BYK-Gardner recently announced an advanced version of its data analysis software smart-chart, which combines color and appearance data while offering new functions to help users with efficient big data management. The measured data in smart-chart is saved in a SQL database, which allows handling of large data sets over time. According to the company, this reliable database type ensures full network and server compatibility. Data can be easily shared within the supply chain by extracting mini databases that can be sent by email and combined with other databases.

The display of red and green tolerance lines is a new feature. The lines are based on customer product specifications in standard management and can indicate a quality drift so that users are able to proactively take measures to avoid costly rejects. The new drill-in function shows a history trend of the last 20 measurements of the same model, color, and painting line.