Overview

NWA Quality Monitor is a leading plant-floor workstation solution that automates the collection of test station data, standardizes workflow procedures, and provides real-time product quality feedback. It gives manufacturing plants and laboratories a single, unified data collection solution for quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) test stations, either standalone or in networked systems.

The latest version of Quality Monitor is now available, version 2.3, and includes several significant enhancements to its process monitoring and reporting capabilities. Quality Monitor 2.3 delivers advanced alarm and exception reporting capabilities, flexibility in reading and writing to central databases, the ability to link test stations, and significant user interface enhancements.

Advanced Alarm and Exception Reporting

Unlike manual methods or competing products, Quality Monitor can be easily tailored to set up alerts and alarms for process deviations. Real-time notification of these events means faster response times, potential problem prevention, and reduction in waste and defects. Options let plant-floor users communicate alarm events in real time to users off the plant floor via email or NWA Quality Monitor Supervisor™, a complementary supervisory program from NWA. Users also now get immediate display of relevant SPC charts and improved alarm sound generation and can react accordingly.

Alarms on Pattern Rule and Calculated SPC Limit Violations

Quality Monitor now reports alarms for violation of Pattern Rules (Western Electric Rules) and SPC Limits recalculated from acquired data.

New "On Alarm" Actions

When alarm conditions are detected (specifications, SPC limit, or pattern rule violations), Quality Monitor now performs additional actions as selected by the user. These new actions may include displaying SPC charts, executing Run Files or launching external programs that further distribute Quality Monitor alarm messages.

Alarm-Triggered Email Responses

Alarm conditions can now trigger predefined email messages. Additionally, the email content can include a list of the Alarm Conditions that triggered the email.

WAV File (Sound) Support for Alarms

Quality Monitor now supports the use of WAV file sound generation as an alarm response.

Flexibility in Reading and Writing to Central Databases

Version 2.3's tighter integration with corporate databases makes it much easier to distribute data into complex database structures and integrate Quality Monitor into manufacturing and process information systems. Quality Monitor can now dynamically read specifications, product or lot information and data from other workstations and ODBC-compliant databases, and combine it into a single record. The new version also adds the ability to write directly to multiple tables within the same database.

Writes Data to Multiple Database Tables

Quality Monitor 2.3 writes any combination of fields to any combination of ODBC database tables. For example, measurement data, defect counts and assignable causes can now be written to separate database tables. This capability makes it easy to accommodate the different data needs of suppliers, customers and internal process improvement decision-makers by separating process data used in different ways. The database write function also supports "normalization", as Quality Monitor will automatically structure the data when writing to normalized tables.

Reads Information From Databases

Quality Monitor 2.3 will automatically read information from a database (ODBC databases or Quality Analyst DAT files) before data is entered into a new record. This function can be used to acquire descriptive information about a part number or sample.

Reads Specifications From Databases

Specifications can be automatically read from ODBC databases or Quality Analyst DAT files before data is entered into a new record. This allows product specifications to be stored in a central database where it can be accessed and executed on the factory floor. Also with this functionality, data can be collected for multiple products using a single Quality Monitor Data Set.

Ability to Link Test Stations

Quality Monitor now supports direct data links between test stations via disk files, Quality Analyst Data Sets, or an ODBC database, providing access to more operators and supporting the monitoring of multistep manufacturing processes. Data collected at one test station can be automatically transmitted to another station for calculations or integration into a more complete data record. Typical uses for this workstation link are sending product weights collected at one workstation to be used as the beginning weights at another workstation further down a process line, or providing key measurement or defect data from where it is collected to where it will be used.

User Interface Enhancements

The enhanced graphical user interface in Quality Monitor 2.3 lets customers—typically process engineers and quality managers—tailor their quality management test stations with customized screen designs. These screens lead QA/QC test technicians and machine operators step-by-step through the data collection procedure, and then provide real-time specifications and SPC feedback. Quality Monitor also adds a "Quick View" display of previous results, logic functions in calculations, full screen layout control for data entry, graphics display, help, and other windows, and dynamic picture display.

Data "Quick View"

Recent data records can now be displayed in a pop-up window in spreadsheet form. This supplies a historical context while viewing the current record.

Window Size and Location Control

The size and location of various workstation windows (including the data entry screen, graphics display, help, etc.) can now be predefined and locked.

Dynamic Picture Control

Pictures displayed on data entry screens can now be linked to a field's content such as product codes or defect analysis code, allowing the picture to change based on the information being entered. This feature saves "screen real estate" by displaying only the visual information required for analysis of the product under consideration.

Additional Functionality Enhancements

Direct Modification of HED File

Quality Monitor 2.3 will directly modify the Quality Analyst "Header" (HED) file, writing parameters such as product specifications. This feature allows Quality Monitor to capture data for one or more similar products whose specifications have been retrieved from a corporate database into a single Quality Analyst DAT file. Reporting and charts are supplied with the specifications retrieved based on a product code or part number supplied during data entry.

New Calculation Functions

Calculations may now include "string" functions and logical operations including "IF," "OR," "XOR," "NOT," "ELSE," and "WHEN".

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