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RE: Should we send a "representative" to Magnepan?

Done properly, 'quality is free'.
I have an extensive background in manufacturing. I worked semiconductor manufacturing where start material....Silicon Wafers are over 100$ each, in 6" size. These are now considered small wafers. By the time a wafer reaches the end of the line, after undergoing hundreds of steps, to scrap a wafer at the probe step is a disaster. It can happen to a single wafer, but more likely in multiples of 25, where an entire 25 wafer cassette misses a step or process or is simply missprocessed. Imagine a high volume line which scraps maybe 7% of the line EACH week. Man, is that expensive in the extreme.
I am very qualified in SPC....Statistical Process Control and am familiar with several production control software packages. I have 6S training and have written specifications for operators while doing training and qualification of same. I was a pioneer, at least at my company, with the addition of visual aids in specs in the form of photographs. The single page 'one point lesson' was also used to instruct and illustrate a single operation or part thereof.

The idea of quality being free is simple. Do it right the first time and you will have little need for rework, which is expensive or inspection which only tells you when something is defective. If a line is running properly with trained operators and internal checks, rework should be minimal and each piece meet quality standards.

Other line problems exist. Single point of failure, for example. You have a single machine thru which ALL your material must pass. Broken? Part'll take a week to get? You're screwed and either shut down the line or pile everything up in front of the broken machine while draining the back of the line. Not good.
Other line problems include the opposite of a single point of failure. Having multiple machines to do a single process or job, while having only work enough to keep just over 1 machine busy. Having surplus, unused equipment around is expensive and a waste of floor space. The measure of this is something called OEE. Read the link to get an idea of Overall Equipment Effectiveness is related to TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) and they are used together to govern a manufacturing floor. When a machine is due for a PM, you DO THE PM, not run the tool until you produce scrap.

Anyway, I'd love to listen to Wendell talk about the quality program of Magnepan. I'd love to see some charts and maybe sit in on a TPM or OEE meeting.

We'll save 6S for later, 'cause that's a REAL can of worms.
Too much is never enough


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