ABC Company Work Instruction

Purpose: To determine root cause for external nonconformance (customer complaints), internal nonconformance (rework, sort, subcontractor), and quality audit nonconformance findings.

Work description: Nonconformance-generated CPARs and DMRs are analyzed for apparent causes and root causes to determine corrective and preventive action to eliminate the problem and continuously improve the manufacturing process.

Safety considerations: Observe all written and oral safety instructions, appropriate checklists, and guidelines. Follow safe workplace practices.

Maintenance: None

Special Procedures: Check previous customer, internal, and quality audit CPARs and DMRs before proceeding with root-cause analysis.

Unstructured Methods Intuition Networking Experience 5-Whys

(ISO: Geneva) -- The International Organization for Standardization recently approved the development of an international standard on energy management. The standard will provide organizations and companies a practical and widely recognized approach to increase energy efficiency, reduce costs, and improve their environmental performance by addressing the technical and management aspects of rational energy use. The standard is intended to be broadly applicable to various sectors of national economies, including utility, manufacturing, commercial building, general commerce, and transportation sectors, and therefore, could have influence on as much as 60 percent of the world’s energy demand.

“The urgency to reduce greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions, the reality of higher prices from reduced availability of fossil fuels, and the need to promote energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources, provide a strong rationale for developing this new standard building on the most advanced best practices and existing national or regional standards,” says ISO Secretary-General Alan Bryden.

(ISO: Geneva) -- ISO/IEC DIS 29500—“Information technology—Office Open XML file formats,” has received the necessary number of votes for approval as an ISO/IEC DIS international standard. ISO/IEC DIS 29500 is a standard for word-processing documents, presentations, and spreadsheets that’s intended to be implemented by multiple applications on multiple platforms. According to the submitters of the document, one of its objectives is to ensure the long-term preservation of documents created over the last two decades using programs that are becoming incompatible with continuing advances in the field of information technology.

Approval required at least two-thirds of the votes cast by national bodies participating in the joint technical committee ISO/IEC JTC 1—“Information technology,” to be positive, and no more than one-fourth of the total number of votes to be negative. These criteria have now been met—75 percent of the JTC 1 participating members cast positive votes, and 14 percent of the total of national member body cast negative votes.

ISO/IEC DIS 29500 was originally disapproved in the “fast-track vote” that ended in September 2007. However, under the rules of ISO/IEC JTC 1, the draft international standard (DIS) vote was followed by a ballot resolution meeting (BRM) at which the comments were addressed.

(Ford Motor Co.: Dearborn, Michigan) -- Ford Motor Co. recently awarded its highest supplier honor—the World Excellence Award—to 55 of its global suppliers for their exemplary performance in 2006. More than 150 people, including Ford’s largest production and nonproduction global suppliers, attended the ninth-annual event at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, on April 17. The World Excellence Awards recognize suppliers that not only achieve the highest levels of cost, quality and delivery, but recognize the diverse cultures, values, and ideas of the thousands of individuals they employ.

“We appreciate the contributions that these award-winning suppliers have made to Ford Motor Co., and applaud them for their hard work and dedication,” says Tony Brown, senior vice president, global purchasing. “Their efforts have positively impacted customer satisfaction.”

The keynote speaker was Alan Mulally, Ford Motor Co. president and chief executive officer, who said Ford and its suppliers are working together to reach common goals.

“Together, we are one team working on one plan with one goal in mind—build the products people really want to create profitable growth for everyone associated with our wonderful Ford Motor Co.,” Mulally said. “We can ensure a viable Ford Motor Co. and a vibrant automobile industry if we go forward together.”

In a letter from Navy Capt. Dorothy J. Freer to Sikorsky president Jeffrey Pino, the oversight agency criticized Sikorsky’s reliance on subcontractors and recommended suspending activity at one subcontractor, according to a recent story from the Associated Press.

In regard to Sikorsky’s attempts to increase its business, Freer wrote, “I am concerned what impact the increase in volume will have on military aircraft quality, schedule and cost.”

Freer further condemned the “culture at Sikorsky” as a root cause of quality defects, saying, “It appears that management oversight is out of control.”

Edward Stedham, a spokesman for Sikorsky, said most of the concerns focused on Crestview-Aerospace, a subcontractor in Florida, and that Sikorsky has increased the number of quality control inspectors at that plant from six to 15.

Sikorsky sued the Defense Contract Management Agency in U.S. District Court in Washington a year ago in an attempt to prevent the release of documents regarding Black Hawk helicopter inspections and has sent its plan for corrective action to the agency.

As China’s automotive suppliers rush to meet the demands of the world’s fastest-growing automotive market, an overcapacity problem already may be brewing, according to a new study written by Economist Corporate Network and released by the Automotive Industry Action Group and IBM Business Consulting Services’ Institute for Business Value.

The quest to add manufacturing capacity is taking place at a faster rate than expected market growth, raising overcapacity concerns and the possibility of a shakeout within five years.

In pursuit of lean operations, automakers worldwide have focused on technology investment. The China Auto Suppliers Survey looked at how China’s automotive suppliers make use of process and production technology.

The study found that information technology spending by automotive suppliers in China was generally low, with more than three-quarters of respondents investing less than $100,000 per year. It also examined major concerns, including an overwhelming need to find and retain reliable staff, which was cited by survey respondents as a barrier to successful development. With regard to automated operations, less than a quarter of respondents use enterprise resource planning systems.

The Coordinate Metrology Systems Conference 2005, to be held July 18-22 in Austin, Texas, will present 15 white papers written by metrology experts and scientists from all over the world. The selected white papers cover a wide range of 3-D industrial-measurement applications and topics that cater to the specific interests of manufacturers, engineers, scientists, quality control specialists, metrologists, educators and students.

The event, also sponsored by Quality Digest, includes presentations by metrology specialists from prominent laboratories and leading manufacturers in the world, and a vendor hall showcasing the new trends and technologies in the industry.

Established 21 years ago, the Coordinate Metrology Systems Conference is a five-day event held each year at a different location. It’s renowned for its comprehensive program of white papers and applications presentations given by worldwide industry experts.

To attend the conference, or for more information on the conference program, visit www.cmsc.org.