Global Manufacturer Brings Their Data Management Up to Speed

The Challenge

The industrial components division of a worldwide manufacturer was faced with the issue of being able to effectively organize and share their test data throughout the company. Faced with the demanding information needs of a global engineering and manufacturing organization, they had new global customers that were asking for faster, more direct access to the test data for the parts being delivered. Their current data management process was highly manual and inefficient and desperately needed to be brought into the 21st century.

This manufacturer had converted to automated test systems in the 1990s and 2000s, but these systems did not present or share data in the way it needs to be today. Test data was printed, scanned to PDF, and then manually saved to the "correct" place in a huge directory hierarchy. Due to limited resources and the massive amount of information produced, this process was taking anywhere from 4 weeks to 3 months to complete. Even after completion, employees who needed the information had to spend time locating where the data results were stored. If the test report was going to a customer, there was a multi step procedure involving manually cutting and pasting (paper) in order to get the report in the format that could be sent to a customer.

Needs

• Create a complete device history of test data results accessible for Customer Service
• Standardize and automate test report presentation (from 3 different test data file formats)
• Connect data to specifications, integrate data with SPC System

The Solution

Aperio has helped to streamline their data management process so test results can be accessed well within 24 hours rather than 4 weeks (up to 3 months). Accessing the data through Aperio also made it more meaningful as the results are dynamic and can be copied and pasted, and shared via links. It is important to note that while tweaks were made to the test process, the manufacturer was able to keep the existing test infrastructure and processes intact, allowing full production to be kept going throughout the Aperio implementation.

The initiative to make test data more timely and accessible was prompted because of the needs of Customer Service. However the ease of use and the value of the information provided made the end-user group grow to include Test Engineers, Test Technicians, and customers.

Following are some of the major benefits of Aperio that have made this a successful solution.

• Data Accessibility - As a Global organization with multiple facilities performing tests and storing data, Aperio's browser based access is essential for the flow of communication. Universal access reduces the time spent searching and sharing data results.
• Uniformity of Data - Aperio standardized the test report format reducing the time that was previously spent trying to combine 3 different test file types. The ability to present a unified view of the data in a clean format to their customers was a big improvement for their professional image.
• Task Automation - A large amount of time was spent pushing data to be processed. With Aperio tasks can be scheduled to run on regular intervals, as often as needed. This automation saves the time of manually scanning test reports, improves the timeliness of being able to access the data and the accuracy of the test data handling.
• Unit Conversions - Previously unable to perform unit conversions, this was truly a value add feature, especially for the international customers. Aperio "knows" what each measurement result represents and can perform unit conversions as required; in this instance Aperio is working with Empirical Standard American, Custom Asian hybrid, and Metric.
• Professional Services - During the discovery phase of this project, Viewpoint was able to quickly identify process errors that had gone unnoticed. The test engineers did not have the experience or the time to identify a way to improve their data management process.

All of this is encompassed in Phase I of this project and provides a solid foundation for their data management process. The Aperio framework remains flexible and will easily allow additional functionality to be layered on as the needs of the organization grow and change.

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