BWF Profiles is the European and Asian market leader in the extrusion of thermoplastics, producing highly customized profiles in more than 9,000 realized cross-sections. Managing this diversity in quality inspection with paper lists consumed a great deal of time for creating, transferring and archiving inspection documents. With Operations1, BWF Profiles fully digitalized its quality inspection within five months: inspection instructions are now generated automatically from SAP data, and dynamic inspection cycles reduce inspection effort by up to 50%.
Key Takeaways
BWF Profiles (business unit of the BWF Group), plastics extrusion
Digital, variant-specific quality inspection with SAP integration and dynamic inspection cycles
Up to 50% less inspection effort through inspection cycles that adapt automatically to previous results, with no loss of quality
Inspection documents created in 15 to 30 minutes instead of 1.5 hours, depending on product complexity (up to 80% time savings)
100% elimination of manual inspection data transfer
The Starting Point
BWF Profiles goes to exceptional lengths to meet individual customer requirements in plastics manufacturing. That is a competitive advantage, but it makes quality inspection complex: every variant needs its own inspection characteristics, and with more than 9,000 cross-sections, the documentation effort grows accordingly.
Until then, the quality team created inspection documents manually as paper lists, taking around 1.5 hours per inspection document depending on the product. Then came the next round of effort: inspection results had to be transferred, evaluated and archived by hand. At the same time, it was difficult to give inspection staff the process understanding they needed, such as what a profile is used for at the customer and what therefore matters most. On top of that, the inspection regime was rigid: inspections took place at fixed intervals, regardless of how stable a process was running.
"Although we are a very modern company, we were still doing a lot of quality inspection on paper. We wanted to change that," says Patrick Sched, Quality Management at BWF Profiles. He led the initiative to work with Operations1.
This situation is typical for manufacturers with customer-specific series production, for example in plastics processing or extrusion: the higher the variant diversity, the more inspection documentation itself becomes the bottleneck.
The Path to the Solution
In its search for a solution, BWF Profiles also considered a classic CAQ system. It deliberately chose Operations1 for three reasons: user-friendliness, the ability to embed videos in inspection instructions, and easy integration with its own ERP system. BWF Profiles saw the intuitive usability for operational staff in particular as a major advantage over ERP or CAQ systems.
Implementation, including variant configuration and dynamic inspection cycles, took five months. An experienced Operations1 integration team supported BWF Profiles throughout. Paper binders gave way to tablets, and the inspection process was mapped digitally step by step:
Variant-specific inspection instructions from SAP: Via REST API, Operations1 pulls product-specific data directly from SAP and provides it in structured form. Inspection instructions and checklists are created per order and per variant with just a few clicks.
Media-supported process guidance: Images and videos of the installation situation at the customer are embedded directly in each inspection. Inspectors can see what the profile will later be used for.
Dynamic inspection cycles: Inspection results such as OK or not OK automatically feed into the planning of the next inspection. When a process runs stably, intervals are extended.
Automatic report filing: The inspection report is generated automatically and transferred to the archiving system, creating a complete overview of all inspection orders.
Acceptance within the team was high from the start. "The user interface is very clear. Every employee, regardless of their IT skills, gets along with it very well," says Patrick Sched.
The Results
Up to 50% less inspection effort: By automatically adapting inspection intervals to previous results, BWF Profiles saves up to 50% of its inspection effort, with no loss of quality.
Up to 80% faster creation of inspection instructions: An inspection document is created in 15 to 30 minutes instead of 1.5 hours, depending on product complexity.
No more manual data transfer: Inspection results are captured digitally and archived automatically, eliminating manual transfer entirely.
The most interesting lever from a business perspective is the dynamic inspection cycle. Instead of inspecting on a fixed schedule, BWF Profiles now aligns inspection effort with how stable a process actually runs. Quality assurance capacity goes where it is needed.
The effect on process understanding is just as noticeable. Because inspectors can see on video how the profile is installed at the customer, they understand what matters in the inspection. The result is less rework and less scrap. Digital inspection protocols guide employees safely through the process, and the quality department can focus on what sets BWF Profiles apart: the quality of highly specialized, customer-specific products.
About BWF Profiles
BWF Profiles is a business unit of the BWF Group, which employs more than 1,800 people processing textile filter media, technical needle felts, wool felts and high-quality plastic products. BWF Profiles is the European and Asian market leader in the extrusion of thermoplastics and offers its customers end-to-end support from development to production of highly customized plastic products. With more than 9,000 realized cross-sections, the company stands for exceptionally high variant diversity. The BWF Group is headquartered in Offingen, Bavaria, Germany.