Interface to SAP R/3 QM (Quality Management)
The SAP QM module supports tasks associated with quality planning, quality inspection and quality control throughout an enterprise. It sets the specifications for quality and standard testing procedures, controls the creation of quality certificates and manages notifications related to quality. It also stores the quality data for raw materials, goods-in-process and finished goods.
The PI System collects quality data using interfaces to LIMS (Laboratory Information Management Systems), on-stream analyzers, and manual entry systems which may include hand-held devices (PDAs). RLINK provides the quality data to SAP in a format that can be used by the QM module.
At the enterprise level, i.e., at the SAP level, you require quality data to be saved with customer orders and goods shipped and received. However, at the plant level, i.e. at the PI System level, the quality data is required to be stored with a timestamp such that it can be coordinated with other plant-floor events for data analysis and production improvement. It is important to note that coordination between the plant-floor and SAP is possible only with the “inspection lot number” for a quality sample. RLINK provides this critical coordination by storing the timestamp from PI together with the lot number generated by SAP.
The data flow between SAP-QM and Inspection System/Lab Information Management System (LIMS) via the QM-IDI (Inspection Data Interface) library. The PI System module and RLINK (components of the OSIsoft PI System) provide the integration between SAP-QM and the plant floor quality inspection/LIMS using QM-IDI
OSIsoft’s integration with SAP-QM supports the following capabilities:
- Quality data analysis using PI ProcessBook (desktop rich client)
- Quality data analysis using RtWebParts/SAP iViews in a browser, including SAP Enterprise Portal
- Quality and inspection results entered directly into SAP QM may be downloaded to PI
- Use of PI Batch to track sample inspection lots
- PI-ManualLogger for hand held devices (PDAs) or PC based manual data entry
- Interfaced via QM-IDI (Quality Management - Inspection Data Interface) RFC Library and certified by SAP
An SAP-QM screen, lab data entry via PI ProcessBook and PI Batch query window showing BatchID (Lot Number, Operation and Characteristic), Unit (Characteristic test and WorkCenter) and Product (Container # for an inspection point)
RLINK integration with the SAP-QM module allows you to easily compare product quality test results (PI data) with product specifications (SAP data) and also correlate with actual process conditions (PI data).