Five Ways to Use Strategic Audits to Reduce Costs

Part 3: Continuous Improvements

In this series: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V

Tall Oaks Metals is turning the corner on their customer complaints. They have been using a trusted inspection service to perform Strategic Sample Audits, and the results have been impressive. "We have attacked all of the big issues that became visible through these audits," said Quality Manager Joe Stein. "Now we are using the inspection service as a tool for continuous improvement." He has not been forced into containment for months, and that has helped his company to cut major costs.

After all of the processes at Tall Oaks had been audited and repaired, Joe wanted to try to utilize the data provided by his Strategic Audit Firm to take the next step. The original audit data had been used to find patterns. Those patterns identified his big problems. Now he wanted to look at the smaller issues that caused non-conforming parts.

The data provided by the inspection service contained a wealth of information because it was all referenced by shift, fixture, machine, and process. "We isolated several parts from several different processes that were out of spec but followed no pattern," Joe explained. "So we went to work trying to figure out what caused these non-conformances." Joe and his quality engineers decided to take each non-conforming part saved from the sample and talk with the operators and set-up technicians for each process to get their input on possible causes. Then they sat down to compare notes.

They determined that the most likely cause for most of the non-conformances was an operator misloading the raw parts into the machining fixture. This problem could be fixed with better training and/or more concise work instructions. Joe took the findings to the Training Coordinator, who then updated the work instructions and re-trained the affected operators.

To ensure the problem is fully handled, Tall Oaks plans to conduct several follow-up audits on the affected processes. Meanwhile, Joe Stein is looking at his audit data even more closely to find the next target in his quest for continuous improvement through Strategic Sample Audits.

A Case for Sampled Audits

A sample audit is all about the data. We know from statistics that a sample is representative of the whole, so we can use a strategic sample to look inside your production and report data that can be assumed to represent the entire run. Good data presented on an I-chart can give you the direction you need to tackle the largest issues first. Couple that with strategically sampled data that pinpoints when and where in the process the problems occur, and identifying a root cause becomes much easier.

Sample audits can be used to reduce the need and dependence on sorting activities. They can be done ahead of containment activities to speed the analysis and get you out of containment sooner. In addition, they can be used for changeovers and start-ups as a preventative deterrent to eliminate problems as soon as they start.

Being a Quality Manager for an automotive parts and components manufacturer is a tough job. The stress levels can be overwhelming with pressure coming from both your customer and your own co-workers in production. When things start to go wrong, they can quickly spiral out of control if you cannot identify the root causes of the issues and get them resolved quickly. The data needed to identify the root cause can be elusive when the problem seems to bob and weave like a prizefighter. Utilizing Strategic Sample Audits helps Quality Managers locate and knock out the problems.

Continental Quality Engineering has experts in all aspects of Strategic Sample Audits. Scroll down to email us today, or call (800) 875-4557.

In this series: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V

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