High tech machining - the beginning
techrat said:
Need some encouragement..... maybe some success stories on turning around small/medium sized precision machining businesses with significant quality problems.
My situation:
Fell into quality leadership for precision machining company whose manufacturing leadership dismantled quality department less final inspection about a year ago and has been struggling with quality issues since.
Process Monitoring in place: Minimal
Process operators: Little training, non-english speaking
My Quality Initiatives: Don't happen if I don't a.)Do the actions myself b.) complain often to manufacturing management.
I need to start networking with some people that have been a part of a quality turn-around maybe get some mentoring, words of encouragement, advice
Feel free to ask me questions, I am glad to elaborate, I need help
I know this situation well. I took a bankrupt "do anything" contract machine shop and turned it into a multimillion dollar showpiece high tech contract machining company (routine tolerance +0.0005/-0.0000 inches, cpk 2.0 or better) with three narrow niche markets: sensors, aerospace, medical devices.
Falling right in with the current ISO thinking, our most important quality driver was demand by our most desirable prospects, whom we converted to customers.
Frankly, nothing will work unless your company ownership AND leadership are on board the same train.
Just because there are customers who will exploit your company, they are probably nowhere near as profitable as the ones who want to PARTNER with your company so that the burden of their incoming quality inspection can be eased with confidence YOUR company will deliver conforming product.
The ONLY way to give that confidence is to document your production with in-process inspection, SPC, and INSTANT customer service when any question arises.
Done intelligently, with good planning and execution, you CAN safely eliminate FINAL inspection if you have in-process and SPC charting in place and documented so any competent stranger can look at the records and feel confident the end product is good. We ran 24/7, and 12 hours of every day were "lights out." We had all the toys and tools for First Article Inspection. We regularly performed PPAP and
FMEA. We shared our Control Plan with each customer before we cut one chip. We had a 100% open door policy and provided each customer with a schedule of when his part would run so he could send an observer to watch.
When we sent an inspection sheet, we sent a tagged sample together with the name of the type of instrument used for each measurement so the customer could check exactly the same part in the same way. The inspection process and instrumentation was pre-agreed with the customer as part of the Control Plan.
Every operator was empowered to stop the process (his or someone else's) until he could confer with a colleague or supervisor whenever a question arose.
When our operators saw both we and our customers were obsessed with quality, they bought in, since there was no discrepancy between word and deed on anyone's part.
All our operators were also members of our total Material Review Board (MRB),
(incoming from suppliers and returns from customers or internal questions before product was shipped) though we only needed a quorum to proceed. Rarely did we get a return of a questioned part, but if we did, the entire workforce took it as a personal obligation to resolve the issue as soon as possible. "Bandaid" fixes were not tolerated.
Suggestions for your first steps:
- Ask for a private meeting with owners if it is a closely held company. If no owners, then top management (not just manufacturing manager)
- At the meeting, ask who they want to satisfy for quality procedures (the quality driver) and why. (this can be a pet customer or a prospective customer they haven't been able to convert)
- Ask for a meeting with quality driver to get parameters of what is expected
- Prepare a plan
- Get approval of plan (including the proposed budget) from your management before taking it to quality driver for approval
- If quality driver approves plan, start to implement
The plan should definitely provide for real input and continuing oversight from a top manager in your company with enough authority to make it stick.
Since your operators have little training, their training for in-process inspection has to be part of the plan. Final "detection" is worthless if the process is out of control because you will have wasted money making scrap BEFORE you know it's scrap.
Since you are in the U.S., it wouldn't be out of line to bring in an ESL teacher to upgrade the English skills of your operators. Odds are it will be less than hiring a new workforce, plus there are government programs which can subsidize the cost. Extra benefit might result from public relations of the tactic.
Consider using lots of flow charts and cartoons with more pictures than words for training and work instructions. Many companies here in the midwest have found many of their non-English speaking employees are nearly illiterate in their native language and certainly illiterate for technical terms. Note they are illiterate, not dumb. They can and will learn when given the opportunity and the right tools.
Hey, we're always here to answer good questions like yours, techrat. Welcome 
to the Cove.
