It's a department thing!
My department is responsible for the internal audits. We have "ad hoc" auditors from various departments also. The Quality and Operations Engineering Department is made up of an Industrial Engineer, a Quality Engineer, a Six Sigma Black Belt, our Scheduling/Capacity expert and a Product Design Engineer.
The feeling of the shop and employees is that if you are "chosen" (I don't have a whole lot of say in who is promoted into my department) for the QOE department you are a glutton for punishment! We are involved in all aspects of the company and are required to be both diplomats and problem solvers.
To give you an example of the requirements placed on this department: One of our customers found a design flaw in one of their trucks (not our design or area). Our company was approached to correct the problem and since the truck is already in production it was a hurry up job. Our designers created a part to fix the problem and we were told that we would be the supplier of this new part. That was on 4/23! My department was asked to help with developing the process flow (no problem) and then the bomb fell!!! Initial run to stop the bleeding = 350 due in 3 weeks; targeted quantities needed until a full design change can be implemented at shut down = 50,000 to 90,000; PSW due by 5/1!
We are a prototype stamping plant and this is a job for a production screw machine shop. Not only are we going through
APQP/run at rate, etc. but I'm in the middle of a surveillance and 9k2k registration and our Black Belt is presenting his last project for his "Master Black Belt" designation this week. You gotta love the challenge.
