In an increasingly complex industrial environment, risk management and the analysis of failure modes, their effects and criticality (FMEA) are essential to guarantee the quality and safety of products and processes. The adoption of specialized software solutions in this field has become common practice for foundries seeking to optimize their analyses and improve their responsiveness to operational challenges.
In this interview, Simone Smolinska, Quality Manager at Le Bélier foundry, shares the advantages of using Skill FMEA Pro software over spreadsheets such as Excel, highlighting technical aspects such as data centralization, multilingual management and the creation of generic models.
The interview also discusses the responsiveness of Skill Software, the solution's publisher, in resolving customer issues, as well as their ability to listen to and integrate user feedback into solution evolutions. This collaborative dynamic is important to ensure that the tools remain adapted to real business needs and evolve in line with market requirements.
Could you tell us a little about yourself and the challenges you face when it comes to FMEA?
"I'm responsible for quality systems, internal and external audits, as well as training, particularly on FMEA tools within our industrial group. My main role is to ensure the implementation and optimal use of our FMEA solution across our thirteen international sites.
The major challenge we face is the consistent management of risk analyses across our different sites, while taking into account the linguistic and cultural specificities of each country. Our aim is to maintain a standardized approach to FMEA while allowing sufficient flexibility to meet local needs."
Industrial foundries face specific FMEA challenges that require an adapted technical and methodological approach:
- Process complexity: Foundries involve complex processes such as melting, molding, core-making and heat treatment. Each of these stages presents potential risks that need to be carefully analyzed. The FMEA must take into account the interactions between these different processes and their impact on final part quality.- Material variability: Foundries work with a wide variety of metal alloys, each with its own characteristics and behavior. FMEA must take this variability into account, and anticipate failure modes specific to each type of material used.
- Thermal and mechanical stress: Castings are subjected to considerable thermal and mechanical stress during manufacture and use. FMEA must take these factors into account to identify the risks of cracking, deformation or failure.
- Quality control: Non-destructive testing methods (radiography, ultrasound, etc.) are essential in foundries. FMEA must integrate these techniques into risk assessment and the definition of control plans.
- Environment and safety: Foundries present significant environmental and safety risks (emissions, handling of molten metals, etc.). FMEA must include these aspects to ensure regulatory compliance and operator safety.
- Traceability: In a context where product responsibility is fundamental, FMEA must enable full traceability of risk analyses and corrective actions taken.
- Technological evolution: The introduction of new technologies (e.g. 3D metal printing, automation) in foundries requires constant updating of FMEAs to integrate these new processes and their associated risks.
- Knowledge management: Foundries often rely on specific know-how. The FMEA must serve as a tool for capitalizing on and sharing knowledge between different sites and teams.
These challenges underline the importance of a rigorous FMEA approach tailored to the foundry sector, capable of taking into account the technical complexity and specific features of this industry, while ensuring overall consistency in risk management.
What were the initial reasons for choosing Skill Software as your FMEA software publisher?
"Our decision was motivated by several factors. Firstly, we were looking for a solution capable of effectively replacing our Excel files, which were becoming increasingly difficult to manage on a group-wide scale. We needed a tool offering better data structuring, ease of updating and the ability to share information between sites.
In addition, multilingual functionality was essential for our international organization. We wanted software that could switch instantly between different languages, including Hungarian, without the need for data re-entry.
Finally, positive feedback from a colleague who had already used Skill FMEA Pro at his previous company was decisive in our final choice."
Adopting a specialized software solution for FMEA management has proved to be a wise choice, particularly when compared with using Excel. Dedicated software offers superior data structuring and centralization. This centralization facilitates collaboration between different teams and sites, enabling harmonized access to critical information. What's more, the automation of criticality calculations, index updates and report generation helps to reduce manual errors while guaranteeing data consistency.
Another benefit of adopting such software is the traceability and history of modifications. A specialized tool enables a complete record of analyses to be kept, which is essential for audits and continuous process improvement. What's more, these solutions can be easily integrated with other quality management tools, creating a digital continuity that optimizes the entire product development process. Advanced functionalities, such as the management of special features and integrated monitoring plans, add considerable value to these software solutions.
Finally, the impact of a recommendation from a peer who has already used an FMEA software solution cannot be underestimated. Such feedback provides practical, concrete information on the actual use of the software in a similar professional context. This reinforces confidence in the chosen solution, reducing the uncertainties inherent in adopting a new system. What's more, shared experience helps to anticipate potential challenges, providing optimal preparation for solution implementation.
Can you tell us about the benefits and results of using Skill Software's solution?
"Firstly, the time saved compared with our previous Excel-based method. The software's multilingual capability allows us to switch from one language to another at the click of a button, eliminating the need to maintain separate versions for each language.
Secondly, the centralized database enables all our sites to access and contribute to a common repository of information on failure modes, their effects and corrective actions. This encourages the sharing of best practices and ensures consistency in our Group-wide risk analyses.
Thirdly, the ability to create generic models enables us to rapidly build new FMEA analyses by reusing predefined blocks. This speeds up the process while ensuring a consistent approach."
Adopting a specialized software solution for FMEA management offers several technical and organizational advantages over using Excel. On multilingual management capability, a specialized FMEA tool offers notable benefits for international organizations. It facilitates collaboration between globally dispersed teams, enabling each member to work in the language of his or her choice. This approach also contributes to terminological consistency, ensuring that precise and uniform terms are used in all languages, thus reducing the risk of misunderstandings. What's more, the ability to switch instantly between languages without having to re-enter data saves considerable time and reduces the potential for translation errors.
In addition, the ability to create generic, reusable models for FMEA analyses speeds up the process considerably. These templates enable new analyses to be built quickly by reusing predefined blocks, thus guaranteeing a consistent, standardized approach. This is particularly useful for large companies who need to manage multiple projects and processes simultaneously.
The use of specialized software also enables part of the analysis to be automated, in particular the identification of the most critical failure modes based on criticality. This automation, coupled with the generation of detailed reports, simplifies the communication of results within the company and facilitates the follow-up of corrective actions.
Finally, by centralizing information on a single collaborative platform, data can be secured and updated in real time. Working documents become alive and evolving, a guarantee of quality for effective day-to-day action follow-up.
Which elements of the Skill FMEA Pro solution and Skill Software support do you find most beneficial?
"The responsiveness of technical support: we generally get a response within 24 hours, or even the same day for urgent problems. This rapid response is very important in maintaining the continuity of our operations.
Skill is also very receptive to our suggestions for improvement. When we suggest modifications that could benefit all users, they are often taken into account and incorporated into future software updates. This collaborative approach gives us a tool that evolves in line with our real needs."
The responsiveness of an FMEA software publisher in resolving customer problems is an essential element in ensuring operational continuity for user companies. Technical support capable of responding within 24 hours, or even the same day for urgent problems, minimizes downtime and enables users to maintain their productivity. This rapid response is particularly important in the context of FMEA, where risk analyses are often critical to the safety and quality of products or processes.
Listening to customers and taking account of user expectations in software developments are fundamental aspects for an FMEA solution provider. By incorporating users' suggestions for improvement into future updates, the editor ensures that his software remains relevant and adapted to changing market requirements.
From a technical point of view, this responsiveness to customer feedback can result in the addition of specific functionalities such as :
- Enhanced process modeling capabilities to better reflect the complexity of the systems analyzed
- Integration of new standards (e.g. AIAG, AIAG-VDA, VDA) to adapt to changes in industrial standards
- The development of more intuitive interfaces to facilitate FMECA data entry and analysis
- optimization of reporting functionalities to generate more relevant and customizable reports
This user-centered approach also enhances knowledge capitalization within companies. Indeed, FMEA software that evolves in line with user needs facilitates the creation and sharing of generic models, speeding up the analysis process while guaranteeing a consistent, standardized approach.
In addition, the editor's responsiveness in integrating customer feedback contributes to the continuous improvement of the software solution. This translates into better overall software performance, fewer errors, and increased user satisfaction. This positive dynamic reinforces customers' confidence in the editor, and fosters a lasting relationship, which is essential in the field of FMEA, where software reliability and stability are paramount.
In a few words, how would you describe Skill Software and their Skill FMEA Pro solution?
"Software that provides the right solutions and a responsive team with strong professionalism."
