POLARIS serves more than 165,000 customers in 90 countries directly and through more than 150 private label fluid analysis programs, such as Chevron, Phillips 66, Ingersoll Rand, MTU, Cummins and Allison Transmission. It serves companies in the oil and gas, transportation, off-highway, mining, industrial and marine industries.
In late 2014, quality leaders at POLARIS quickly learned that the current Quality Management System (QMS) software was not meeting the company’s needs. It was not an intuitive, flexible system that engaged users. Also, issues with cost per license limited the number of active users the company could have, so quality was not a company-wide initiative. As a consequence, POLARIS watched important KPIs related to the quality system fall short.
In order to improve the KPIs and overall quality performance, POLARIS knew it needed to implement a replacement system. POLARIS had a set of specific criteria it needed met by the new system. First and foremost, it was seeking a more reasonable cost per license ratio so that more key personnel could use the software. All of those users would need to be engaged with the software, so ease of use was another key decision point. Since multiple users would be engaging with the software, it needed to have an expansive enough feature set to meet the entire team’s needs.
POLARIS stressed the need for tracking and standardizing training throughout the organization, so it was important that the QMS featured Document Control and Employee Training Systems. Finally, all of these features need to be dependable, so system uptime and support were important factors. Finding a QMS solution that could provide all of these key features in a cost-effective manner was the biggest challenge in deciding on a new system.
Filling the gap
Reliance became a name on the list of programs to evaluate after quality leaders from POLARIS attended the 2015 ISO 9000 World Conference in Houston, Texas. Between speaking with the sales representative at the conference, attending a speaking session and additional research through the Reliance website, POLARIS decided that Reliance was the clear choice to meet all of its needs.
In addition to making more financial sense, implementing Reliance has improved important quality KPIs as well as user engagement. Since adopting Reliance, POLARIS has seen a significant increase in user participation of the QMS. Also, key KPIs are improving — it has seen a 50% reduction in CAPA resolution time and a 40% reduction in document revision release time. These are significant changes to the function of its QMS.
"Since adopting Reliance, POLARIS has seen a significant increase in user participation of the QMS. Also, key KPIs are improving —it has seen a 50% reduction in CAPA resolution time and a 40% reduction in document revision release time.”
Reaping the benefits
POLARIS is also discovering unexpected, yet useful benefits of Reliance. “The implementation of Reliance has allowed us to integrate our safety and incident reporting into the same workflow as our QMS,” stated J.D. Pickett, manager of quality and operational excellence at POLARIS. “This was an unexpected benefit,” he added. Once POLARIS realized the potential impact that centralizing quality processes could have on overall processes, it saw that implementing Reliance would have benefits far beyond those originally hoped for.
Not only is the company satisfied with the Reliance product, but it is very satisfied with the support and responsiveness of the Reliance team. Pickett states, “our Client Engagement Consultant has quickly addressed any questions, and offered exceptional support throughout the entire process. Additionally, the sales and accounting teams have gone above and beyond to accommodate our internal accounting system.”
Looking forward
POLARIS Laboratories operates under ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation. With recent changes to the ISO 9001 standard, POLARIS will need to change some of its processes to remain compliant. The ISO/IEC 17025 standard will be transitioning along ISO 9001 to a risk-based approach. Going forward, the Risk Register and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points modules will be extremely important in transitioning.
Quality leaders at POLARIS are excited to spread the news about all Reliance has to offer to the company and other companies in the future. “I serve on the Indianapolis Section Leadership Committee for ASQ, American Societyfor Quality, and have recommended Reliance to several colleagues who have been in the market for QMS software” stated Pickett.
