Contingency Plans
O.K. Dawn, here it is. What would you like to talk about?
O.K. Dawn, here it is. What would you like to talk about?
Complying with the requirement for Contingency Plans - 4.9.b.2
D
Dawn
We are having some difficulty, but we got as far as:
A letter from where we buy presses stating how quickly they can get us parts;
A letter from where we buy furnaces stating how quickly we can get parts and repair service;
A list from each facility of replacement parts;
A competitor who has agreed upon a written letter stating they will process any parts we need to our customer and we will do the same for them.
That's it. Does it work for you?
A letter from where we buy presses stating how quickly they can get us parts;
A letter from where we buy furnaces stating how quickly we can get parts and repair service;
A list from each facility of replacement parts;
A competitor who has agreed upon a written letter stating they will process any parts we need to our customer and we will do the same for them.
That's it. Does it work for you?
M
mibusha
Just received a major NCR during our pre-assessment (TE) for not addressing "Contingency". When questioned, managers of various departments had no clear plan of what to do if a machine went down, one of our suppliers had trouble, the power went out, etc. It took the building maintenance manager 15 minutes to find his "handwritten" list of phone numbers to call in an emergency-and half of them were of folks who did not work for us anymore!
B
Bill Smith
What we are doing is generate "Work Instruction" type of controlled documents for the systems that affect our companies ability to ship product. We went on the assumption that normal production emergencies do not apply here. So we picked things like a failure of 1 side of our closed loop water supply to our molding machines or our computerized shipping/inventory system.
When we looked at the problem from this point of view it was fairly simple.
Our next audit is in a couple of weeks , we'll find out then if we were right
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When we looked at the problem from this point of view it was fairly simple.
Our next audit is in a couple of weeks , we'll find out then if we were right
------------------
Dawn,
Works for me. Some questions come to mind though regarding how you may have addressed labor issues (Are you a union shop?) or utility interruptions. How about when you ship to a Customer (What would happen if UPS went on strike again? For instance, would you have an alternate carrier?). Keep in mind the word "reasonably" when preparing contingency plans (you may have several alternate carriers at your disposal so a specific plan would probably not be necessary). Like auditing, actions or plans need to be comensurate with risk involved. Elaborate plans tend to have extreme overkill and create a burden on the system and just aren't necessary. You had mentioned presses and furnaces in your posting. How frequently do they break-down? A specific plan for something like a press (where many may exist) may be unnecessary. I would find the unique equipment and machinery that, in the event they were unavailable, to create plans for these items.
Consider these while Contingency Planning:
1) Identify critical processes (these may already be defined in your PFMEAs by large RPN values, manufacturing processes, shipping & delivery processes, etc.). Consider all areas in the organization.
2) Identify critical equipment and machinery (these may already be defined in Control Plans, PFMEAs, one-of-a-kind machine, etc.). Again, consider all areas (4.15.6.4 mentions the backup method for ASNs, a form of contingency planning).
3) Use the Experts (you determine and define an expert) in your organization to determine severity of impact of the process/item and create plans for those identified to have "reasonable" significance. Remember, you define "reasonable" so be prepared to defend your position.
Bill's interpretation on typical production emergencies is in my opinion correct. Not making a mountain out of a mole hill. Also the computerized inventory system is probably a good example for contingency planning (could you find the right thing and ship it ontime if the computer failed or if the power were out?) Well, these are just a few of my thoughts. Back to the group for more input...
Works for me. Some questions come to mind though regarding how you may have addressed labor issues (Are you a union shop?) or utility interruptions. How about when you ship to a Customer (What would happen if UPS went on strike again? For instance, would you have an alternate carrier?). Keep in mind the word "reasonably" when preparing contingency plans (you may have several alternate carriers at your disposal so a specific plan would probably not be necessary). Like auditing, actions or plans need to be comensurate with risk involved. Elaborate plans tend to have extreme overkill and create a burden on the system and just aren't necessary. You had mentioned presses and furnaces in your posting. How frequently do they break-down? A specific plan for something like a press (where many may exist) may be unnecessary. I would find the unique equipment and machinery that, in the event they were unavailable, to create plans for these items.
Consider these while Contingency Planning:
1) Identify critical processes (these may already be defined in your PFMEAs by large RPN values, manufacturing processes, shipping & delivery processes, etc.). Consider all areas in the organization.
2) Identify critical equipment and machinery (these may already be defined in Control Plans, PFMEAs, one-of-a-kind machine, etc.). Again, consider all areas (4.15.6.4 mentions the backup method for ASNs, a form of contingency planning).
3) Use the Experts (you determine and define an expert) in your organization to determine severity of impact of the process/item and create plans for those identified to have "reasonable" significance. Remember, you define "reasonable" so be prepared to defend your position.
Bill's interpretation on typical production emergencies is in my opinion correct. Not making a mountain out of a mole hill. Also the computerized inventory system is probably a good example for contingency planning (could you find the right thing and ship it ontime if the computer failed or if the power were out?) Well, these are just a few of my thoughts. Back to the group for more input...
M
Max Perez
I'm going mad here writing contingency plans. The more you think about it, the more things can go wrong. Marc- Point taken on test machines, until now I was only focusing on production equipment....Thanks a lot!
But seriously, when do you stop?
I've identified 3 scenario's to plan for so far:
1) Specific equipment repair/damage; Specific Machinery goes down due to unforeseen failure or damage (ie smashed by a careening forklift)
2) Building unusable; Assuming the equipment can be salvaged, I have to plan to move heavy machinery to another facility....
3) Building destroyed; Earthquake,Floods, F-15 plows into it, etc... I have to have a plan to manufacture my product by hand? We are a stamping/assembly facility. Sure, we can assemble by hand, but what if my dies are damaged?
Add to each scenario the labour factor, and then do it again for utilities (for both short term and long term outages for water and electricity...phones!...and god forbid...SEWAGE!
My contingency plan is beginning to look like a tome.
Can anybody post and example somewhere?, or know of a location of one that is already out there? I'm sure a lot of people would appreciate that.
But seriously, when do you stop?
I've identified 3 scenario's to plan for so far:
1) Specific equipment repair/damage; Specific Machinery goes down due to unforeseen failure or damage (ie smashed by a careening forklift)
2) Building unusable; Assuming the equipment can be salvaged, I have to plan to move heavy machinery to another facility....
3) Building destroyed; Earthquake,Floods, F-15 plows into it, etc... I have to have a plan to manufacture my product by hand? We are a stamping/assembly facility. Sure, we can assemble by hand, but what if my dies are damaged?
Add to each scenario the labour factor, and then do it again for utilities (for both short term and long term outages for water and electricity...phones!...and god forbid...SEWAGE!
My contingency plan is beginning to look like a tome.
Can anybody post and example somewhere?, or know of a location of one that is already out there? I'm sure a lot of people would appreciate that.
Max,
I believe that you may be planning too fine. You need to plan reasonably to protect for issues identified as needing it. Earthquakes and floods are acts of God and do not need a contingency plan (as well as an F15 falling out of the sky). There is another thread (I didn't know this one existed when I started it) where more information exists.
I believe that you may be planning too fine. You need to plan reasonably to protect for issues identified as needing it. Earthquakes and floods are acts of God and do not need a contingency plan (as well as an F15 falling out of the sky). There is another thread (I didn't know this one existed when I started it) where more information exists.
Kevin has the gist of what's happening here. To use an example of 4.20 Statistical Techniques. I go into a company and the question is where to start and how far to go. What they are asking is what have you considered? Did you make a big list and whittle it down to the 'significant few'? With statistical techniques as with contingency plans, you start out making a list. What can go wrong. Big and little. With statistics you have to show you considered (well, explain if not show) a variety of things and designated a significant few for monitoring. With contingency plans you do the same. If you're union, I would expect some sort of plan to address a strike.
As is with QS, there are no concretes here. Look at all the examples folks have given in this thread. Ask your selfwhich ones might apply to you. If you mix chemicals and have 20 mixers, I doubt you would have a contigency plan for one or two going down (unless your production is ramped up to max and every mixer then *may* become critical. BUT - if you only have 1 mixer you sure want a spare motor, etc (you will have a contingency plan which is to keep an extra motor on hand).
Don't so much ask "what is QS requiring" here but rather ask "what major 'likely' things will occur" (Murphy's law(s)). Start with your 'long list', whittle it down to the significant few based on reason, knowledge, *cost*, reality, etc. The have those plans.
Note: I do know many contingency plans are not documented. Maintenance, from maintenance records and such, may keep extra motors on hand without writing something saying so. They have undocumented contingency planning - they know what's going on from maintenance records review. And this goes to issues like calibration. There are many things a cal lab manager sees in calibration records that charting will not help - many decisions are based upon their professional experience and knowledge.
Another example of a contingency plan which is seldom documented is planning for workers being absent (John and Mary didn't show up today). Managers and supervisors have 'plans' but they are typically not written.
One last one - it says "..utility interruptions..." How do we deal with that? Let's face it - most companies are not going to have a back-up generator system which will support all production and support functions. It doesn't make sense in *most* cases. I admit some of my clients have had that capability but they are few and far between. When does the electricy go out? Ice storms? Is an ice storm an act of god? Will anyone get to work any way? And, since it says "...utility interruptions..." Does this mean you have to have a plan for the possibility of a local water main break? Or natural gas - what if a main pipe breaks? You gonna bring in propane tankers which will involve orifrice changes everywhere gas is used?
REALITY, Folks! You can't plan for everything. Plan for what makes sense and is realistic. Your're already doing that to a large degree any way (see above where workers don't show up).
So - remember - there are a number of aspects to contigency plans...
Have I confused the issue?
[This message has been edited by Marc Smith (edited 02-01-99).]
D
Don Winton
Kevin, check your preference settings. You may not be displaying the threads from more than 25 days or so. Just a thought.
Good suggestion, Marc. Vital few, trivial many. I might be able to offer another.
In situations where it appears that the task at hand becomes burdensome, an affinity diagram of the key inputs and potential consequences may be valuable. I have a similar technique (believe it or not) for characterizing design inputs.
This particular area is not my strong suit (if I have a strong suit), so if I am completely off base, please let me know.
Regards,
Don
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