Short FMEA and Control Plan - What am I doing wrong?

[apestate]

what good are FMEA and CP's?

I think I've gone and totally overkilled something again. this happens every time I try to do something new, it just blows up in my face.

I wrote a FMEA for a pair of parts. They're a bolt and a nut made on a screw machine, each part has 8 features if you include the material composition and zinc plating.

Each FMEA is three pages long. I have included everything I could think of that could lead to product nonconformity as a result of failure of a process. In fact, the one part uses a die head to chase the outside threads, and I started writing an FMEA for that piece of equipment.

I didn't expect the control plan to be very long but it's going to be over a page.

What am I doing wrong here? How should I be using these documents and what do I want them to do for us?

 

[Al Dyer]

From what you've posted, I see nothing wrong, The documents are used to control the process of manufacturing or facilitating the product in question. More detailed data and/or request for information might garner increased data, do you have any?

Al...

 

[Al Dyer]

A Follow-up

Just as another response, both your CP & FMEA are far from the lean side. Remember that the process starts before the raw material comes in the door and till finished products are shipped to the customer that gave you the requirements.

I hate to over-use the term, but common sense should prevail, especially when working these documents through with the customer.

Al...

 

[The Taz!]

I think I've gone and totally overkilled something again. this happens every time I try to do something new, it just blows up in my face.

What am I doing wrong here? How should I be using these documents and what do I want them to do for us?

This is like most everything else in life. . .you get out of it what you put into it. . .

Imagine the blow-up if you didn't address Hydrogen Embrittlement testing and verification after plating . . . and that part went into an open water valve on a Sub that went down. . .

Or you can take the other approach. . . add the failure modes AFTER they occur. . . (Being cute here). . .

Err on the side of caution and cover your bases (New word for the part of your anatomy that you sit on) . . . :ca:

 

[Sam]

I think I've gone and totally overkilled something again. this happens every time I try to do something new, it just blows up in my face.

I wrote a FMEA for a pair of parts. They're a bolt and a nut made on a screw machine, each part has 8 features if you include the material composition and zinc plating.

Each FMEA is three pages long. I have included everything I could think of that could lead to product nonconformity as a result of failure of a process. In fact, the one part uses a die head to chase the outside threads, and I started writing an FMEA for that piece of equipment.

I didn't expect the control plan to be very long but it's going to be over a page.

What am I doing wrong here? How should I be using these documents and what do I want them to do for us?

It appears that you are doing exactly what you should be doing with a PFMEA;addressing the potential failures.
The control plan is the output of your APQP and normally starts with the received product and ends with shipping.
The number of pages should be the least of your concerns.

 

[Bill Ryan - 2007]

How should I be using these documents and what do I want them to do for us?

Are these documents being generated for a new nut & bolt or are the parts already in production and you are "backtracking"? As Al said, the number of pages should be the least of your concerns and my gut feeling is a 3 page PFMEA is far from "overkill". In the PFMEA, cover all "Potential" Failure Modes from the start of your Process Flow (Receiving) to the end (Ship) and how you are going to insure those Failure Modes (nonconformances) don't reach your customer(s).

The Control Plan is actually the output of a well-written PFMEA (both are outputs of the APQP process). That means to say that there should be no Product/Process Characteristics addressed in your Control Plan that are not addressed in the PFMEA.

Hope that helps a little.

Bill