Introduction | General Information | Message Structure | Message Details | Codes |
Changes |

Specification QDX - Quality Data eXchange | QDXCertificate
V2.1 - DRAFT |
01.12.2015
Contact: VDA QMC Qualitäts Management Center im Verband der Automobilindustrie e.V. Behrenstraße 35 10117 Berlin Tel.: +49 (0) 30 / 89 78 42 - 0 Fax: +49 (0) 30 / 89 78 42 - 605 USt.-IdNr.: DE 114108668 Steuer-Nr.: 27 622 51460
Email: | info@vda-qmc.de
Web: | www.vda-qmc.de
2004-2020 All rights reserved, Verband der Automobilindustrie e. V., German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), Berlin, Germany.
About this version
This version 3.0 incorporates changes, which are designed to enhance support of the overall quality ensurance process. In addition, recognized bugs have been eliminated. The exact history of changes is documented in the file QDXChanges.PDF.
Legal status
The usage of the specification QDX is free for the end user. The integration of QDX in software products or computer programs has to be authorised from Quality Management Center in the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA QMC, www.vda-qmc.de) in any case and has to be arranged by a licensing agreement. Please contact VDA QMC. Phone: +49 (0) 6171 / 9122 - 0, info@vda-qmc.de. Your rights under this license will terminate automatically without notice from licensor if you fail to comply with any terms of this license. The Quality Management Center in the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA-QMC) expressly reserves all other rights it may have in the material and subject matter of the specification, and you acknowledge and agree that licensor owns all right, title, and interest in and to the specification. You agree to not assert any intellectual property rights that would be necessarily infringed by implementation or other use of the Specification against Licensor or any other entity with respect to such implementation or other use of the Specification. Any modification or publication of this specification is strictly prohibited. We reserve the right to make changes to the information contained in this document without prior notice. QDX is a registered trademark of the German Association of the Automotive Industry, Frankfurt.
1. |  | Introduction
1.1. |  | Overview
The QDX-format was developed with the aim of standardizing, and consequently simplifying, the interchange of quality data between customers and suppliers in the automotive industry. In the underlying model, quality documents are exchanged electronically between customers and suppliers. Quality documents, e.g. part submission warrants, are divided into two parts. One part is used for the communication from the supplier to the customer, while the other part serves for the communication from customers to suppliers. Quality documents also allow multimedia quality data, such as test protocols, pdf files, technical documentations, graphics, video data etc. to be integrated. In many cases, the majority of quality documents are transferred from suppliers to their customers; the content of these documents is extracted and imported into the customer’s CAQ system (CAQ = Computer Aided Quality Assurance), and used for further processes. In this regard, the QDX standard can be seen as a standardized interface for CAQ systems; QDX can be integrated into existing CAQ systems. Provider of such systems for the automotive industry are for instance, AKD, Böhme & Weihs, IBS, Q-DAS, SAP etc. This business process is called quality data exchange. The QDX format enables a fast and flexible communication between different CAQ systems. Dependent on the implementation in CAQ systems, the current state of quality and current quality information can be accessed „on-demand“ from the supplier. The QDX not only addresses OEMs, Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers that operate CAQ systems, but also subsequent suppliers of the supply chain that participate in quality data exchange via Web EDI solution (web-based Electronic Data Exchange, therefore browser-based solutions, especially portals. Furthermore, the implementation of QDX is a major step on the way to standardized inter-organizational e-business. Companies that are able to provide quality data on the basis of QDX documents meet a critical requirement for additional areas of e-business, e.g., automated processing of quality data for performance measurement. Additional messages have been defined in the JADM project (Joint Automotive Data Model) by regional automotive organisations AIAG, JAMA/JAPIA, Odette und STAR (refer to www.odette.org).
1.2. |  | Use of XML
Quality documents are coded in XML, the "eXtensible Markup Language". XML is a W3C Recommendation and the de-facto industry standard for document and data exchange on the internet (see www.w3.org/XML). XML allows structures and data to be coded simultaneously in a quality document, in contrast with traditional methods such as Microsoft Excel sheets and comma-separated value files (CSV). The QDX standard is formally described in XML Schema. The respective XSD files (XML Schema Definitions) are published in a separate document.
1.3. |  | Compatibility with other standards and formats
The QDX standard defines elementary information items and connects them in a logical structure for the data exchange. Converting QDX documents in other formats is principally possible. For instance, QDX documents can be converted using XSLT and respective software tools (XML Stylesheet Language/Transformations, see www.w3c.org).
1.4. |  | Supplementing activities and standards
The QDX standard reuses some elements and data structures that are part XSD files, which were generated from the Joint Automotive Data Model (JADM). JADM is a joint project of AIAG, JAMA / JAPIA, Odette, and STAR to harmonize globally used formats for electronic data exchange within the automotive industry. JADM is based on UN/CEFACT recommendation on Core Component technology (CCTS, ISO-15000).

Version: | QDXCertificate-2.1; ; qdxrsm | Issue date: | 01.12.2015 | Print: | 22.10.2021

QDX V2.1
2021 All rights reserved, Verband der Automobilindustrie e. V., German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), Berlin, Germany.

Generated by GEFEG.FX®