I've seen time fly, but I've never seen an elephant fly.
September 2011
Management Review as above.
October 2011
Internal Audit - Production Processes
Finding - Missing signature in the Preventive Maintenance log for SMT weekly cleaning the previous week. Cleaning had been completed as evidenced by the condition of the line. Massive retraining until ears bleed.
Finding - New Team Member listed on Team List but Skills List not updated. MORE retraining ensues until Team members see skills matrices in their sleep.
November 2011
Icy's mother falls down the 13 step staircase in her home on Thanksgiving morning and spends the next 28 days in the hospital. Icy spends every weekend from Thanskgiving to Valentine's Day driving 6 hours round trip to visit his mother and keep his father from going stir crazy.
December 2011
Management throws Icy Mt. into the briar patch by agreeing to a proposal to purchase an additional $200K of SMT equipment to expand the capacity of the SMT line. At the same time, Icy's protege, and King of Surface Mount Assembly Line, completes his Electrical Engineering Degree and leave$ for Greener pasture$. The diversion from all other topics lasts until late March 2012.
March 2012
Icy's oldest son (20) falls from a 3rd story doorway (~24 feet onto a zoysiagrass over gravel driveway) on his second day of Spring Break. Icy spends 7 days within a 15 minute drive of the Atlantic but spends only 15 minutes on the beach. There is absolutely no way to prepare for the next week.
On the day of his return to work, Icy mans the controls to host the auditors from a huge global corporation for the purpose of inflicting a VDA 6.3 audit upon the unsuspecting victims. There are 6 findings (all extremely manufactured and not worth detailing, in fact, 3 are eventually rescinded) and the final score is 89/100. The auditors admit that less than 2% receive a "satisfactory" score of 90 or above.
"I told you this system runs itself," says Icy.
Side note: Although VDA 6.3 is allegedly based on ISO9001, there are multiple questions/requirements that are actually elements of QS9000/TS16949. Unfortunately, if a product is not developed for an automotive customer, there are many items in the related manuals that may not be in evidence as they are
not required (e.g.
PFMEA,
APQP, MSA, PPAP, word up!) by ISO9001.
April 2012
Icy finds a new operator for his SMT Line and successfully escapes the briar patch without a scratch.
Internal Audit - Administrative Processes
No Findings
Management Review of the QMS for December 2012 and March 2012
The Quality Manager basks in the glow of Closed VDA findings and No IA findings. All COPQ metrics are progressively lower that previous reviews. Sales are up and new product launches are more successful than ever before regarding quantity ramp-up and initial quality at release.
May 2012
DNV Periodic Surveillance Audit
Finding - Inadequate detail regarding acceptable test results for the High Voltage Interlock Switch on new converter with 600VDC input (safety issue). ECO to add detail to test procedure and record line to test record.
Finding - Inadequate detail recorded on Red Reject Tags. This detail required was purposefully left vague in the Procedures Manual version 1 to avoid findings for missing a check box or other silliness. This is a practice known as providing low-hanging fruit for auditors to pick. ECO to add required details to Red Reject Tags.
Audit closed.
June 2012
The new SMT Operator is converted from Temporary to Permanent Employee (he's that good!). There is much rejoicing as Icy Mt. returns to Projects and QMS operation full-time.
Management Review of the QMS details new record lows for scrap, rework, warranty costs, and warranty rates. On time delivery is maintained at 99.8% with customer ratings at all time highs. Anyone need a Project Manager? Maintenance of a QMS like this is booooring. If I hear of another 4 letter pile of paper like PPAP, APQP, or IMDS, I just might walk out a 3rd story doorway.
