Quality

Let’s now discuss “Quality”, obviously “Quality” is a relative term and in many instances companies buy the wrong equipment because “Quality” is not well defined or if it is defined it is not a decision made by someone who understands the requirements of the product to be processed.

Please understand that I have been on both sides of the fence, I have been a Director of Quality for multiple companies and I have been a Plant Manager for multiple companies and I understand the argument from both sides. The Quality department wants a process that produces a part with as little variation as possible, the Production team wants a process that produces as many parts per hour as possible. There needs to be a meeting of the minds and a strong use of common sense when choosing a process / equipment to produce the product, and yes I know variation = waste and I’m not arguing that at all, what I’m saying is there is almost always a happy medium.

Let’s say that we are going to produce a widget that has a tolerance of +/- 0.50mm, you have to decide between a dedicated machine or a flexible automation solution. The dedicated machine holds a tolerance of +/- 0.02mm and the flexible solution holds a tolerance of +/- 0.07mm and for arguments sake let’s assume that both processes have the same cost (price + operating expense).I can tell you from experience that there will be a plethora of different opinions.

The Quality department will want the dedicated machine because they will show a better Cpk, Production wants to know what has the best cycle time, the Accounting department wants to know who will give us the best terms, the Project Manager wants to know who has the best timing to bring the project to completion on time, and hopefully the Engineering department will already be thinking about how the Sales Department can use this new technology as a Sales tool.So before we go any further let’s also assume that both processes have the same cycle time, both solutions offer equally appealing terms, both have the same lead time but to answer Engineering, flexible automation will almost always give the Sales Department a better Sales Tool because it can usually be built and designed to retool for another product where the dedicated machine limits the Sales Department to focus on other suppliers of similar products.

We know that the flexible solution can produce the same tolerances as the dedicated machine if we add vision, software options or laser technology, but now the cost is no longer the same. We need to ask ourselves some simple questions, do we need it to hold those tight tolerances? Does the “flexibility” have a value? Will the solution we choose give us an advantage over the competition?I can tell you from experience that if I have the choice between dedicated machines that will be obsolete at the end of the products life cycle or flexible automation that I can utilize for other products or retool at the end of the products life cycle, I will always go for the flexible automation.

Please understand that our company sells both types of automation and in many instances the dedicated machine is the “right” and sometimes “only” answer. My only goal here is to give you the tools and to start the thought process to make the right decision for your future.

TBD Enterprises is always available to help companies work through problems even if you are purchasing your equipment from someone else but want our opinion, we’d be happy to help, feel free to email us at sales@tbdenterprisesllc.com or visit the contact page at our website, www.tbdenterprisesllc.com to call.

Our next blog will be discussing cycle time and change over time.