Should manufacturing efficiency be a quality function? Yes or No?

[Jim Wynne]

I was not diminishing the value of quality personnel. They are internal experts, typically higher than operators have.

Did you mean "...typically higher than operators are?"

 

[Helmut Jilling]

Yes:

What is manufacturing efficiency?

in terms of engineering efficiency is:

efficiency= What is obtained / Maximum it could be obtained.

Therefore manufacturing efficiency ifor my interpretation:

manufacturing efficiency= Parts obtained / max parts could be obtained.

Therefore of course it is a good index to meassure the process manufacturing and by this a quality function.

But, it would be a measure of the quality function of the manufacturing process, wouldn't it? Not a measure of the quality process?

 

[Helmut Jilling]

Did you mean "...typically higher than operators are?"

...oh, all right....if you insist...

 

[Jim Wynne]

...oh, all right....if you insist...

Just to be clear, I wasn't taking issue with your grammar; I was referring to a possible listing of employees most likely to be high.

 

[Richard1964]

Does not quality improvement improve manufacturing efficiency? I certainly believe it does...Variation is our common enemy.

 

[Helmut Jilling]

Does not quality improvement improve manufacturing efficiency? I certainly believe it does...Variation is our common enemy.

Of course your comment is correct. Improvement is the underlying objective for every process.

But does the comment address the question of whether to assign efficiency to the Manufacturing process, or the Quality process?

 

[jeffhenry]

Boy you opened a can of worms with this one! It appears that you and I think alike. I think it is an excellent idea to intergrate quality into the process.
The days of an inspector at the end of the line are over. Now the operator himself/herself is ultimately resposible for the amount of QUALITY parts they produce.

Excellent Discussion Piece! Look foward to hearing from you.

 

[Jim Wynne]

Of course your comment is correct. Improvement is the underlying objective for every process.

But does the comment address the question of whether to assign efficiency to the Manufacturing process, or the Quality process?

I'm in Helmut's corner on this one (as in most cases). We can say, for example, that the need for inspection might impact manufacturing efficiency, and since inspection is a quality function...

But the problem with that approach is that it's lack of efficiency in the manufacturing process that creates the need for inspection (in most cases). If the people charged with designing and implementing processes do so with elimination or significant reduction of inspection in mind, then the quality function has little or nothing to do with the efficiency of the process.

As I think I said back in the 1950's when this thread began, I see nothing wrong with the quality department being something like a scorekeeper, because often the talents and skills needed are most likely to be found there in many companies. But collecting data isn't the same as having responsibility for efficiency. That responsibility belongs (or should belong) with the process designer(s).

 

[Cordon - 2007]

But does the comment address the question of whether to assign efficiency to the Manufacturing process, or the Quality process?

Sounds like a new thread to me.

 

[jrubio]

But, it would be a measure of the quality function of the manufacturing process, wouldn't it? Not a measure of the quality process?

I agree but Quality is envolved in all the processes and must be managed by every process owner in order to achive their target taking into account the process messurement indexes and varying the inputs and asigning resources to achive it (I think this is the aim of the ISO TS 16949 :2002).

Therefore Quality is as God is in everywhere.

It is not possible to stablish a limit, this was the old concept that Quality controlled Manufacturing. Now Quality must be envolved in Manufacturing, a part of it.

Do not have every process other Customer which is the next one?

The companies according to the standard define the processes and after that indexes to improve, therefore all parameters of effficiency or rates must be part of the aim of the Quality standard and the focus is to obtain a product meeting Customer requirements. This is my point.