Improve Product Quality with Our Customer Contact Management System

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Hi, my name is Jessica Burnham. I am the Quality  Manager for RiverSide Integrated Solutions,   and I've been with the organization for 14 years. So, our Quality Management System, you know,   kind of incorporates understanding, first of all,  what are customer needs? So, we take our customer   requirements and want to understand what they  need from us, and then we definitely customize   that to meet their needs. So, we really feel that  process control, our strong trained co-workers,   as well as continuous improvement really build  our Quality Management System. It's not just one   thing, but it's really kind of a layered approach  to ensure that we build products correctly,   on time and to the customer expectations. We ensure product quality first of all by defining   a plan based on that customer's requirements,  having that well communicated through our systems   and technology and then educating our co-workers  of what those expectations are. So we have two   IPC trainers on site that help develop our  co-workers to understand and identify defects,   and then we have a very robust system that helps  track that. So things are not escaping and moving   on to the next operation. So we want to make  sure that that stops there if something is found,   and we have an alert system that notifies  us if it's outside of those controls.  In two to five years, I see us as being an  advanced contract manufacturer bringing the   forefront of technology to our customers and  the products we produce for them each day.   The hallmark of our organization really  is our customer-friendly approach. We're   continually looking at ways in which we can  improve the customer experience. And that   is what really drives us each day. It's:  how can we do it better for the customers   and even the end users then that so rely on those  products that we produce for them. At RiverSide   Integrated Solutions, our Program Manager  group continually looks at ways in which   they can improve the service for the customers  and then communicates that to our team out on   the production floor. We want that value to be  seen all the way up through the end product.  We collect quality data with it--with our  systems--and from that we can go back and look at   where each defect happened. We can see exactly  what operation it happened at. We can see   who entered it. We can see how it happened. I  mean, we can really diagnose where this happened.   And so, that's how I use it in my position. We also use like a FMEA and that's   what we'll use to analyze a product before  it even comes to the floor, a lot of times.   We will figure out where the problem areas would  be and then try to fix them before they occur.  A couple of unique things that I think we do is  any co-worker at any time can shut down one of   these lines or say that there's a problem. So we  empower our co-workers to say, "Wait a minute. I   have questions. This isn't what I expected." So,  I think that's the first step to high quality is.  We also have different opportunities, like a  CHIP form which is continuously helping improve   processes. So, it could be something down here on  the floor. It could be in your daily work where   you're like, "This isn't very lean. I'm making  defects. We need to make an improvement process   change." And we let co-workers bring those to us  and say, "Hey, I need help," or "Hey, I have a   great idea!" So, we let that happen as well. Lean processes are a big part of what we do   at RiverSide Integrated Solutions. One of  the bigger projects that I was involved in   was Smart Shelving. And what drove that  project was a couple of different needs.   The first being that our that our offline process  prior to the Smart Shelving was very cumbersome,   very repetitive, very manual. And our inventory  accuracy was the second, kind of, the second   driving factor. As components become more and  more critical and supply chains continue to be   more and more stressed, making sure that you have  the right amount at the right time becomes even   more important. So, those two together drove the  Cluso shelving and what that was able to do for us   was drive our part pick times from about a minute  and a half a piece down to 30 seconds a piece.   It took our tear-down times from about  45 seconds down to 5 to 10 seconds.   There was a very manual operation at the  beginning of a job for offline, where they had to   basically combine Bill of Materials, make  sure that all the math was correct--that   they were once again doing manually. Now we have a  software system that ties into the Smart Shelving   that does all that for them. So, in the worst case  scenario, that could take four or five hours and   now it takes the computer just a few seconds to  do all that for them. So, it freed up their time   to do their job/ To pick and set up jobs and  and do it more accurately and more quickly.  We're ISO 9001 and we have actually three  different registrations with our three different   segments that we have and we maintain today. Our  Quality Management System is really focused on   process and risk, I think, I think we do a fair  job of understanding where the highest levels of   risk are in our business and we we create Quality  Management System tools to manage those risks.  We try to understand the the interests of  parties, our external parties, including   our customers and our suppliers as well as our  internal team here in terms of being able to   properly assemble the products that we build  for our customers. We take Quality Management   Systems very seriously here and I think as  a result we built a really robust and mature   Quality Management System, particularly  in our EMS segment. But, in general,   our Quality Manager is is extraordinary in terms  of really bringing our Quality System to a new   level. And really, you know, holding each other  accountable to first defining those processes   but then to making sure they're sustainable,  that they're in compliance--that that folks   are in compliance in terms of following them.  I think unlike some companies who might have   the ISO certificate, I think, we live our  business within the Quality Management   System maybe a little different than others. I think what we do well as an organization   is really empower our co-workers to be a line  of defense for us. So, again, if they do not   see what they expect, we let them and encourage  them to shut that process down and get someone   over there to work on that. I think that culture  also says, you know, what we want quality, and   it doesn't mean just pump-out the product,  but it means build it on time and to the   quality standards our customers expect. We are going to be implementing a new Advanced   Quality System. We're working on testing that  right now and bringing on new opportunities to use   advanced feature modules in that. So, right now,  we track our quality defects, we track calibration   and make sure they're preventative maintenanced  on time. But I'm really excited. This is a much   more user-friendly software that I think our  co-workers will be able to more easily navigate.   It also gives reporting more quickly,  dashboards that our management team can   use to watch and make sure that things are on  track. So that's coming hopefully by early 2022.