A mold company that forms bumpers for major car manufacturers is painting the town red (and yellow and green).
A pair of color-coded WinSPC features are helping bumper production workers distinguish the noise of their manufacturing processes. Those features are Alarms and the Plant Monitor.
The company’s Quality leadership has set up WinSPC Alarms to flash full-screen color coded alerts when oddball measurements that could distort production records are recorded by a worker. Such measurements could indicate gauge hardware or gauge connectivity problems. The alerts are large and obvious, and therefore highly visible to workers collecting measurements some distance from the WinSPC process control station.
The company is also delivering WinSPC’s production playbook, the Plant Monitor, to Quality staff. The Plant Monitor, a visualization of the plant floor in Quality terms, flashes colored squares corresponding with types of problems happening that haven’t been looked after. Staff are required to address each problem by the end of the shift by taking one of the following actions:
- acknowledge the problem and continue
- determine and record an assignable cause
- take an action to try and correct the issue
- explain the nature of the problem
Any information recorded in this way can be consulted later by Quality personnel dealing with problems that seem to be similar.
Additionally, Quality leadership benchmarks performance by looking at week-to-week Ppk by product line using WinSPC reports.
Leadership also leverages WinSPC’s automated alert feature to email appropriate staff when out-of-control and out-of-spec product is made. Because the critical bumper aspects won’t interface with the car body unless tight specifications are met, the alert emails help prevent costly issues upstream.
About DataNet Quality Systems
DataNet Quality Systems empowers manufacturers to improve products, processes, and profitability through real-time statistical software solutions. The company’s vision is to deliver trusted and capable technology solutions that allow manufacturers to create the highest quality product for the lowest possible cost. DataNet’s flagship product, WinSPC, provides statistical decision-making at the point of production and delivers real-time, actionable information to where it is needed most. With over 2500 customers worldwide and distributors across the globe, DataNet is dedicated to delivering a high level of customer service and support, shop-floor expertise, and training in the areas of Continuous Improvement, Six Sigma, and Lean Manufacturing services.