Quality Information Point - Quality information for operators and technicians

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D

dspinelli

#12
link

to Claes:
I am not able to access to the link shown in your post. Can you help me please?

Thanks,
Domenico
 

CarolX

Super Moderator
Super Moderator
#14
This thread moved a bit off topic, so I moved the "operator errror" discusions to the Non-conformance and Corrective action Board
 

Wes Bucey

Quite Involved in Discussions
#15
CarolX said:
This thread moved a bit off topic, so I moved the "operator errror" discusions to the Non-conformance and Corrective action Board
I don't really agree the thread should have been split, since there are references back to posts in this remaining thread in the posts you split off. At the very least, you should have provided a link to the new (now orphaned) thread:
http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=11545

The point the folks in that (now split off) thread were making directly pertained to the original post: the original poster was unilaterally declaring operating errors without referring to possible factors in the process which created opportunities for error.

I think this was a mistake to split this thread.
 

Cari Spears

Super Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
#16
Our "information board" is in a case hanging on the wall by the timeclock. But - I am renaming it "Quality Matters" after I read the phrase here yesterday or at least real recently. I can't remember who posted it - but thanks!!

I have worked at larger companies that would have "Quality Alert" areas at each product line or work cell. These tended to be easels with pictures or actual samples of nonconforming parts. They were used for training for operators and inspectors.

These were metal stamping places so this was really useful since about 90% of metal stamping defects are visual.
 
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T

The Fast One

#17
dspinelli said:
Dear Members,
I would like to implement in the production shop floor of my company (automotive supplier) an Info Quality Point, that means a corner correctly built to show quality informations to the operators and technicians and to have brief meetings between quality and production people.

Can you provide me with examples, suggestions on how to build such a corner and on which informations can be shown and discussed there?

Thank you in advance for helping me.

Regards,
Domenico
Assuming you operate within a building that is not a sphere or cylinder I would suggest you find a corner, go to it and call it 'Quality'...

If you feel the need to build something as a complete separate entity to what the 'shop floor' are doing I would suggest you do it anywhere but the 'shop floor' as it will probably be ignored by the shop floorer's doing the job as just another management fad that will probably only serve to make their working lives more complicated...
 

Wes Bucey

Quite Involved in Discussions
#18
Wes Bucey on an efficient shop - empowerment

As I promised earlier and got sidetracked:
When I ran a high tech contract machining shop, we made a corporate decision and gutted our entire building, sold off all the machines, and designed from scratch what we wanted.

Facilities:
We put power lines in the floor where we planned to place machine "cells" and in trays in the ceiling where we could drop down new wires in the future as occasion might demand. We put in all new, low power, high lumen lighting and air conditioning. New concrete floor was laid to hold ANY load, finished with a practically impervious epoxy finish.

We had pertinent inspection equipment at every cell. Specialized equipment like CMM and optical comparators were kept in a soundproofed, climate controlled lab along with our special scales and weight and dimension standards for calibrating instruments. Every operator was trained in using all equipment (if we could trust him with a half-million dollar machine tool, we could sure trust him with a $20,000 CMM)

We built a soundproof office and conference area with phones, computers, copiers, printers, plotters, tv, vcr, DVD, PowerPoint projector, private desk for each machine operator.

Vending machine area and break room had "kitchenette" facilities. Bathrooms for each gender were like country club locker rooms (private toilets, showers, dressing rooms, lockers, etc.)

New computer-controlled machines were brought in, arranged in "cells" run by one operator. Operator could program at machine or at his desk.

Operation:
Operators were all on MRB (material review board) in addition to Quality Manager, Finance/Purchasing, Marketing. MRB meetings were held in their [the operators'] conference rooms. If customers or suppliers were invited to MRB, they met there, too.

All training (in-house, machine tool suppliers, outside experts, cutting tool suppliers, heat treaters, platers, etc.) could be conducted on-site. Customers were encouraged to come and meet with operators running their jobs.

We had no quality inspectors (we did have quality trainers and guys who acted as "court of last resort" when a question would arise.) Operators did own first article inspections, based on control plan/inspection plan agreed with customer as part of contract review. Another operator would perform a redundant first article inspection with different inspection instruments. Marked sample with BOTH inspection reports was sent to customer for confirmation before production began.

In-process inspection, SPC, etc. was performed by operator in real time. If nonconformance was discovered, production would halt - all operators would collaborate on finding and curing cause, only calling in outside help if solution eluded them. Inspection records, charts, etc. went right to computer where they were available in real time to in-house folk and customers.

Operators had autonomy to bring in experts from our suppliers of material, capital equipment, and expendable tooling to stay up to date on industry innovation. Sometimes, we shut the whole shop down and chartered a bus to take us to the International Machine Tool Show to spend the day.

If an operator wanted to see a customer's operation and how his product was used, we made it happen. Similarly for a supplier's operation.

Bottom line:
We treated our operators as true partners. We made sure our suppliers and customers understood the power and authority we gave them. In ten years, they never disappointed us. I hope we never disappointed them.

Added in edit:
In post 19, Cari Spears asks a great question which I answer in post 20

http://elsmar.com/Forums/showpost.php?p=105566&postcount=20
 
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Cari Spears

Super Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
#19
Wes Bucey said:
When I ran a high tech contract machining shop, we made a corporate decision and gutted our entire building, sold off all the machines, and designed from scratch what we wanted.
Did you do this when you purchased the business? Or after how many years of running it?

What did the employees do? Did they get laid off? Or did you do the gutting in sections in order to keep people working?
 

Wes Bucey

Quite Involved in Discussions
#20
Wes Bucey on quoting and empowerment

Cari Spears said:
Did you do this when you purchased the business? Or after how many years of running it?

What did the employees do? Did they get laid off? Or did you do the gutting in sections in order to keep people working?
Good question! (This question by Cari refers to post #18 [http://elsmar.com/Forums/showpost.php?p=105469&postcount=18])

We made the final decision 3 months after we bought it. Everybody stayed on payroll. All operators were in on planning with architect and conversations with machine tool reps as to what equipment we would buy/lease. Once we began the gutting, operators and others attended training classes off-site to learn how to use the new machines we were getting. We visited various suppliers in small groups (including our operators) to do on-site supplier approval visits. We managed our administrative operations from a small office our neighbor across the street lent us.

We coordinated almost everything we would do over the three month "gut and build" operation BEFORE we moved the first old machine out. The machine tool manufacturers and their representatives were wonderful to work with and allowed our operators to make product we sold to customers during the training period for the operators.

While all this went on, my partners and I searched for new customers to fit the niche markets we had chosen as the major impetus for our makeover. Once we had our targets lined up, we went into a blitz as soon as we were up and running again. All told, it took us one full calendar year from the day we disconnected the first old machine before we had a net profit from operations. It took 18 months from day one before we made a net profit after making our debt payments.

We negotiated a lot of moratoriums and deferred payments to help stretch our equity. It was tough, but almost everything went according to our original plan. We increased our target niche to include manufacturing components for medical devices based on information provided by our machine tool reps. It was a small, but instantly profitable part of our business.

Construction and new machine installation went like clockwork (almost "plug and play.") We used sample parts our guys had been making while learning how to run the machines as our marketing tools when we dealt with prospects. We sawed them in half, glued them on a card with one advertising line: "If you need parts like this, you need us!" plus contact info and sent them to our target market. Inquiries accompanied by part drawings came in so fast, we had to install a second fax machine and then a third to assure no customer got a "busy signal."

Instead of sitting down to quote the part, we turned traditional contract machining marketing methods upside down. We picked up the phone and called the customer with questions like:
  1. Do you currently use this part?
  2. How many do you use a year?
  3. Do you currently make it yourself or buy it?
  4. Why are you seeking a quote?
    (If the chooch said anything remotely resembling, "Just checking the market." We replied, "Sorry, we only deal with folks who need the product. No quote. Goodbye!")
If it was an existing part, the one answer we wanted to hear was that they were unhappy with their current supply, either for price or quality. We then went into our concurrent engineering mode and asked them to elaborate. If it was a quality problem, we asked them to send us samples of the nonconforming parts with their inspection sheets so we could "diagnose" the problems. Our whole stance was to position ourselves as "partner" first, before WE ever quoted.

If price was the issue, we'd ask, "How much do you need to buy it for?" Then we said, "That might be doable. If not, we'll tell you straight out that it isn't. If we suggested some design changes which would make it less expensive to manufacture, but still have same fit and function, would you be able to work with that? Are there mating parts which would be affected? Can you send us the assembly drawing and the drawings for the mating parts so we can look at that as part of our analysis?"

Usually, by the time we were finished with the introductory give and take, we had several phone calls, talked to design engineers and manufacturing managers. Soon, the problem of "price" was the furthest thing from the mind of anybody at the prospect's organization. We were busy establishing ourselves as the "go to" folks.

If it was a new part, never made before, we asked about potential real use (we didn't quote a blind spread of quantities and price breaks.) We asked about mating parts, end use, etc. Finally we asked the big question, "What do you think you need to buy this for to be able to have a marketable product yourself?" Then we went into our pitch, "That might be doable . . ."

If we spent as much as an hour qualifying a prospect, it was much more cost efficient than sending quotes out on the fax like oysters spawning in the ocean. We had names, extension numbers and "rapport" established. We would call up before we sent out a formal quote with the oral one, telling the recipient to go to his fax machine and pick it up, stay on the line and then tell us if it came through clearly. Our quotes NEVER got lost in the shuffle. We asked for a target date when he would have the answer and the order. We followed up, eager to help if there was a glitch at their end.

By our third year, our regular customers would call us first, ask if we had time to look at a drawing, then send it over by fax while WE waited for it to arrive. Often, they said, (before we went into our interrogation):
  1. We currently use this part.
  2. We use ____ thousand a year.
  3. We've been buying it from John Doe, tell us if we're getting a good deal or not. We currently pay $_____.
  4. We're asking you to look at it - if you can come close on the price, we'd rather deal with a known quantity like you. Sometimes these guys act like they don't need us as a customer.
  5. What more do you need to know?
Sometimes, just sometimes, the plan works! Our plan was for our customers to think of us as partners with whom they could share confidential information. It worked because we never betrayed the confidence. Many times, we'd tell them they were already getting a good deal. If the quality was a minor problem, we'd offer to consult with their current supplier to help him overcome the obstacle to good quality. Our pitch to the "competitor" would be that we were partners with them in satisfying the customer. A happy, satisfied customer was easier for everyone to deal with. We sometimes used these "competitors" to outsource some of our overflow once we got their quality systems up to snuff. Our point was, "If you have similar machines, you should be able to do similar work. Let us help you tackle the quality and service issues."

:topic: This was probably way more than you needed to know, but I am passionate about running a business smoothly and profitably. In my mind the strategies involved in Business Management Systems and Quality Management Systems are interchangeable. They all revolve around making yourself indispensible to your customers.
 
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