100% Visual Inspection - Would you Remove or Reduce the Visual Inspection?

[rossbach63]

Today 100% of all new parts have a final visual inspection. What would you do to eliminate that step?

[qualitygoddess - 2010]

Is the inspection required by contract? Does the part have a specific type of surface finish requirement? Are you inspecting color or just for mold defects? Do you track scrap and rejections?

What is the 'pass rate' for the 100% visual inspection? Do you pareto the reasons for rejection, and investigate root cause? What quality tools have you used to analyse the process? Is the process capable of producing parts to meet a customer specification for visual acceptability?

There are a whole lot of questions to be answered before you can just dump final inspection.

--QG

[gszekely]

It depends on your process. For example I have had to implement a second 100% inspection, and my external DPM is still 5000, and the target 1000.
Give some more specific informations, then maybe somebody can help.

[Howard Atkins]

In Reply to Parent Post by rossbach63

Today 100% of all new parts have a final visual inspection. What would you do to eliminate that step?

Why are you inspecting them?
What are the faults you are finding?
Solve the reasons for these nonconformities produce good parts and stop inspecting

[Jim Wynne]

In Reply to Parent Post by rossbach63

Today 100% of all new parts have a final visual inspection. What would you do to eliminate that step?

Stop doing it. That may seem like a flip answer, but if you're doing 100% visual inspection just because "we've always done it that way," there's a good chance that it's not necessary. What happens if you do sampling instead of 100%? Why not try it? There's a chance that if you control the process, you can eliminate the inspection completely, but take it in small steps, and make your decision after evaluating data.

[triner]

This is how I would approach it.

1) Determine what rejects I am finding at final inspection.

Based on the that information here is my short term and long term solutions:

Short Term
1) Determine the rejection pattern. If its random, and small, I will need to continue to 100% inspect until I can eliminate the defect. If it follows a pattern, for example, a tool becomes dull and each part made after that event has the defect, then I can immediately institute a sampling method of finding the defect. I just need to make sure I have a method of capturing suspect material between samples.

2) Continue to monitor defect trends so that I can determine if my long term improvements are having an effect.

Also, the consequences of the defect getting into field will determine how I proceed.

Long Term
1) Determine where in the operation is defect being "manufactured".
2) Determine if an error proofing device, improved preventive maintenance, or improved method can be implemented at that operation tp prevent the defect from occuring.
3) Implement inspection at each work station so that defects can be caught immediately when they occur and are not passed to the next operation.

[rossbach63]

In Reply to Parent Post by triner

This is how I would approach it.

1) Determine what rejects I am finding at final inspection.

Based on the that information here is my short term and long term solutions:

Short Term
1) Determine the rejection pattern. If its random, and small, I will need to continue to 100% inspect until I can eliminate the defect. If it follows a pattern, for example, a tool becomes dull and each part made after that event has the defect, then I can immediately institute a sampling method of finding the defect. I just need to make sure I have a method of capturing suspect material between samples.

2) Continue to monitor defect trends so that I can determine if my long term improvements are having an effect.

Also, the consequences of the defect getting into field will determine how I proceed.

Long Term
1) Determine where in the operation is defect being "manufactured".
2) Determine if an error proofing device, improved preventive maintenance, or improved method can be implemented at that operation tp prevent the defect from occuring.
3) Implement inspection at each work station so that defects can be caught immediately when they occur and are not passed to the next operation.

do you have a example, I'm working a project on how to eliminate 100% inspection. If you were to present a presentation on how to eliminate 100% inspection how would you do it.

[triner]

Sorry, I don't have a good example I can share.

For your powerpoint, you could 1) present the top 5 reject types and then brainstorm with the group how they can be eliminated, then create an action plan from that, or 2) present the logical approach I presented earlier.

Good Luck