SMARTDRAW IN QUALITY CONTROL:

Documenting ISO 9000 Procedures with SmartDraw Flowcharts

The Problem
Managing quality processes at Ametek APT-a worldwide leader in electronic liquid-level sensing devises, automation controls, and instruments, with 150 product lines-is no easy task. Just ask Mike Wedge, the company's Quality Manager.

"I'm in charge of ensuring quality for all technical procedures at two different plants," said Wedge. "Each plant has 68 employees, and every employee is responsible for following specific work procedures."

Wedge was working hard to update the company's current procedures manual to comply with ISO 9000:2000 regulations.

"Some of the processes are very complex, and we needed to make the procedures easier to understand," he said. "We decided that the best way to do this was by creating flowcharts."

Wedge had some experience with FlowCharter, but found the program difficult to use. He even tried creating flowcharts in Microsoft WORD^®, but it was too time-consuming.

That's when he discovered SmartDraw on the Internet and downloaded the free trial version.

The Solution
"I saw from the get-go that SmartDraw was going to be very easy-to-use," said Wedge. "I was convinced after using the trial."

Wedge quickly read through the SmartDraw tutorials, and he was on his way.

"The program feels very familiar," said Wedge. "The user-interface is very similar to the other Windows^®-based programs I'd been using."

SmartDraw's simple "drag and drop" drawing approach allowed him to easily create process flowcharts for everything from materials management to machine calibrations.

"All I had to do was write out each process step-by-step, then create the flowchart in SmartDraw," said Wedge. "Each flowchart-even the complicated ones-took less than an hour to draw."

The Results
Thanks to SmartDraw, Ametek APT is well on its way to gaining ISO 9000:2000 certification.

"The program has been incredible," said Wedge. "We can now easily depict our procedures using professional-looking flowcharts. I've already created more than 35 of the 85 flowcharts we need."

Even coworkers are noticing the fantastic results.

"Our Business Unit Manager was very impressed," he said. "Now, several more people around the company have started using SmartDraw."

After the ISO 9000:2000 manual is complete, Wedge plans to continue using the software for updates, revisions, and new procedures.

"SmartDraw is simple to use, easy to learn, and provides quick results," said Wedge. "What more do you need?"