Quality tools

Drive Business Success with Quality Tools

Quality tools are indispensable in quality management because they provide structured methodologies, enable data-driven decision-making, enhance process efficiency, and ultimately contribute to the delivery of high-quality products and services, customer satisfaction, and overall business success.

8D Problem-Solving

8D problem solving is a systematic and structured approach used by organizations to identify, analyze, and solve complex problems or issues. The „8D“ stands for „8 Disciplines,“ which represent the eight steps or phases in the problem-solving process. The goal of 8D problem solving is to address problems comprehensively, prevent their recurrence, and improve overall processes.

  • Form a cross-functional team with the necessary skills.
  • Clearly define the issue and gather relevant data.
  • Implement temporary measures to prevent further issues.
  • Analyze the problem’s origin using techniques like „Ishikawa diagram“
  • Develop and implement long-term solutions to eliminate the root cause.
  • Put the solutions into practice and ensure they work as intended.
  • Implement actions to prevent the problem from happening again.

BPA bring tools to streamline problem solving, automate processes, develop teamworking and find similarities with AI.

Ishikawa diagramThe Ishikawa diagram in Power BI shows root causes which caused a nonconformity.

Process Flowchart

A process flowchart is a visual representation of a sequence of activities or steps within a process and helps organizations document, analyze, and improve their processes. Quality management involves ensuring that products or services meet or exceed customer expectations and adhere to established quality standards. Process flowcharts are used to achieve this by providing a clear, detailed overview of how a process works.

Flowcharts serve as a means to document each step of a process. This documentation can be used to communicate the process to employees, stakeholders, and auditors. It ensures that everyone understands the process’s structure and can follow it consistently. In quality management, it’s crucial to standardize processes to ensure consistent quality. Flowcharts provide a basis for creating and implementing standardized procedures and best practices.

By using visual process maps in BPA software, end users understand how your company works and learn about underlying process regulations.

Process mapThe interactive process map helps collaborators to understand how the company works.

Risk Analysis

Risk analysis is a systematic process of identifying, assessing, and managing risks that could potentially impact the quality of a product or service. Risk analysis helps organizations proactively identify and mitigate potential issues that could affect quality.

Common methods for identifying risks include brainstorming sessions, process mapping, and reviewing historical data. Once risks are identified, they are assessed based on their potential impact and likelihood of occurrence. This assessment helps prioritize which risks need the most attention. After assessing the risks, strategies are developed to mitigate or control them. These strategies can include process improvements, changes in procedures, enhanced training, or the implementation of specific controls or safeguards. The goal is to reduce the likelihood and impact of identified risks. Risk analysis is an ongoing process. Organizations should continuously monitor and review the effectiveness of their risk mitigation measures.

BPA software guides you managing risks and hazards based on common methodologies – like FMEA, GAMP5 – and remind responsible persons when risks need to be assessed.

Risk management
The risk management solution develops a preventive mindset for the organization.

Skill Matrix/Document Training Matrix

A skill matrix is a tool or document used to assess and manage the skills and competencies of individuals within an organization, especially in the context of quality management. It helps businesses ensure that they have the right people with the right skills in the right positions to meet quality objectives and standards.

A skill matrix begins with the identification of the specific skills and competencies that are relevant to the quality management processes within the organization.

Once the necessary skills are identified, employees‘ skills and competencies are assessed and evaluated against these criteria. Skill matrices are valuable for identifying skill gaps within the organization. When there is a misalignment between the required skills and the skills possessed by employees, it becomes evident through the matrix. This information can guide training and development efforts.

BPA software provides solutions to evaluate collaborator skills to do their job and visualize results in an interactive Power BI skill matrix. Also, we make sure collaborators understand important procedures by using a document training matrix.

Skill matrixThe interactive skill matrix in Power BI simplifies collaborator skill assessment and training follow-up.

Customer Satisfaction Surveys

Customer surveys are a valuable tool in quality management because they provide actionable insights, drive continuous improvement, and help organizations align their products and services with customer expectations, ultimately leading to better customer satisfaction and business success.

BPA software and Microsoft 365 bring simple tools to design your own surveys at no cost for customers and get interactive Power BI reports about customer satisfaction.

Customer satisfaction
Share satisfaction surveys with customers at no cost.

Pareto Chart

A Pareto chart is a graphical tool used in quality management and various other fields to prioritize and analyze data, particularly when dealing with quality improvement and problem-solving. It is named after Vilfredo Pareto who observed that roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes, a concept known as the Pareto Principle or the 80/20 rule.

A Pareto chart is typically used to help visually identify the most critical issues or factors contributing to a problem or outcome. The left side of the chart contains the most important elements, while the right side contains less significant ones. Once the key factors or causes are identified, resources and efforts are allocated to address the most significant issues by priority.

BPA software has a prebuilt Pareto chart component ready to be used for tracking the most important incident root causes to address or other nonconformities to solve.

Pareto diagram
Nonconformity dashboard with a Pareto diagram.

Turtle Diagram

Turtle Diagrams are often used in process audits and quality management to provide a comprehensive visual representation of a process. Auditors can use them to systematically assess the effectiveness and efficiency of a process by examining each of these categories. It helps ensure that all aspects of the process, including inputs, activities, controls, and outputs, are considered during the evaluation, leading to a more thorough understanding of the process and potential areas for improvement.

The Turtle Diagram typically consists of several key elements or categories, which help in systematically documenting and analyzing a process:

  • Process is the central element of the diagram, representing the specific process being analyzed or audited.
  • Inputs represents the various inputs or resources required for the process to function.
  • Outputs represent the results or products generated by the process.
  • Activities are the specific tasks or activities involved in the process.
  • Controls refer to the measures and mechanisms put in place to ensure the process functions effectively and produces quality outputs.
  • Resources encompass the people, materials, equipment, and technology needed to carry out the process.
  • Feedback loops are essential for continuous improvement.

BPA QMS software is process-centric from design, giving process owners all the solutions to continuously improve their processes. The Power BI turtle diagram shows all important facts for each process.

Turtle diagramThe Turtle diagram shows all important information about processes.

SMACA and BPA partnership

SMACA & BPA Solutions Enter into a Technological Partnership

On September 25 2023, SMACA & BPA Solutions enter into a technological partnership agreement based on many common motivations. The two companies loudly and clearly demonstrate the ambition to offer modern, flexible and innovative educational and IT solutions to their current and future customers.

SMACA and BPA partnership

SMACA SA is a Swiss training center based on an innovative pedagogy emphasizing learning through practice within real assembly workspaces. Each learner develops their skills in the field of measurement and statistical exploitation by working on their own collected data.

Always in the quest to give practical responses to professional problems, SMACA has created 2 “training-enterprises” – SMACA DIAL and SMACA SOLAR – to educate trainees very close to the reality of their profession and develop Industry/Quality 4.0 skills.

Objectives of these practical training are:

  • to understand the keys to an efficient quality management system
  • to implement efficient risk management
  • to conduct internal audits in compliance with ISO standards

BPA Solutions SA is a leading editor for Quality Management software solutions on Microsoft 365 technologies. BPA provides engaging software solutions for every employee to improve the quality of the delivered products and services across different devices and platforms.

The objective of our partnership is to provide learners with innovative technologies to shift to smart quality and the future of work. This is a fantastic opportunity for BPA to further develop our quality software solutions in the context of a real “training-enterprise” and move towards IOT and industry 4.0.

While assembling parts, trainees can easily access important procedures and work instructions by using a smart phone and scanning a barcode. Wrong parts are intentionally added and learners can report nonconformities with their phones and taking photos. By scanning a barcode, trainees can verify measurement equipment with their mobile device.

We plan several events, videos, and articles to highlight this partnership. Stay tuned.

Secure QMS Software

Why is BPA the Right Partner for Your Quality Management Software Project?

BPA Solutions specializes in quality management software, combining Swiss expertise in quality management with strong Microsoft 365 development capabilities to offer innovative solutions that cater to various industries and ensure security, efficiency, and adaptability.

Quality Management Is at the Heart of our Identity

BPA Solutions used to be a company that helped other businesses implement their quality management system. Back in the 1990s, we began setting up quality management systems for Swiss organizations. Our expertise in Quality Management, known as „Swiss Quality,“ and our customer-focused consulting approach are the strong pillars of BPA Solutions.

Swiss Quality Software

Expertise in Microsoft 365 and Strong Development Abilities

For the past two decades, BPA has been creating software solutions using SharePoint and Microsoft 365 to simplify quality management for our clients. We’ve built up valuable skills and know-how in Microsoft technologies, assisting customers in creating custom solutions. Our software solutions are constantly evolving based on customer feedback and needs. Our development team is highly skilled in Microsoft 365 technologies like SharePoint Framework, Teams, and AI. The combination of our quality and compliance expertise along with Microsoft 365 development skills positions us as leaders in Microsoft 365 QMS software.

Smart, Agile, and Innovative Solutions

We offer user-friendly software solutions that empower employees to enhance product and service quality on various devices and platforms. We integrate innovative technologies to pave the way for intelligent quality management and the future of work. Our comprehensive range of software solutions covers quality and medical compliance, including M365-powered features such as AI, productive discussions in Teams, automated workflows, Power Apps, and integration with Dynamics 365. Our adaptable components and agile solutions cater to various industries like manufacturing, medical, and pharmaceuticals.

Make Everyone Understand Processes

Strong and Secure Software Framework

Our software engineering team follows reliable development methods based on scrum and agile principles. We adhere to Microsoft’s best practices to ensure our products are high-performing and secure. Our team is certified in the latest Microsoft development technologies. Our quality assurance team conducts thorough manual and automated tests across development, staging, and pre-release environments, guaranteeing resilient software for our clients. Microsoft 365 offers robust security features like multi-factor authentication, encryption for data in transit, file-level encryption for data at rest, protection against viruses and cybercrime, tools for privacy and security, and file recovery options in case of attacks.

Secure QMS Software

Flexible Project Delivery

Drawing from our experience with over 200 clients, we’ve developed an agile project approach for implementing our solutions. We empower clients to quickly adapt the software to their needs through knowledge transfer to power users. We’ve pre-built solutions and automated workflows to meet common organizational requirements. As a result, we’ve significantly reduced the time and cost associated with implementation compared to traditional software projects.

A Dedicated Team Focused on Core Processes

BPA is an efficient organization with offices in Switzerland and the US. We concentrate on three core teams and processes: marketing and sales, project delivery, and software development. We’re experiencing organic growth, reinvesting profits to enhance our teams, develop expertise, create innovative products, and establish our Quality Management System based on ISO 27001.

Shift To Quality Industry 4.0

Simplify Document Management and Meet Regulations

Managing compliance documents can be quite challenging. Many organizations handle different versions of the same documents across various platforms. As a result, users often share documents through email and spend considerable time searching for the right ones.

The document control feature in the eQMS software includes all the ready-made setups required for an efficient document management system. It covers the entire document lifecycle, from creation to archiving. It keeps track of document approvals and ensures that users comprehend the documents. Shifting to BPA eQMS solutions can significantly cut costs and provide a more engaging experience for collaborators. You can calculate your potential savings here.

Most regulations specify that only authorized users can approve documents. BPA’s eSignature component enhances SharePoint capabilities for document signing. This tool necessitates users to reconfirm their identity when approving documents to ensure compliance. Once signed, a timestamp is added to the document, and the eSignature becomes invalid if the document is altered. Our preconfigured workflows ensure that only authorized users can sign documents for specific workflow steps, preventing the same signer from endorsing multiple steps.

Reduce Manual Work With Document Automation

Leveraging our experience with numerous clients, we’ve developed automated workflows using Power Automate that cover the entire document lifecycle. These workflows encompass document requests, identification, review, approval, publication, training, revision, and archiving. They address common organizational needs and can be easily customized to suit individual client requirements. With our ready-to-use document control software, clients can significantly reduce manual effort and launch their high-quality Document Management System (DMS) within a few days, not months!

The Document Power Apps simplify access to documents on smartphones, even in offline mode, for frontline users. The app includes a barcode scanner that enables users to view the latest published version of a procedure or work instruction by scanning a barcode. Users can easily browse documents by process and sub-process and access their favorite documents with a simple touch.

BPA Document Power Apps

The prevalent practice of sharing documents via email consumes valuable time. With BPA Reminders, users receive a single notification for all pending document approvals or required training. Intelligent reminders ensure that documents are approved promptly and relevant individuals are trained on critical procedures.

Microsoft Teams serves as a real-time discussion platform, replacing email frustration. Through Teams Productivity, users can request pending document approvals or training from a chatbot and search for any document directly from the chat box in Teams. Sharing documents during real-time discussions is the new effective way of collaboration among team members. A document card is inserted into the discussion flow, offering options to view the document, create follow-up tasks, and schedule meetings. The „Find similar“ feature helps users easily locate related documents while discussing.

Improve Teamwork Productivity With Real-Time Discussions

BPA Cognitive Search enhances human capabilities by allowing users to ask common questions to a chatbot when searching for documents. The AI algorithm rapidly provides a list of the most suitable documents. The „Find similar“ intelligent search refinement system enables users to discover relevant documents based on their own similarity patterns like never before.

The document control software module is seamlessly integrated with Microsoft Power BI, offering limitless reporting options. Among the compelling DMS-related reports, the document training matrix stands out as an interactive business intelligence report that simplifies document training tracking and speeds up decision-making. Users gain instant insights into which collaborators require training on specific documents.

Innovative QMS Software

Top Benefits Quality Managers Can Achieve With BPA QMS Software Solutions

BPA’s main objective is to lead your Quality team towards excellence with a game-changing digital Quality Management System that simplifies processes, boosts efficiency, and encourages collaboration across your entire organization.

Make the QMS Understandable by All Collaborators

We designed an eQMS software to make quality management accessible and understandable for all stakeholders, ensuring clarity and empowering employees to actively participate in raising product quality and service standards. The software features an intuitive interface accessible across devices such as phones and computers. This accessibility extends to interactive discussions, promoting active involvement from all users. By fostering a collaborative environment, a culture of continuous improvement is cultivated. Employees become invested in the enhancement of the products and services they contribute to.

Quality Management

Elevate Product Quality

The potential of instant messaging, video conferencing, and collaborative platforms is harnessed to enable efficient communication and teamwork within your organization and with external partners. This integration leads to an elevated product quality through effective coordination and the sharing of knowledge. With Power Apps, we ensure all events are reported easily with any device, which produce more data to analyze and leads to better product quality and continuous improvement.

Eliminate Errors and Manual Tasks

Our QMS incorporates advanced process automation to expedite approvals, decision-making, and critical tasks. This automation allows your quality team to dedicate more time to strategic initiatives aimed at enhancing product quality and upholding certifications. We designed preconfigured process automation to match typical organizations needs and start improving quality right away. Power automate workflows integrate with dozens of technologies, like ERP systems, avoiding redundant data and inefficiencies.

Energy EQMS

Navigate Regulations with Ease

Irrespective of your industry or geographical region, achieving compliance becomes easier with our integrated eQMS software. Designed to uphold principles of continuous improvement, the system aligns with various quality, health, security, sustainability, and product regulations. This proactive approach helps mitigate the risk of fines and legal complications. We make regulations easy to understand when navigating in the software and view relevant documents and processes per regulation.

Leverage Technological Advancements

Harness the power of AI-driven capabilities within our QMS. From recognizing similar items or documents to expediting the problem-solving process, AI enhances productivity and process efficiency. This leads to significant savings in time and resources. Our modern software solutions embrace an array of cutting-edge technologies, including instant messaging, process automation, mobile solutions, AI, and business intelligence. By aligning with your company’s digitalization goals, you can not only keep up with the competition but also stay ahead in the dynamic business landscape.

Collaboration and communication

With our innovative Quality Management software, your company can enter in the digital era, delivering exceptional products and services while effortlessly complying with regulations. Empower your workforce, streamline processes, and drive continuous improvement with our cutting-edge eQMS software.

Sustainability Management Software

Sustainability Management Software on Microsoft 365

BPA sustainability management is a new module in BPAQuality365® and BPAMedical365® enabling organizations to report their emissions and better know about their carbon footprint.

Sustainability Management Software on Microsoft 365
BPA sustainability management module with BPAQuality365.

The module is integrated with other eQMS modules for continuous improvement, like value-chain processes, departments, corrective actions and others.

The sustainability management module is easy to configure based on your value-added processes and company profile. Emission factors can be mass imported from a spreadsheet in a central library. Emission calculations and reporting can be easily configured based on organizations needs.

Emissions and Sustainability Management

Emission values can be selected manually from a central library or automatically provisioned by workflows.

Emissions are grouped by scope, including direct emissions, indirect emissions, value chain and upstream processes, value chain and downstream processes.

The module leverages all Microsoft 365 technologies, like Power Automate for workflow automation. Emission values are provisioned automatically based on frequency. With BPA Teams Productivity, collaborators have productive discussions about sustainability management.

The module includes a sustainability dashboard and configurable Power BI reports to view emissions by entity, department, value-added process and by scope.

Sustainability Management Dashboard

Example of a simple sustainability dashboard.

With BPA Sustainability Management, organizations leverage their Microsoft 365 cloud and technologies to identify opportunities to improve processes, reduce environmental impact of operations and become sustainable.

Ask for a product presentation

chatGPT for quality management

What Does AI Bring to Your Quality Management System?

BPA Solutions has explored different AI tools and their usage for quality management, such as chatbots, object detection, and prediction.

Innovative Software for Better Quality

Ask a chatbot to search the QMS and share interactive cards with your colleagues in real-time discussion flows.

AI is everywhere but what can it really bring to you Quality Management System?

As a software editor in the Microsoft ecosystem, we are investigating AI tools based on MS technologies in the context of quality management. AI models are used to simplify tasks such as prediction, form/document processing, object detection, category classification, and entity extraction.

At BPA, we mostly work on AI models to identify key elements in the text and classify them into predefined categories. This model allows users to ask common questions to a chatbot (in Microsoft Teams) and get relevant content from your eQMS, like my pending actions, or last published documents. Also, we use AI to search for similar documents or non-conformances and simplify problem solving. These tools provide a new way to use the eQMS with productive real-time discussions, avoiding cumbersome email processes, and simplifying user experience. We recently introduced these AI tools to the market as powerful eQMS extensions.

We have investigated the object detection AI model which is interesting for quality control operations, or inventory management. However, this model needs to get trained with thousands of photos. For equipment verification, we developed a Power Apps with a barcode scanner to quickly identify equipment with no need to train an AI model which is costly and long with potential inaccuracies as a result.

This leads to always consider time, cost and results when using AI.

Prediction AI models are used to analyze patterns in historical data that you provide and predict future outcomes. This is used for preventive equipment maintenance or statistical process control.

Can ChatGPT Help in the Context of Quality Management?

ChatGPT is not (yet) able to index the whole content from your eQMS software. It has been designed to retrieve content from the whole Internet community. In this context, ChatGPT could assist quality managers to make informed decisions and enforce good quality management practices.

chatGPT for quality management

By combining contextual data from your eQMS with domain of expertise, ChatGPT can provide guidance to Q-Managers and simplify quality management.

BPA is investigating possible ways to use ChatGPT and combine contextual eQMS content with domain of expertise. For example, asking for possible corrective actions for a temperature excursion non-conformance with a pharmaceutical product, or asking for possible root causes for such a non-conformance. This could bring significant improvements in the quality landscape.

Enable the Future of Quality

With the BPA QMS software, users become active participants in improving the quality of products and services across different devices such as phones and platforms, like AI and discussions, enabling the future of work and reaching smart quality. With Microsoft 365, we leverage existing technologies used by collaborators on a daily basis and enable innovative tools to simplify quality management.

>> Ask for a free eQMS trial

BPA Document Power Apps

Your Docs in the Pocket with the BPA Document Power Apps

The document power apps is a generic app to simplify access to documents with any device, anywhere even while offline. The app is ready to be used with the BPA eQMS software on Microsoft 365.

BPA Document Power Apps introduction video.

In the BPA software, compliance documents are prepared, approved, published and we make sure collaborators read and understand their related published documents. A barcode is automatically generated for each document.

The barcode reader integrated in the document Power Apps provides a quick and easy way to open a document with no need of an extra scanning device, for example an equipment verification procedure by scanning a barcode on the equipment, or an incoming inspection checklist by scanning the barcode at the inspection desk.

Documents can be easily accessed by selecting a process and a sub process. Documents open in full screen with zoom in option and quick navigation in pages.

The breadcrumb makes it easy to navigate in processes and documents. For offline use, documents can be downloaded in your device.

Simply select a document as a favorite to retrieve it in one click from the favorite documents.

The search form lets you find documents by title, identification, process or sub process.

You can change the app display to dark or clear mode and select your own logo and picture for the home page.

Accessing documents has never been so easy and fun. Use your own device with no need of extra scanner or hardware. Avoid manual work, save cost and make sure everyone access the last approved version of published documents easily.

>> Ask for a free trial access

BPA website 2023

BPA’s New Website is Live

Great news! BPA’s new website is live with a focus on our 2 main software solutions for quality management and medical compliance, and the numerous power extensions boosting user experience when using our software across different devices and technologies.

BPA website 2023

BPA’s new website is live.

The home page video highlights benefits of our solutions to engage everyone in improving the quality of the delivered products and services, leveraging existing client assets and unleashing the power of innovative Microsoft 365 technologies.

When visiting the quality & risk software page, the new banner video summarizes how our eQMS software simplifies quality management with AI, productive discussions and mobile solutions and help organizations to shift to the future of work.

We hope you will like the modern website design and content.

Happy surfing !

>> Access BPA Solutions Home Page

Chat Forms

Announcing Teams Forms

We strongly believe in productive chatting to become the future way of working. We introduced Teams Productivity to interact with BPA software solutions while chatting in Teams and search for documents and items without leaving the chat box. Now, we are announcing Teams Forms for end users to easily register any event or request while discussing in Teams.

Select Teams Form

Select a form to complete in a Teams discussion.

Imagine you are discussing in Teams and need to assign a task related with the discussion, register a non-conformance, a sales opportunity or request for a document while chatting in Teams. This is now possible with no need to leave Teams and lose context.

Simply select a form among the available form templates. Unlike Microsoft Forms which are disconnected from the business software, Teams Forms include your business data, like list of products, stakeholders, processes… and can be assigned to internal collaborators.

Register a Teams Form

Register a non-conformance while discussing in Teams, and keep the business context.

Once submitted, the form data is saved in the BPA software and triggers automated workflows for quick treatment and resolution.

Teams Form Card

After registration, a card displays in the Teams discussion flow, ready to be shared with team members.

Power users can create forms in minutes without leaving Microsoft Teams and simply select the main list and fields to display in the form.

Teams Form Designer

Power users design Teams Forms in minutes, directly within Microsoft Teams.

Teams Forms makes it easy for end users to register forms while discussing in Teams with no need to access the BPA software, enabling the future of work.

>> Ask us for a product demonstration