Metal Finisher Reduces QA Response Time by 60%
How an aerospace metal finishing company transformed their quality operations with BrixIQ's AI-powered document management and process monitoring.
Key Results
Measurable improvements across all quality operations
Document Search Time
Customer Issue Response
Audit Preparation Time
QA Team Efficiency
Company Background
This 75-employee metal finishing company specializes in anodizing and surface treatment for aerospace applications. As a key supplier to major aerospace OEMs, they must maintain AS9100 and NADCAP certifications while managing complex customer specifications and quality requirements.
With over 40 years in business, they process thousands of parts monthly across multiple anodizing lines, each with specific chemistry requirements and customer specifications. Their customer base includes major aerospace manufacturers with strict quality and traceability requirements.
The Challenge
Before implementing BrixIQ, the company faced significant challenges in their quality operations that were impacting customer satisfaction and audit readiness:
Customer technical questions required hours of document hunting across multiple systems
Quality certificates and process documentation scattered across file servers and email
Audit preparation took weeks of manual compilation and organization
No visibility into which batches had similar issues or root causes
Manual process monitoring led to reactive quality management
"Our QA team was spending more time searching for information than actually solving quality issues. When customers called with technical questions, we'd often need hours just to gather the relevant documentation and process data."
The BrixIQ Solution
BrixIQ provided a comprehensive AI-powered quality operations platform that addressed each of their challenges:
AI-powered document search that finds relevant specs, certs, and procedures instantly
Automated case tracking that links customer inquiries to specific batches and processes
Real-time process monitoring with SPC charts for chemistry and process parameters
Centralized document management with automatic version control and tagging
Audit-ready reporting with automatic compliance documentation generation
Process Monitoring
Real-time monitoring of tank chemistry (pH, voltage, current) with automated SPC alerting using Western Electric rules to catch deviations before they impact quality.
AI Document Intelligence
Natural language search across all quality documents, automatic linking to batches and cases, and intelligent categorization of specs, procedures, and certificates.
Implementation Timeline
The implementation was completed in just 3 weeks with minimal disruption to production:
Week 1: Assessment & Configuration
- Process mapping and current state analysis
- Document inventory and migration planning
- Tank monitoring setup and sensor integration
- User accounts and permissions configuration
Week 2: Data Migration & Integration
- Document migration from file servers and SharePoint
- ERP integration for batch and order data
- Historical data import and validation
- Team training sessions
Week 3: Go-Live & Optimization
- Phased rollout to production team
- Customer case tracking implementation
- Process monitoring calibration
- Performance optimization and fine-tuning
Results in Detail
Customer Response Transformation
The most dramatic improvement was in customer response times. When customers call with technical questions or quality concerns, the QA team can now instantly find relevant batch data, process parameters, and quality documentation using natural language search.
"What used to take 4-6 hours of document hunting now takes 90 minutes, including analysis and response preparation."
Audit Readiness
The company achieved 100% audit compliance with both AS9100 and NADCAP audits after implementing BrixIQ. Automated compliance reporting and organized documentation made audit preparation effortless.
Process Quality Improvements
Real-time process monitoring caught chemistry deviations before they affected part quality, eliminating rework and customer complaints related to process variations.
- Zero chemistry-related customer complaints in 6 months post-implementation
- 50% reduction in rework due to early deviation detection
- Improved process capability (Cpk) from 1.2 to 1.6 average
"BrixIQ didn't just solve our immediate problems—it transformed how we think about quality operations. We went from reactive firefighting to proactive quality management. Our customers notice the difference, and so do our auditors."
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