "QC/Stability Tests" form section for more information.
  9. Once all the information is complete, click the "Save" and "Exit" buttons.
  10. If necessary, additional QC Groups may be assigned by repeating steps 4-7.
  11. Once complete, click the "Save" button on the "Edit Item Master" form to complete the process.
  12. If additional revisions need to have QC Groups assigned, repeat steps 2-11.

Note: Version 17.01.006 adds a new "QC Freq Lot Type" field on both the item master and Bill of Materials revision level. Options are Follow Inventory Options, System Lot, or User Lot. Setting the option on the item, or revision level, supports scenarios where the QC frequency differs based on the item type. For example, setting the QC frequency to System Lot may be useful for raw materials and components, where lots will be tested on a system lot basis. Having the QC frequency set to User Lot may be more useful for lots that are produced (finished goods and sub-assemblies) that will be tested by user lot. Example - If a pallet containing 400kg of powder is made up of 10 kg per finish, that is 40 different system lots, but the user lot remains the same across all 40 finishes and all 400 kilos need to stay unified for testing purposes on the user lot level.

Configuring rotating Quality Control Groups on Item Masters and Formula Revisions

For a company that performs multiple QC Tests on a given Part, but not all tests are performed on all Lots, DEACOM offers the ability to assign an "Offset" value on the Part or BOM Revision level. The "Offset" field on the Edit QC/Stability Tests form defines the starting point at which the "Frequency" selected will begin. In other words, this value dictates when the QC Group selected first starts being used. This field is essentially only used once when material is first produced/received. For example, assume there are 3 different QC Groups used sequentially for a Part and they are setup as follows:

  • QC Group 1 has an "Offset" value of 0 and a Frequency of every 3 Lots.
  • QC Group 2 has an "Offset" value of 1 and a Frequency of every 3 Lots.
  • QC Group 3 has an "Offset" value of 2 and a Frequency of every 3 Lots.

This setup equates to the following being performed when material is finished/received:

  • The first Lot is tested using QC Group 1.
  • The second Lot is tested using QC Group 2.
  • The third Lot is tested using QC Group 3.
  • The fourth Lot is tested using QC Group 1.
  • The fifth Lot is tested using QC Group 2...and so on.

To implement this functionality, simply enter the desired value in the "Offset" field when assigning QC Groups to Item Masters (see step 6) or Formula Revisions (see step 8).

Configuring quality control testing for issuing materials

Companies can assign a Quality Control Test on individual Bills of Material lines which require the test be performed before items on subsequent Bills of Material lines will be displayed when issuing to jobs in DEACOM. The feature is useful in situations where issuing is done in multiple phases and QC checks need to be performed before subsequent materials can be issued to a job or when QC checks may lead to custom adds or quantity tweaks of later-issued ingredients.

Ensure Quality Control Tests exist in the system.

  1. Navigate to Inventory > Bills Of Material.
  2. Fill in the pre-filter and click "View" to generate the Bills Of Materials you wish to modify.
  3. Once you have selected a Bills of Material click the "Modify" button to display the Edit Bill Of Materials form.
  4. On the right hand side of the form the BOM Lines will be listed.
  5. Select a line and click the "Modify" button to display the Edit BOM Line form.
  6. Click the magnifying glass in the "QC To Continue" field and select an appropriate QC Test.
  7. Save and Exit the Edit BOM Line form.
  8. Save and Exit the Bills of Material.

When issuing or final staging items to a job containing this Bills of Material revision, the system will only display items on BOM Lines up to and including the first BOM Line with a QC Test specified. Example: If a Bills of Material has 5 lines and line 3 has a QC test specified, only lines 1-3 will be displayed for issuing until a QC pass has been done on the QC Test specified in this field on the appropriate job. Once the test has been performed, lines 4-5 will be displayed for issuing. QC testing may be performed via the "QC Values" button available when modifying a Job or on various Job reports in Production > Job Reporting. The system only requires a pass be performed on the QC Test. The test does not have to marked complete and QC does not have to be finished. Note that if the QC Test has a pass done against it before anything is issued, the issue form will display all lines to issue and bypass this process. Additional information on entering test results is available via the Entering Production and Stability QC Test Results page.

Configuring Quality Control Tests for combining and inheriting QC results

Version 16.07 offers the option to gather previously entered QC values for inventory lots relived during production and transfer, and marked as approved, those QC values to produced lots that contain the same QC Test or QC Groups. This optional feature was designed for blended lot scenarios where a lot produced on a job uses/relives multiple lots of the same material that is produced on the job.

The following configuration options are recommended when using this feature:

In Inventory > Options > QC tab

  • The "Post QC Location" field should be set to "Current".
  • The "QC Freq Lot Type" field should be set to "System Lot"
  • The "QC Pend Move Revision" field should be set to "Current"

Steps:

  1. Navigate to Inventory > Maintenance > Quality Control Tests.
  2. Click the "New" button to display the "Edit Quality Control Test" form.
  3. Enter a name in the "Name" field. Make a selection in the "Combine Results" field. All other fields on the form are optional. See the Edit Quality Control Tests form encyclopedia section for more information on all these fields.
  4. Once all the information is complete, click the "Save" and "Exit" button to complete the process. See the Approving QC Results help page for additional information on process production finishes and combining QC results.

Allowing multiple users to add QC Results

Deacom Version 17.02.010 includes the option for multiple users to add QC Results to jobs via the "Allow Multi User QC Result Entry" in Inventor > Options. If this field is checked, multiple users will be able to add QC values for the same job and QC Group on the Quality Control Results form in Production > Job Reporting. Clicking the "Modify" button on the Quality Control Results form will be prevented if another user is currently modifying results. Added to support large jobs that extend over multiple days with many potential simultaneous processes.

FAQs and Diagnostic Tips

Can Users Modify QC Results on Inventory Reports

Yes. The QC Values button can be set to allow users with the correct access to modify QC Values on the inventory history and inventory lots reports. If the user has the security option "Inventory - - modify QC results" set, the modify option will be enabled the modify button on the View QC form, even if the lot has been shipped, or the job has been finished.

I can see that there are QC results for a part, but they are not printing on my form. What should I do?

Please verify that the tests are marked to print on forms. Navigate to Inventory > Maintenance > Quality Control Groups. Highlight a group and click "Modify". Select a test and click "Modify". Verify the "Print on forms" box is checked. Do this for every test in the group you wish to print on forms.

I am trying to enter QC value but it is not letting me enter the full number. What is the problem?

Check the setup for the tests in the Quality Control Group. The QC Groups are maintained in Inventory > Maintenance > Quality Control Groups. Make sure if there is something in the picture field that it is the correct picture. For instance, if the Picture field is "9", you would only be allowed to enter one number.

Can I see who created or modified a Quality Control Group?

Yes, the "Record History" button on the DEACOM Toolbar can be used to display this information.

TIP: When modifying an existing QC group, including QC tests on the group, the system checks to see if there are open jobs using this QC Group or if there are lots in Pending QC using this QC Group that have QC values already entered.

  • If open jobs are found with the QC Group, the system will prompt users asking if they wish to the update the QC Group on these jobs.
  • If there are lots in Pending QC using this QC Group that have existing QC values, then the system will list the affected lots, and prompt users that these lots will have their QC values removed and if they wish to Continue. If users choose to continue, QC values will have to be reentered for the affected lots.

TIP: Beginning in version 17.02.003 e-Signatures within Deacom are integrated and authenticated with the Okta SSO. If Okta is selected as the SSO method in System > Options, users will be prompted to enter their Okta credentials on any/all e-Signatures forms in the system. The prompt will read "Please enter your OKTA credentials". This supports 21 CRF Part 11 compliance.

TIP: Beginning in version 17.02.011, the Inventory > Options field "Require New QC Results After Move To QC Pending", along with the "Quality control -- edit qc results prior to move to qc pending" are optional features that may be leveraged to manage additional QC tests.