Part 4: Audits Help with Tooling Costs
In this series: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V
 Quality Manager Joe Stein has been using a trusted inspection service to perform strategic sample audits on
his processes at Tall Oaks Metals for months with great success. Up to this point he has located and repaired
hidden problems with his casting processes and the fixtures on his machining cells. He has even followed
through to work on continuous improvements. "With well thought out samples and clear documentation, we were
really able to get inside our processes," Joe says.
When Tim Sampson, a process engineer, came to him with a new idea about saving on tooling costs, they
decided to give it a try. The idea was fairly simple. They would begin pulling samples from a machining
cell right after a tool change and at regular intervals throughout the life of the tool, then carefully check
and log the measurements. They started with a cell that bores and finishes only one hole. "We started simple
to test it," Tim said, "so we could work on one tool at a time and keep a tight control of the data that told
us how the tool wears."
 "With 30,000 cycles of life on these tools we only had 150 parts for the service to inspect, log, and
document," Tim explains. "It would have taken forever to run all those on our CMM." The data showed that
at the rate of wear experienced, the tools could safely run considerably longer. In the end of this experiment
Tim was able to increase his tool life by 20%. This one process can now run 36,000 cycles between tool
changes. Tim is developing a plan to look at all the processes where he could track the wear of his tools
with Strategic Sample Audits.
A Case for Sampled Audits
| Click Here for more information, to schedule a Strategic Audit, or
to see the rest of this series on the use of Strategic 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
» Part 5 coming soon!
Wacky Patent of the Week
We've all been in this situation- you're at a place of business and on the way out they hand you a business card.
What do you do if it's not one you particularly want or need? Probably just stick it in your wallet or purse,
where it takes up space until you clean it out months later, right?
Wouldn't it be great if you could just eat it?
This inventor came up with an edible business card. Printed with edible inks, this card is sure to be a
favorite with customers! Just don't think too hard about how it might defeat the purpose of giving out
business cards...
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Liquid Paper was invented by Bette Nesmith Graham in 1951. Graham, a single mother working as a secretary in Dallas, Texas, had an interest in art and realized that it would be more efficient to
paint over her typing mistakes much as an artist paints over a mistake on canvas. She brought some
white tempura paint to work and used a watercolor brush to correct mistakes. This proved very workable,
and soon others in her office were asking for their own bottles. 
Wite-Out was invented by George Kloosterhouse, a clerk at an insurance company, in 1966. Kloosterhouse
was frustrated by the currently available correction fluid's tendency to smudge ink when it was applied. He and an associate developed their own formula that smudged less and incorporated as Wite-Out Products in
1971. The Bic Corporation bought Wite-Out Products in 1992 and released several new products under the brand
name such as a ballpoint pen and dry correction tape.