What is Non-Conformance Control?

During the Industrial Revolution, quality management systems were created to monitor processes and control the deliverables and product outcomes. These systems would assure a solid foundation for quality results.

In the present day, within the European Space Industry, many organisations use standards set by ECSS (European Cooperation for Space Standardization) to create and maintain quality and control throughout the design, construction, testing and auditing of a space project. Next to this, the Space industry is also familiar with other standards, such as the International Organisation for Standards (ISO) and Project Management Institute (PMI) standards that provide international guidance on project management across industries.

One of the essential aspects of project management within the space industry is recording and monitoring Non-Conformances (NCs). Non-Conformances are deviations from a planned standard, requirement, or contract. They are used to manage deviations during design, fabrication, assembly, inspection, testing, and utilisation.

Non-Conformance Control: Spotting risk factors early

Spotting Non-Conformances can assist in mitigating future risks and support conforming to technical requirements and standards. More specifically, to meet standards, Non-Conformance Control is necessary.

Non-Conformance Control is the tracking and monitoring of output to maintain control of the fit for purpose. Finding NC’s is done through audits of processes and assessments.

Project managers spot and track Non-Conformances through a Non-Conformance Management System and create an overview of the Non-Conformances they can address before they become a risk and impact product delivery. The goal is to create proactive and preventative measures when they are found. Traceability, actionable, timing, and efficiency are all characteristics of Non-Conformance Control.

Non-Conformance Reports: Documenting your Non-Conformances

Managing NC’s should be done by creating Non-Conformance Reports (NCR). NCR’s provide vital information to facilitate corrective action. They contain information such as:

• Title
• Reference
• Creator
• Description
• Revision number
• Date

Next to this essential information, NCR’s should also contain custom fields related to the project. These can include the product labels, root cause, correction options, location, time of measurement, digital signatures, error type, significant event before, links to documentation, actions taken, and any other field relevant to your specific project.

Non-Conformance Management: Maximise performance while mitigating risks

Not managing Non-Conformances can affect your resource, time management, and the acceptance review. It can lead to financial loss, loss of resources, and affect your reputation. Because Non-Conformance can stem from various sources, it is essential to have a versatile Non-Conformance system.

Non-Conformity Management is the base of Non-Conformance Control and Product and Quality Management. Mitigating the risks will produce more effective quality processes.

Producing a register for the NCs also provides valuable information for process improvement, lesson-learning activities, traceability, and meeting the future needs of the product.

eNCTS: Non-Conformance Control and Quality Management with eNCTS

The eNCTS module within the ECLIPSE Software Suite offers a variety of features to benefit your Non-Conformance Management. Benefits include:

• ECSS Compliance
• ISO Project management certification
• Centralising Non-Conformances
• Customisable
• Scalable and Versatile
• Quality and Product Assurance
• Structured Approach
• Internal and External
• Integrated with other project management tools
• See how Non-Conformances have evolved
• Comment on Non-Conformances
• View all Non-Conformances in a project
• Search Non-Conformances

The eNCTS module removes the need for managing NCs via time-consuming, error-prone, spreadsheet-oriented processes. The module enables you to record, monitor, and close Non-Conformances found during the design, manufacture, assembly, integration, and testing phases of space system engineering projects with ease. Quickly identify the cause of a problem and take corrective action if required, by linking all actions and documents to the Non-Conformance.

ECSS Compliance

ECSS (European Collaboration for Space Standardisation) support is integrated throughout our software. In other words, the Software assists you to be compliant with the high standards of the European Space Industry standards.

ISO Project Management certification

The eNCTS module and ECLIPSE Software Suite is integrated with the ISO Project Management certification standards. Ensuring you and your associates that the software and its data is of a high standard for project management.

Centralising Non-Conformances

By centralising all Non-Conformances along with the assembly of project cycles, you will inherit a better grip to orchestrate your project control processes. Through centralisation of the Non-Conformances on a cloud, you can give other users access based on their roles, and keep track of what each user is doing when in the system.

Customisable

The Non-Conformance Reports within the NCTS system are customisable, this means you can add your own fields which can be checkboxes, text fields, drop-down menus, and multi-select. The NCTS module makes your reports as extensive as needed, without losing structure and overview within your reporting.

Scalable and Versatile

The tracking of Non-Conformances is scalable to any size of project and NC cycle necessary to make your project a success. Next to this, Non-Conformances can be tracked for requirements, risks, audits, inspections, defects, materials, human errors and any other project-based process.

Search Non-Conformances

After the creation of an NC in the eNCTS module. The user can easily search through the module to find it back. They can zoom into details and initiate and perform collaboratively online Non-Conformance Review Boards (NRBs).

Quality and Product Assurance

The Non-Conformance Tracking System will provide Quality and Product Assurance functions through improved visibility into the status of NCs. Allowing project stakeholders to be informed of risks and better make decisions.

Structured Approach

You will create a clear link between Non-Conformances and any assigned action, document, user, or project using structured forms. This enhances the process of identifying the source of problems, which helps prevent future problems. The NCTS provides a structured approach to collect and manage critical data associated with the NC resolution and product realisation process.

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Internal and External

The Non-Conformance System can be used internally and externally by the organisation in charge of product realisation. This means that all organisations and teams involved with the Non-Conformance can access it if necessary. Creating coherence within the whole project cycle.

Integrated with other Project Management Tools

The eNCTS can be integrated with your project team’s other ECLIPSE Software Suite modules. This means your documents, actions, reviews, dashboards, and project control tools are all centrally managed in a single interface. Effective end-to-end control over your long-term documenting processes gives you a higher frequency of project control.

See how Non-Conformances have evolved

Non-Conformances are tracked through the project lifecycle with a history for each NC available at any time. This means you can easily see how many Non-Conformities there are, when they were created/closed and who was responsible.

Comment on Non-Conformances

The comment section lets you record any additional comments or notes about the Non-Conformance and view any related log messages. This will help you to better understand the cause of each NC and resolve it with confidence.

View all Non-Conformances in a project

You can easily view all open, resolved or closed Non-Conformances related to your project or document. This means that you can quickly get an idea of the status of your project and find out if any issues need action.

Contact our experts and start a free trial

If you are looking to track your non-conformances properly, the ECLIPSE Software Suite offers a Non-Conformance Tracking System (eNCTS). If you want more information on how it can be used in your organisation, contact us. We are happy to talk further with you about the benefits of the modules, and we can help you get started with a free trial.

From space organisations to manufacturing companies, from high tech to supply chain, ECLIPSE is the choice for all organisations that wish Non-Conformance Control.