Your Worst Quality Nightmare!

It's 5 pm on a beautiful Friday afternoon. You are just about ready to walk out the door with plans to spend a nice weekend with your family at the lake. The phone rings. A feeling of dread steals over you as you reluctantly reach for it. On the line is the Quality Manager at XYZ Manufacturing Plant, a Tier One Supplier that is one of your largest customers.

"Bob," he says, "we have a very serious problem. Your last shipment is almost shutting us down. We've found 25% of your parts are out of spec, and we honestly feel it might go even higher. We don't know how bad it might get, but just to keep things going, we are having our own people go through every part in your shipment, one by one. And even with that, we are barely able to keep up with our OEM shipment schedule. Frankly, this is one of the worst quality spills* that I've seen from your company. I really have no choice but to put you in containment*. I need you to send over your third party Inspection Company* right away. There's no way we can risk letting a shortage of your parts shut us down. We're already running our three shifts 24/7 on our own production line. "

Your heart sinks as you listen. You know the Code of the automotive industry. The W.I.T. Code. The parts must be there, on time, no matter What It Takes.

You reply, "But we don't have a third party Inspection Company. Can't I send in some of my employees and pay them overtime?"

"Bob, that's not an option! I can't let you do that since our containment procedures dictate that you can't use your employees. Your people already had their chance and blew it. The bad parts got through their hands once, and we can't go that route again. If you don't have a third party Inspection Company lined up, we can call in our own preferred supplier. "

You swear under your breath. You've seen their preferred supplier's prices before and you know your boss will have your neck if you have to spend that kind of money.

"Joe, you've got to give me some time," you reply, knowing now that your great weekend is shot and your wife will be mad at you for days because of it. "I'll make some calls. "

If you are lucky, you are able to locate a company to respond quickly to the problem, and you might even save your weekend. But chances are you will end up paying exorbitant rates and still ruin your weekend because you had never taken the time to hire a third party Inspection Company.

So how do you find a Third Party Inspection & Sorting Firm? What are the steps to take to find a reputable firm, and how do you work with them in the most cost effective manner possible?

Once you're into an Inspection and Sorting situation it is often too late. The solution is to be pro-active. You need to be prepared before there is a problem. And let's face it; in today's manufacturing world the real question is not "will you be into sorting" but "how soon?" The time to take action is now.

The first thing you need to do is perform standard supplier development activities with at least three Sorting and Inspection Houses. Find two in your area and then look for one slightly outside of your area that is aggressive and willing to work for your business.

Visit all three houses. One would expect cleanliness and quality procedures to be standard in these types of operations. If they are not, simply cross that supplier off the list.

Look at the age and experience of the management and the workers. Expect the staff to be experienced and professional. Ask some questions. Are they veteran quality professionals or are you really hiring a bunch of temp workers? What is their track record? Who are their customers and what kinds of Inspection services can they provide? These answers reveal a great deal about what kind of success (or lack of it) they have had over the years.

Now look at the facilities of the supplier. An upscale facility will have many bells and whistles, but you will pay for these. A smaller facility often will not have an extensive equipment list, but may give you more personal service. Only you can decide what level of service you need and what you are willing to pay for. One doesn't go to intensive care to get a splinter removed!

Next it's time to look at the company's billing practices. This is key in keeping your costs under control. Will the company quote a per piece price or are they strictly hourly? If they do bill hourly, will they guarantee a certain number of pieces per hour? If they exceed the number of pieces per hour will they give you a rebate or share some of that cost savings with you?

Lastly, look at what the company does to help you get out of containment. Some companies make the bulk of their money on sorting and do not benefit from getting the supplier out of containment. Others have strong engineering capabilities that complement and strengthen their Inspection groups. It has even been rumored that some unscrupulous Inspection firms will hold back a defective part found on day one to throw into the mix on day 29, ensuring they will have 30 days more sorting work. It is sad to say that "salting" your inventory is standard business procedure for some Inspection and Sorting Companies.

You also may want to look for a Sorting Company that has a strong engineering division with the capability of performing a root cause analysis. This kind of company's engineering resources will help you get out of your containment situation quickly and ensure that the original problem does not recur.

You don't want to get hooked up with a Sorting firm that only profits when you, the manufacturer, lose. Otherwise it's a bit like hiring a mechanic who never really fixes the problem with your car. The mechanic stays busy, and you just keep paying and paying.

Once you have found a Sorting and Inspection Firm that does quality work at a fair price, you have much more control over your situation. The more you use the firm, the more familiar they become with your products and quality issues, increasing their efficiency and further lowering your cost. You can also use this house with your suppliers and save even more money. If your customer puts you into containment, you reserve the option to utilize your own Third Party Inspection and Sorting Firm, keeping you more in control of your costs.

We at Continental Quality Engineering (a division of Continental Design & Engineering) believe we would score well on all the above criteria. We will keep your costs in check and save your weekend! Please give us a call at (765) 778-9999 and ask for Tom Epply or Bill Nagengast or email us via the email form below.

Quality Engineering Definitions

* Spill: There is a flow of parts to an assembly line, and non-conforming (out of spec) parts that are discovered are figuratively referred to as a "spill".

* Containment: When a spill occurs, the batch of parts that contained bad parts are quarantined or "contained" in a separate area of the plant. These parts must all be sorted and only conforming parts are then sent on to the assembly line.

* Third Party Inspection Company: You as the manufacturer are considered the first party, and your customer, to whom you ship parts, is considered the second party. In the case of Quality Sorting & Inspection, an independent company (not involving you or your customer's employees) is considered the third party.