Comprehensive Guide to SAP Quality Management (QM) Module and Technical Order Completion
Quality of services and products is of prime importance for all organizations. A superior quality of products and services carries with itself multiple advantages for a business’s growth prospects. The QM, as it is generally known, is an all-encompassing module solution that helps businesses maintain their quality control processes effectively.
Inclusions of the Quality Management Module in SAP
Based on the goals of the quality processes, we can distinguish four main blocks: Quality in engineering, Quality assurance and control, Quality improvement, and Change management. Within these blocks, the system offers specific functionalities for managers and users.
Quality Planning
With this, the users or managers can define quality plans and draw strategies for their processes. They are also enabled to set up characteristics for inspection. Moreover, they can also create control plans and sampling procedures.
Quality in Engineering
The main function of engineering or products design is to incorporate in them the characteristics required by customers. Quality in engineering provides the functions and tools required for the design and introduction of new products, focusing on “Quality through Design”, rather than on “Quality through tests”. This iterative process follows these essential steps:
- To define the development project: Establishing from the start adequate deliverables, milestones and if necessary, stability studies, will contribute to defining the scope.
- Master data and inspection plans management: Having updated and completed master data will ease all the rest of the tasks.
- To execute and register results: Improving the prototypes sent by vendors, or the in-house manufacturing, will improve the standard processes once the product is launched.
- To plan and execute stability studies: These allow the evaluation of the products in different phases of the life cycle under specific environmental conditions, such as calculating the expiration time based on temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure.
- To create and maintain quality documentation: All the information collected during the design process will be very important for posterior quality management.
Quality Assurance and Control
Once the new product or service has been launched, it will be necessary to monitor its manufacturing and execution. Quality assurance and control processes contain general quality processes such as the request of quality certificates to vendors and inspection tests in the different moments of the manufacturing process.
Technical Troubleshooting: TECO Status in QM Orders
When using a QM order to capture customer complaint cost through quality notification, users may encounter a specific technical issue. After completion of all posting, you might not be able to put the order status to 'TECO'. The system may return Message no: BS002: "The transaction 'Technically complete' is not allowed for ORD XXXXXXXX, because no status is set to permit it."
Regarding this issue, you need to create and assign a status profile for this using transaction OK02. Further assign system status I0045 (TECO) to this profile and set the indicator for 'allowed'. It is also recommended to check out the status profile assigned to the QM order type in the transaction KOT2. Once the user status is created and assigned with TECO allowed, the Allowed transactions BTAB (Technically complete) and BUTA (Revoke technical completion) will appear in the control data tab.
Key Business Transactions in Order Control
The following table outlines the business transactions and statuses relevant to the technical completion of QM orders as discussed in the configuration process:
| Transaction Code | Description / Purpose |
|---|---|
| BTAB | Technically complete |
| BUTA | Revoke technical completion |
| I0045 | System status for Technically completed |
| OK02 | Maintain User Status Profile |
| KOT2 | Check status profile assigned to QM order type |
| KKF2 | Control data and Allowed business transactions button |
| BABS, BLOC, KABG | Default business transactions in control data |
