VisualSPC: Anyone else using this software? Resistance from experienced operators

Hi All:

Anyone using this software in a pretty high piece rate mfg environment?

Screw machines, cold headers 20k to 40k pcs a day.

Seems cumbersome, not specifically this product but how do we do SPC without cutting into production?

There is resistance, since experienced operators know almost by intuition if tolerances are drifting, they don't need SPC to tell them the obvious.

How do you answer such very legitimate questions?

I mean paper charting seems like it would be faster.

[SteelMaiden]

Been there in a previous life. We got a lot of grumbling at the beginning of the project, but once operators gained proficiency they told us it was easier to input values than to chart by hand. It will definitely save you time in calculating capabilities, re-calculating control limits, etc. There are remote sending/receiving units out there to capture your readings and eliminate some of the manual data entry.

Going to a computer system from paper will seem like a disaster for awhile until you reach the top of the learning curve. Good luck on your project, you'll be glad you did it.

[Jim Biz]

Hmmmmm --- need more information to give you a "good answer"

Whats the current sample size?

How much of a "Cut into production are you seeing"?

> can't say I've heard anyone that would agree with the statement SPC by Intuition is an acceptable method....

it may be useful to your operation - maybe not - smallest realistic sample sizes could help but I'd explain to the operators that you need some data to prove that it isn't needed by using it for a short term anyway

Regards
Jim

We are testing a package from CimWorks that looks promising. It is flexible enough that we can network it to multiple operations and processes.

Defining which software works for our application has been a long road. We feel that the investigation process has also been a good learning process, as the operators that will use the system are part of the group evaluating the product.

I'll keep you posted as we continue...

ASD...

"Good luck on your project, you'll be glad you did it."

Thank you and I truly hope so.

Our SPC is a "flowed down requirement" and its not really clear that quality has improved since going to SPC. The parts function as they always have only now we have the new SPC requirements.

We could get a whole lot more "buy in" if we could get some easily observable quality, cost, or thru-put improvements with the new SPC.

Thank you

"Whats the current sample size?"

Our sample size is pretty modest, our people check and verify dimensions probably 2 or 3 times more frequently.

Its just the "overhead" of getting one's hands ready for computer work, fishing the right chart for the machine out of the computer, when one has been on a screw machine or header. Also we share computers, so people tend to "customize" the setting for themselves.

I'm trying to get our people their own computers, this maybe doable since computers are getting so cheap.

How much of a "Cut into production are you seeing"?

Significant enough that operations is aware, if you know what I mean.

"that you need some data to prove that it isn't needed by using it for a short term anyway"

I like this approach, maybe I can minimize it altogether :^o

BTW, many of our people still remember very fondly old DOS based SPC software since 1) the font was huge, small font and oil smudges on monitors are a real nusance. 2) DOS based apps were much more simple, no Windows overhead, and actually was faster.

[Geoff Cotton]

"Experienced operators know almost by intuition if tolerances are drifting".... that sounds like they are over controlling the process. SPC will find that out for you, and lets not forget over controlling cost money and downtime.

We used to have operators that kept away from SPC, but now several years later, they REFUSE TO RUN without SPC charts.

Geoff

(Tried computerized SPC and found it too easy to fiddle the data. Our guys prefer paper charts as they use them to make notes on about how the process has run etc. The notes are really usefull when you have to try to remeber what happened months ago)

We are also thinking about using Visual SPC for a high speed manufacturing environment. We are currently using an old DOS based system and I would welcome any thoughts from anyone who has experience of using the Visual SPC system. (ie benefits, problems etc) My impression is that it is not easy to set up in the first place, but once it is set up the operators find it easier to work with.
Thanks