6 Best Manufacturing Quality Control Software & QMS

According to ASQ, the average cost of poor quality amounts to 10-15% of companies’ operational costs. Thus improving quality can make a direct contribution to the bottom line, and should be prioritized by any business. However, it isn’t easy – especially when done manually, as it can be time-consuming, error-prone, and hinder efficiency.

Such challenges and more can be addressed with the right manufacturing quality control software. These software solutions streamline quality checks, automate workflows, and provide real-time data, allowing manufacturers to deliver consistent quality, improve efficiency, and save money.

Read on to discover the best quality management software for manufacturing, their benefits, and how to choose one for your business.

Best Manufacturing Quality Control Software of 2024

Here are our rankings for the best manufacturing quality control software of 2024:

Manufacturing QC Software	Free Trial	Paid Plan
GoAudits	✅	$10/user/month
Axonator	✅	$40/user/month
MasterControl QMS	❌	Quote upon request
Ideagen	❌	Quote upon request
ComplianceQuest	❌	$30/user/month
UniPoint	❌	Quote upon request

1. GoAudits

GoAudits is a web and mobile-based platform designed to streamline quality control and empower manufacturers to make data-driven decisions.

Besides quality checks, this manufacturing quality inspection software allows you to conduct various checks and inspections to ensure safety and compliance. You can conduct GMP audits and ISO checks, health & safety checks, equipment inspections, factory floor walk-throughs, incident and near-miss logs, process reviews, and more.

With a rating of 4.8 stars on Capterra, GoAudits is trusted by some of the biggest names in the manufacturing industry.

Key Features:

• Mobile Inspection and Audits: Perform online and offline quality checks with smartphones or tablets. Encourage your workers to conduct self-inspections in order to identify and resolve issues promptly without waiting for scheduled audits.
• Custom Checklists: Create manufacturing checklists with photos, risk scores, etc., to meet specific regulatory and quality standards. Modify them to reflect changing standards or internal protocols, ensuring quality control processes remain relevant.
• Audit Schedule Feature: Schedule audits in advance and set recurring manufacturing audits for efficient quality control. Furthermore, notifications and reminders should be set to keep the schedule on track.
• Custom Workflows: Define workflows by designating specific steps for each inspection, assigning tasks to internal or third-party members like vendors, and ensuring streamlined quality assurance across your entire operation.
• Automated Reporting: Compile inspection data into clear, concise reports in a few clicks and share them with stakeholders, keeping everyone informed.
• Real-time Analytics: Gain real-time insights into quality trends with the analytics dashboard. Identify areas for improvement, address potential issues, and make data-driven decisions for continuous improvement.

2. Axonator

Axonator’s manufacturing quality assurance software helps businesses create mobile apps that automate forms, checklists, reports, and workflows. It is particularly beneficial for companies looking to digitize their quality control to improve data accuracy, streamline audits, and ensure compliance more effectively.

Key Features:

• Customizable Mobile Forms: Allows users to create custom forms using the drag-and-drop feature and deploy them for quality control.
• Easy Integration: The mobile form data can be easily integrated with other third-party software, including Salesforce, SAP, and IBM Maximo.
• Workflow Automation: Axonator streamlines and automates workflows through task assignments and notifications.

3. MasterControl Quality Management System

MasterControl offers a QMS that streamlines and centralizes all aspects of quality control in production. It helps businesses manage documents, training records, nonconformances, and supplier information in a centralized location, ensuring better collaboration and improved visibility into processes.

Key Features:

• Cloud-Based QMS: It eliminates paper-based processes and facilitates ongoing improvement through software.
• Automation of QC Processes: The software automates various quality processes, including document management, event tracking, supplier management, and audits.
• Risk Management: MasterControl enables organizations to identify, assess, and mitigate or prevent risks associated with quality and compliance systematically.

4. Ideagen (formerly Qualtrax)

Ideagen quality control software offers functionalities like document management, nonconformance tracking, and customizable workflows. It reduces the administrative burden associated with quality and compliance tasks, enabling companies to focus more on core operations.

Key Features:

• Document Management and Control: Ideagen provides a centralized repository for managing all quality-related documents and emails, ensuring easy access, version control, and revision tracking.
• Risk Management: Ideagen Risk Management facilitates faster and more accurate reporting, tracking of KPIs, creating and updating risk registers, and more.
• Audit Management: The software automates audit processes, from scheduling and conducting audits to tracking findings and implementing corrective actions, making it easier to track compliance.

5. ComplianceQuest Quality Management

It helps organizations maintain high standards of quality while reducing operational risks through features that support regulatory compliance, document management, and continuous improvement.

ComplianceQuest manufacturing quality inspection software allows businesses to scale and adapt their quality management processes as required.

Key Features:

• Salesforce Integration: ComplianceQuest software can be integrated with Salesforce for better data visibility and collaboration.
• Supplier Management: It facilitates supplier risk assessments, performance monitoring, and corrective action tracking.
• Data Analytics and Reporting: This QC software offers analytics and reporting tools for manufacturers to gain valuable insights into trends and identify areas for improvement.

6. UniPoint

UniPoint is a quality management software designed for manufacturers. With over two decades of experience developing and implementing QMS, UniPoint allows companies to consolidate, automate, and integrate their quality management processes.

Key Features:

• Inspection Management: It streamlines the creation, assignment, and execution of manufacturing inspections. Additionally, it supports real-time data collection to capture and analyze data directly on the shop floor.
• Mobile Functionality: UniPoint’s mobile app allows teams to access and update information directly on the shop floor, facilitating the completion of nonconformance reports at the point of production.
• ERP-Integrated QMS: The software can be integrated with ERP to provide a central hub for all quality and compliance logs, eliminating the need for repetitive data entry.‍

Why Do Companies Need Quality Control Software for Manufacturing?

Quality control software for manufacturing offers a range of benefits. Firstly, the software ensures companies meet the regulatory and quality standards. This, in turn, helps them deliver quality products and create a loyal customer base in the long run.

Good quality inspection software for manufacturing facilitates the detection of defects in the early stages of production, preventing expensive recalls. Furthermore, they allow businesses to streamline operations, reducing waste and enhancing efficiency.

How Does Manufacturing QMS Software Save You Money?

Quality control software for manufacturing significantly reduces costs by streamlining processes and improving efficiency. 

It automates the manual and spreadsheet-based QC processes, saving several man-hours and eliminating time delays associated with data transcription and error checking. 

Furthermore, manufacturing quality software allows for faster data collection and analysis, which reduces the cost of quality by identifying and addressing issues before they result in heavy financial implications. Thus, production quality control software leads to cost-effective management of quality issues, ultimately saving money for businesses.

How to Choose the Best QMS Software for Manufacturing?

Look for the following features when selecting a manufacturing quality control software for your company: 

1. Customization: The software should tailor various aspects of quality audits to your organization’s needs for thorough checks and more effective and accurate shopfloor analysis.
2. Accessibility and User-Friendliness: The QMS software should have a simple and intuitive mobile application, that will require little to no training to grasp.
3. Data Collection/Inspection: Inspectors should be able to collect all types of inspection data, including defects, defect type, location and time of inspection, supplier data, and photos of non-compliance.
4. Corrective Actions: Management should have a system to assign and monitor corrective actions to issues identified during quality checks. Furthermore, the production quality software should also have a feature to re-assign tasks and take follow-ups.
5. Real-time Production Data Analysis: You should have access to real-time data via reports and dashboards to help you visualize key metrics, spot trends, identify potential issues, and make data-driven decisions to optimize quality.
6. Document Management: You should be able to create, review, approve, and update critical quality control documents and manufacturing SOPs within the software. Additionally, the software should allow you to share the latest versions of the documents securely with your team.
7. Support: Customer reviews will help you understand the responsiveness of the customer support team, particularly regarding training, troubleshooting, and customization needs.

FAQs About Production Quality Software