QA Tests
QA Tests is a catalog of the quality checks your company performs on its manufactured products (for example, "Weight", "Color", "pH" or "Tensile Strength"). Each test is just a name and, optionally, notes; you then assign it to one or more Bills of Materials (BOM), indicating the unit of measure and the acceptable minimum and maximum values for that product's recipe.
What is it and what is it for?
Each QA Test is a simple record with a Name and free-form Notes. It has no tabs or detail lines: it's a supporting catalog, similar to Bill of Materials Classes but used to standardize the names of the checks your quality team performs, instead of grouping recipes.
Once created, a test becomes available in the Quality Assurance tab of every Bill of Materials that needs it, where you set:
- The Unit in which that test is measured for that specific product (for example, grams, %, or °C).
- The Minimum and Maximum acceptable values for that product's recipe.
This way, the same test (for example, "Weight") can have a different acceptable range on each Bill of Materials, while keeping a single, consistent name across your whole catalog and your quality reports.
How to use it
- Open the QA Tests list and click New.
- Enter the test's Name (required, can't repeat) and, if you want, add free-form Notes describing how it should be performed.
- Click Save.
- Open the Bill of Materials that needs this check, go to its Quality Assurance tab, and add the test from the catalog, setting its Unit, Maximum and Minimum for that recipe.
The Unit, Maximum and Minimum are set on the Bill of Materials, not on the QA Test record itself. This lets you reuse the same test name across different products with a different acceptable range on each one.
Main capabilities
- A simple list, sorted alphabetically by name, with direct access to View and, if you have permission, Edit each test.
- Assignment of the test, with its own unit and acceptable range, to any number of Bills of Materials from their Quality Assurance tab.
- A single, consistent name for the same check across every product that requires it.
Key fields
| Field | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Name | Identifies the test. Required and can't repeat between tests. Maximum 200 characters. |
| Notes | Optional free-form text describing how the test should be performed or what it checks. |
On the Bill of Materials' Quality Assurance tab, each assigned test also carries its own Unit, Maximum and Minimum for that specific recipe.
Validations when saving
- Name is required.
- Name can't repeat between existing tests, both when creating and editing.
- Name can't exceed 200 characters.
Deleting
A test can't be deleted while any Bill of Materials still has it assigned. In that case, AdmCloud shows you the code of every Bill of Materials using it, so you can remove it from those recipes before trying to delete it again.
Availability, plans and conditions
- This feature requires the Advanced Manufacturing module active in your company (available as an add-on module of the Enterprise edition, the same one that enables Work Centers, BOM Stages and Work in Process). Without this module, the screen shows a "not available on this edition" message and the Quality Assurance tab does not appear on the Bill of Materials.
- Access is controlled with the "Quality Assurance Tests" permission, with separate levels for browsing, adding, editing and deleting.
Tips and common mistakes
Build your QA Tests catalog first (for example, "Weight", "Color", "Humidity") before setting up the Quality Assurance tab on your Bills of Materials, so you can pick them right away without interrupting data entry.
"This test already exist" shows up when the name you typed matches an existing test; check the list before creating a new one with a similar name.
If you need to delete a test and AdmCloud tells you it's in use, check which Bills of Materials are listed in the message and remove it from their Quality Assurance tab before trying to delete it again.