More than just software: get to know the faces behind Germanedge! In our series “How the future is created: Our experts in conversation”, we present exclusive insights from our product management team in interview format.
In this interview, we introduce our Product Manager Claus-Dieter Jensen to the Quality Domain. What is his role and task at Germanedge? Where does his passion for innovative solutions come from? You can also find out about the challenges in quality management and the benefits for customers of using the Quality Portfolio in their production.
No time to watch the video with sound? Then just read the transcript:
My name is Dieter Jensen. I am a Product Manager at Germanedge and my domain is Quality.
What challenges does quality management solve in digital production?
The market is becoming more and more demanding for our customers. Customers are also becoming more demanding and there are more and more regulations. Our customers have to meet quality standards and laws and ensure compliance, etc. Values help with this. At the same time, customers are under great cost pressure. So they have to manufacture cheaply and under deadline pressure. They have to deliver on time. There are various examples in the world where quality deficiencies lead to enormous problems.
Which functions in particular lead to success?
Another special feature is the high degree of automation in the product. We can therefore automate methods and processes, leading to low-cost production and higher quality at the same time.
What are the benefits for the customer?
One of our biggest customers is a car manufacturer in the Stuttgart area that uses our product in all its factories around the world. And in particular to test joining technologies. The first time our product was used, the customer was able to save a large six-figure sum, which led to us rolling it out all over the world and now actually every one of these vehicles being tested is tested with our software. This has led to a situation where the customer has now hosted the entire system with us or will have it hosted by us. So we will be able to offer the entire system as Saas for this and many other customers.
We cover the entire production area with our product. From product planning with the APQP or PIPAP tools, initial sample inspection reports to production itself, SPC, laboratory information systems, but also life afterwards. A product, then a specific ID, I can identify it, I can collect data over the entire life cycle and benefit from it and keep getting better.
Is the future with Germanedge on premise or cloud?
We offer both, we leave it up to the customer. But the opportunities to save costs are of course much greater in the cloud, because the customer has no costs for hardware, for software, for services, possibly fewer costs for licenses and of course less effort. That’s why we offer solutions in the cloud that can also be used very quickly. We have no installation effort, these solutions are available at the click of a button.
How integrable and future-ready is the product?
Our product uses the latest technologies. It runs on Cubanet, it runs in the cloud, uses micro services and open technologies, including open services and many others. We are always on the lookout for new possibilities or new technical solutions that help our customers and also use AI. In the QMS area, for example, we recognize statistical process control, which has been around for decades, are algorithms that try to look into the future and say: What will happen to my product tomorrow? What will happen to my production if I leave the settings as they are? What has to change so that it leads to fewer errors and rejects?
What other areas of application are there for AI?
Actually, every module is suitable for using AI. One of our latest modules is a document management system. Here too, AI helps us to find documents better. For example, a user can search for a specific measuring instrument and the AI also helps to find documents in which this measuring instrument does not appear, but in which there are regulations that may relate to this measuring instrument.
When is the right time to talk to Germanedge if I’m thinking about a quality tool?
The right time is right now. Of course, the customer can contact us at any time, but we also offer a marketplace with GermanedgeNow, where the customer can try out a product now, install it at the touch of a button and in ten minutes the first product is ready for him, for a demonstration and ready to be used.