Records where apply and stop recording everything?

[qualprod]

Hello everybody
I need some advice on the next:
In a manufacturing company, ISO 9001 certified, it was implemented to record everything, yes what I said, "everything"
This happens in the production processes.
For example, by using forms, people describe, when the work order started, time spent in each process, (there are up to 5 processes)
responsible person, quantity of raw material for all the work orders (ink, paper,bags) , which machine, raw material for setup, non conformity pieces, etc.
So the people, spend a lot of time to perform the job, and apart to spend time in filling out the forms.
The original idea of doing this was to capture all data in order to be analized for the improvement of the processes.

I was proposed to implements improvements in this company and after some evaluation of the way they work.

As first option to start the improvement, I defined the next practice,

To stop the recording of everything, and just to record what is really important, considering complying to ISO, the customer, and the company requirements.

The point is to spend more time in production, not in the recording of data.
And of course in order to have data for improvements, I´ll run lean analysis when is needed, maybe quarterly or twice a year.
By applying resources (people, computer, etc.) we will start to analyze when Work order is received, how long did it take to start to work, how long was the setup process, raw material used in the WO, defective pieces, time spent in changing a tool, etc.

After Lean is finished, it will trigger improvements projects with all the follow-up required.

One point, for sure a lot of time will be saved when workers/operators in machines will record only what is needed, thus
work orders will take less time to be released to customers.

Please advice on this, is it good my decision? is this a normal practice in manufacturing companies.

Thanks for your time.

 

[John C. Abnet]

One point, for sure a lot of time will be saved when workers/operators in machines will record only what is needed,

Time will be saved INDEED ! You mentioned "...when....record only what is needed". So, IF your organization is collecting all this manually recorded data because of a risk and/or data from which to drive improvement, well, I would council to make sure it really is NEEDED. No better way to distract and jade team members than by having them do tedious effort which is not value added and for which there is no known end date.

In regards to the ISO requirements, NONE of what you describe is required to be collected by the ISO 9001 standard.

The requirements for retained documentation leaves it up to the organization in most cases. For example..."to support the operation of its processes", "to provide confidence....".
Some examples of specific documentation that is required includes (paraphrased)..... ""scope", quality policy", "quality objectives" , "calibration/gage suitability", "appropriate competency information...:, "review of customer requirements (as applicable)", "design/development activities / validation", ..."supplier evaluation", "traceability", "changes", "evidence of conformity/who authorized" , "nonconformances and actions", "results of analysis including management reviews",.....

As you can see, aside from evidence of conformity, most documentation/evidence requirements are initiated at the planning stage or admin processes, and most do not directly require actions on the part of value added team members.

Hope this helps.
Be well.

 

[Ninja]

How long have you been recording "everything"?

If it has been a while...use the collected data to guide you in what has merit to record, and what shows (historically) no issue justifying records.

We recorded everything that was measured, and set specs for them.
A couple of years later (in some cases 20yrs later), we reviewed and found that there were zero fails...sometimes for 20yrs.
HUGE cost savings simply by not measuring that anymore...
In some cases, eliminating a 2wk test reduced lead time by 2wks as well...allowing us to "expedite shipment" and apply a corresponding price increase.

Look at the data first, and start killing stuff.
Every time they can stop recording nonsense, make sure it is communicated to the line employees...(they already know it is nonsense)... this is a great opportunity for you to show how the quality department is making their life easier and more reasonable...don't miss out on the recognition of value, you may need to spend the cred later...

 

[Kronos147]

Many ERP systems or manufacturing software systems have these capabilities. If your work order has all the steps, people can clock in and out with bar code readers.

If you need that data, let the system capture it for you (get a new computer system). Otherwise, kudos to you for your lean initiative.

ISO 9001 has the 'risk' of becoming the tail that wags the dog. It need not be so!

One of my concepts is trying to figure out how to capture effective objective evidence while doing the things I am already doing. The 'kill two birds with one stone' kind of thinking that makes things more efficient.

Ex: Internal audits are great opportunities to verify the effectiveness of corrective actions, and capture data for the review of documented information (if your company does so, and wishes to capture data in regards to same). In an internal audit, corrective actions may be updated (as they are verified) and document review data (E.S.M. notes that on their master document list, date of last review and why) is updated.

 

[Golfman25]

Data is good. Too much or useless data, not so good. Figure out what is important and record that. Everything else is just noise. Automated data collection is becoming more and more viable with IOT technology. Good luck.