| |
Advantech's Closed Quality Assurance Loop system consists of three parts: Design Quality Assurance (DQA), Manufacturing Quality Assurance (MQA), and Customer Quality Assurance (CQA). Closed loop quality control extends from an internal loop in DQA, up to the overall external loop from CQA, to MQA and/or DQA. This system provides constant feedback on design and manufacturing quality as well as reliability and stability of all Advantech products. |
| |
 |
| |
Design Quality Assurance (DQA) |
|
| |
DQA mainly covers the New Product Development Process (NPDP) to ensure quality is designed-in by Quality Engineers (QE) for reliability; this includes operating system and hardware compatibility testing. The Quality Assurance Laboratory (QA Lab) is for safety and environmental tests, and meets the requirements of CE/UL/CCC standards. Tests conducted by our in-house QA Lab include EMI (Electromagnetic Interference), ESD (Electrostatic Discharge), EFT (Electricity Fast Transient), Surge, Conducted Susceptibility, Power Frequency, Magnetic Field, Voltage DIPS & Interrupts, Safety, Temperature & Humidity, Vibration, Drop testing, and others. |
|
| |
Manufacturing Quality Assurance (MQA) |
|
| |
MQA's activities are centered on our factory manufacturing process and are executed by the Quality Control (QC) department. Advantech has developed a Total Quality Control (TQC) procedure for mass production. From IQC and IPQC to FQC, and from assembly to system integration, each individual product has its own standard quality control guidelines. Extended static and dynamic burn-in test procedures are involved to screen potential quality problems. Periodic training, auditing and facility calibration are strictly implemented to make sure all quality standards are followed to the letter. QC constantly feeds quality-related issues to R&D for improved product performance and compatibility. |
|
| |
Customer Quality Assurance (CQA) |
|
| |
CQA consists of both technical support and repair service. These are important windows to service our customers' needs, receive customer feedback, then act with R&D in order to improve the service. |
|
| |
Global Service
|
|
| |
For technical support, Advantech has organized on Application Engineering (AE) team at the regional headquarters for each product group to provide customers with real-time technical support. Aimed at establishing the best possible customer relations and service, Advantech has deployed company wide CRM software, Siebel. This system is the industry leading software package that helps manage customer information more effectively. It also provides a platform for knowledge sharing with customers for different application experiences. Customers benefit by exchanging information with Advantech employees that might be able to help their specific applications. |
|
| |
In order to help customers more easily expand their worldwide markets and still enjoy local service, Advantech has set up repair centers inside four regional service center located in the US, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Mainland China. To offer consistently high quality service, all regional repair centers have adopted the same repair equipment, debugging & handling processes, parts of management and internal eRMA system. This provides customers with a fast, efficient repair service that is always close by. Customers can count on Advantech's global repair service infrastructure to cut down a similar setup cost if done independently. At the same time, customers retain management control using Advantech's transparent system to direct customer service within the overall system. |
|
| |
Internet Service |
|
| |
Advantech's internet support system provides the help customers need, no matter what their location. This system integrates various databases for knowledge sharing, product information, BIOS/Manual/Utilities downloads, technical document reference and troubleshooting guides. This provides customers with quick and accurate on-line services and also allows customers to receive responses to technical questions within 48 hours. |
|
| |
For repair services, Advantech continues to enhance our eRMA system for on-line web repair service. This eRMA system is built on a centralized platform and database and linked to our global SFIS (Shop Floor Integrated System/bar-code tracking system) and MFG back-end system to provide a complete solution to customers and Advantech first line service people. Customer can login to this system to handle RMA cases, and then apply for a RMA number before returning the product to Advantech's closest service center. The update status of individual and/or all repair products can be tracked anytime, from anywhere. A one-month statistical repair report automatically pops-up when customer login is completed, with other statistical reports available inside the eRMA system under the customer's login account. |
 |
