Surveillance Management System (SMS)

Overview:

SMS is a software program designed to support project engineering, purchasing and quality management organizations in performing vendor surveillance for engineered materials and equipment. It is used by a company’s quality team to organize, manage and perform vendor surveillance assignments that provide assurance of vendor compliance with procurement documents (specifications and procedures).

SMS optimizes administration efficiency, virtually eliminating the need for clerical staff. It automates many functions, such as preparation of surveillance assignments, coordination with inspectors and vendors, and preparation of project status reports. The result is improved productivity (ability to increase work load) of supervisors and coordinators managing inspection assignments.

Who Should Use SMS?

Companies who utilize in-house personnel and/or contracted third-party organizations to perform vendor surveillance will find the program to be an excellent administrative and reporting system. SMS is a complete management system for vendor surveillance that is used by manufacturers and purchasers of engineered materials and equipment. It is an effective means to verify that vendors fully comply with the requirements of procurement documents.

Projects:

All vendor surveillance activities are related to a ‘Project’. The project may refer to a manufacturing shop order, construction project or simply procurement for stores. Projects are set up in SMS to provide a reference for the procurement of engineered materials and equipment and their appropriate charge numbers. Multiple projects can be set up in SMS. From a project users have access to all relevant information initiated for the project( ex. purchase orders, inspection assignments, budgets, action items, and non-conformances.)

Inspection Assignments:

Most vendor surveillance management functions within SMS are managed from a single screen. This screen is designed so that when a project is selected, previously entered information will automatically be retrieved and entered to eliminate duplicate data entry, and the inspection assignment will be automatically created. The program accommodates the use of sub-vendors for an assignment. The inspection assignment screen provides a quantitative basis for vendor surveillance coordinators to evaluate progress of the inspection assignment and determine when requirements have been satisfactorily completed. SMS will automatically create a vendor surveillance documentation package(inspection assignment) for the selected inspector. The vendor surveillance coordinator can add specific notes for the selected inspector before printing the inspection assignment.

Budget Control:

SMS has built-in budget control features that can control costs for the vendor surveillance program. A budget can be established for each project that will monitor charges of all vendor surveillance work orders collectively. In addition, each individual surveillance order can be given a budget that the program will monitor and provide notification when the limit is being approached. Budget and billing reports can be generated at whatever frequency is desired.

Reports and Charts:

Numerous reports and charts are built into SMS. They are automatically up-dated when data is entered. Users have the ability to control details of reports being viewed. Each report is setup so the User can select which portion of the report is to be viewed. For example, a complex report may have numerous portions selected for individual viewing.

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