OEM&Lieferant Ausgabe 1/2018

123 or reworking of the component in question. To ensure the supply of material from the outset, the subsequent sorting process be- gins in the immediate vicinity of the section of the assembly line in which the component in question is installed. At the same time, the Formel D employees remove the component from stock and transport it to the Quality Confirmation Center. Depending on the or- der, this is located on the customer premises or at special Formel D sites elsewhere. Here, the experts perform further reworking and sorting before transferring the faulty goods to a quarantine store and returning the parts to the customer’s stock after testing and approval. The Formel D employees check the supply chain between warehouse and assembly line to make sure that zero-defect parts are the only ones to reach the assembly area. The tests are then carried out in the QCC only, and any activities are terminated immediately. The project team controls the subsequent goods flow for the relevant parts in a way ensuring that they are delivered di- rectly to the analysis center. In this way, un- checked goods cannot find their way to the assembly line. The time that Formel D invests in the quality assurance process varies depending on the order as well as the size of the group of com- ponents affected and can range from a few hours to several months. Digitalization made-to-measure To meet the future challenges resulting from increasing digitalization, the summer of 2015 saw a Formel D project team start opti- mizing the procedures followed in the test centers. In conjunction with hardware and software experts, the team developed an overall package designed to meet customer requirements. Here, individual modules work together in an optimum way and allow more and more resources to be saved. New intui- tive touchscreen computers lead the experts through test processes in a structured way and simplify the work sequences. In addition, ultra-modern scanning solutions help to rule out potential sources of error beforehand, for example by reducing the number of in- terfaces. In addition, all evaluations of the data entered previously by the Formel D team are assessed using software assistance. This means that the customer can optionally access the results al- most in real time with the help of software in- stalled by the service provider or using his own system. The elimination of the conventional documentation processes minimizes interfac- es and ensures that the Formel D experts con- centrate fully on the quality checks, allowing them to come up with a wider range of tests. This maximum transparency allows the cus- tomer to influence the production line process much more rapidly than before. It enables him to take the necessary measures at once in or- der to prevent stoppages of the assembly line while still ensuring the supply. Constant improvement of processes Formel D continually refines the processes and tools it uses. An increase in the QCC lo- cations also allows the Group to seize on the advantages offered by digitalization when performing optimization measures. The addi- tional consideration of customer requests en- ables Formel D to create a new and progres- sive solution for the international automotive and supply industry that can be adapted to different requirements depending on the demand using a flexible software architec- ture. Formel D is currently active at 54 QCCs worldwide and plans to go on expanding the range it offers in the future. The constant optimization and improvement of the pro- cess structures allows the service provider to go on ensuring the highest possible quality standards – and thus maximum customer sat- isfaction. n Image: © Wavebreak Media/Fotolia Image: © Saklakova/Adobe Stock Formel D www.formeld.com Website