Quality Management System

Operational Excellence Through Digital Processes — Every ECA workflow is a living SOP, designed once, executed consistently, improved continuously

“Our processes ARE our SOPs.”

8
BPMN Processes
94%
Compliance Rate
4.2d
Avg. Completion
0
Dead Documents

Section 01 The Problem — Operating on Institutional Memory

The ECA Organizational Performance Index (OPI) reveals a pattern: critical operational processes exist only in people’s heads. When key staff leave, the knowledge walks out the door.

“No effective working manual”
OPI: N Status: Non-existent — no documented procedures for daily operations
“No organized reporting & performance review culture”
1.3 / 5.0 OPI Score: Critical — no systematic performance tracking
“No annual plan & performance presented to members”
2.8 / 5.0 OPI Score: Below threshold — members have no visibility into progress
“No governance cycles adhered to by project teams”
2.0 / 5.0 OPI Score: Weak — project teams operate without structured governance

Without documented processes, ECA operates on institutional memory. When key staff leave, the knowledge goes with them. A working manual written in Word is dead the day it is printed. A BPMN process is alive — it runs, it measures, it improves.

Section 02 BPMN Process Library

Eight core processes automated through Fermia’s BPMN engine. Each one replaces a paper manual with a living, executable workflow.

Member Onboarding
Trigger: New member registration received
Verify documents Assign tier Create profile Welcome email Assign orientation
Ready Avg: 3 days
EUDR Compliance Verification
Trigger: Exporter submits documentation package
Auto-check completeness GPS validation Satellite imagery review Staff approval Issue certificate Blockchain hash
Ready Avg: 48 hours
Addis Coffee Cup — Lot Submission
Trigger: Exporter submits lot for competition
Sample received Assign Q-graders Blind cupping Score entry Ranking Auction listing
Ready Avg: 5 days
Academy Enrollment
Trigger: Student registers for a course
Check prerequisites Payment Confirm enrollment Course materials Attendance Assessment Certificate
Ready Course + 2 days
Board Reporting Cycle
Trigger: Quarter end (automated schedule)
Collect dept KPIs Generate OPI update Financial summary Draft report CEO review Board presentation Publish to members
Planned Quarterly
Partnership Proposal
Trigger: DFI / partner inquiry received
Initial assessment Concept note Steering committee review MOU draft Legal review Sign Implementation plan
Planned Avg: 30 days
Revenue Collection
Trigger: Invoice due date reached
Generate invoice Send reminder Payment received Receipt Update ledger Membership status check
Ready Ongoing
Stakeholder Forum Planning
Trigger: 6 weeks before scheduled event
Set agenda Invite speakers Member notifications Venue booking Materials prep Event Post-event report Action items
Planned Quarterly

Section 03 BPMN Visual Example

Every process above is modeled as a BPMN 2.0 diagram — the international standard for business process notation. Here is the Member Onboarding process with swim lanes showing responsibility at each step.

Member Onboarding Process

Applicant
Submit Application
↓ to System
System
Auto-Verify Docs
Complete?
Yes ↓ | No →
Request Missing
7d
Rcvd?
ECA Staff
Assign Tier
Send Welcome
Create Dashboard
Automated Task
Human Task
Gateway (Decision)
Start / End Event

Section 04 SOP Document Registry

Traditional SOPs are static Word documents that go stale. Our SOPs are executable BPMN XML files — version-controlled, self-documenting, and always current.

Process SOP Number Owner Last Updated Review Cycle
Member Onboarding SOP-MEM-001 Member Services Mar 2027 Annual
EUDR Verification SOP-COM-001 Compliance Jan 2027 Quarterly
Cupping Protocol SOP-QUA-001 Quality / Academy Feb 2027 Annual
Board Reporting SOP-GOV-001 CEO Office Mar 2027 Annual
Financial Collection SOP-FIN-001 Finance Jan 2027 Annual
Event Planning SOP-EVT-001 Market Development Mar 2027 Per event

Every SOP is a BPMN XML file. Version controlled. Executable. Self-documenting. The process definition IS the standard operating procedure.

Section 05 Continuous Improvement Cycle

BPMN processes are not “set and forget.” Every execution generates data. Every data point feeds back into process improvement. The SOP is never a dead document — it is a living workflow.

1
Execute
Every process instance generates timing, bottleneck, and error-rate data automatically
2
Analyze
AI agent reviews patterns: “GPS validation takes 60% of compliance verification time”
3
Review
Process owner reviews metrics and recommendations at quarterly QMS review
4
Improve
BPMN definition updated — add automation, remove bottleneck, change routing
5
Deploy
New version published — all future executions use the improved process

AI-Driven Process Intelligence

The AI agent continuously monitors execution data and surfaces actionable insights:

  • “Compliance verification averages 48h, but GPS validation step takes 60% of that time — consider integrating automated GPS boundary check”
  • “Member onboarding has a 15% document-resubmission rate — adding a pre-check guide could reduce this”
  • “Board reporting step 4 (CEO review) consistently takes 5x longer than other steps — bottleneck identified”
  • “3 partnership proposals stalled at legal review for >14 days — escalation recommended”

Section 06 Process Metrics Dashboard

Real-time visibility into operational performance. Every process execution contributes to these metrics — no manual reporting required.

This Month’s Performance

Active process instances 127 +15%
Avg completion time 4.2 days −8%
Overdue tasks 3 −67%
Process compliance rate 94% +12%
Staff tasks completed on time 89% +5%

Process Breakdown

Onboarding 34 On Track
EUDR Compliance 28 On Track
Coffee Cup 12 2 Overdue
Revenue 41 On Track
Events 2 1 Overdue
Before Fermia
0%
Process visibility

No data on completion times, bottlenecks, or compliance rates. Performance reviews rely on memory.

With Fermia
100%
Process visibility

Every step tracked, timed, and auditable. Real-time dashboards replace quarterly guesswork.

Section 07 How Fermia Powers QMS

Under the hood, ECA’s quality management system runs on Fermia’s BPMN 2.0 engine — the same standard used by enterprise workflow platforms, but running in real-time on SpacetimeDB.

BPMN 2.0 Engine

Processes are defined as industry-standard BPMN XML. Deploy with deploy_process, execute with start_instance, manage tasks with complete_task. The engine handles gateways, parallel paths, timers, and error boundaries.

Human Task Dashboards

When a process reaches a human task, it appears in the assigned staff member’s dashboard in real-time via WebSocket subscription. No polling, no email chains — the task is there the instant the process token arrives. Claim it, complete it, move on.

Automated Service Tasks

Steps like “Auto-Verify Documents” and “Send Welcome Email” execute automatically via service tasks. These can call AI agents, external APIs, or internal SpacetimeDB reducers — no human intervention needed for routine steps.

Complete Audit Trail

Every execution is logged as an ExecutionEvent: who did what, when, with what data. This is not optional logging — it is intrinsic to the engine. Every token movement, every task completion, every gateway decision is recorded.

Exportable & Portable

Process definitions are stored as BPMN XML — an ISO standard. They can be exported, shared, imported into other BPMN tools (Camunda, Flowable, SpiffArena), and versioned in Git. No vendor lock-in.

Real-Time Everything

Built on SpacetimeDB’s WebSocket subscriptions. Process state changes propagate to all connected clients instantly. When a compliance officer approves a certificate, the exporter sees it within milliseconds — not after the next page refresh.

Section 08 BPMN Data Model

The process execution engine is built on five core entities. Together they provide complete visibility from process design to execution history.

Process Execution Chain

ProcessDefinition
name
bpmn_xml
version
deployed_at
ProcessInstance
definition_id
status
variables
started_at
ExecutionToken
instance_id
activity_id
status
arrived_at
UserTask
token_id
assignee
form_data
completed_at
ExecutionEvent
instance_id
event_type
activity_id
user_id
timestamp
Complete Audit Trail
Every state change across the entire chain is captured as an ExecutionEvent — token movements, task completions, gateway decisions, timer expirations. Nothing happens without a record.

Ready to Turn Processes into SOPs?

Every ECA workflow — from member onboarding to EUDR compliance — becomes a living, measurable, improvable standard operating procedure. No more dead manuals.

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