Nowadays, manufacturing companies face intense economic and competitive pressure. Many companies manage their business and operation information within an integrated ERP or SAP system. However, the actual process and quality control environment is still very often managed manually.
Typically, when a manufacturer implements a quality control procedure that involves measuring something, they start by purchasing a measuring instrument (e.g. a caliper, micrometer,height gage, bore gage, force gage, CMM, etc.) from one of the many metrology companies.
The manufacturer might then develop a procedure for measuring their parts where someone is given the task of taking measurements and writing them down on a piece of paper. The measurements would then be keyed into either a spreadsheet or a dedicated SPC software program for analysis by an engineer. Obviously this method has some potential pitfalls since people are involved in the manual data collection and data entry part of the process. Manual data entry is slow and tedious and people make mistakes.
A more accurate and more efficient approach to data collection is to enter data. The manufacturer might then develop a procedure for measuring their parts where someone is given the task of taking measurements and writing them down on a piece of paper. The measurements would then be keyed into either a spreadsheet or a dedicated SPC software program for analysis by an engineer. Obviously this method has some potential pitfalls since people are involved in the manual data collection and data entry part of the process. Manual data entry is slow and tedious and people make mistakes from your measuring instruments directly into a spreadsheet or SPC program. Most measuring tools today are available with some form of electronic output making it possible to connect the instrument to data loggers, printers or to a computer, thereby eliminating the steps of manually writing down measurements and typing them in.
Automating data collection removes all possibility of human error and it also allows for real time data analysis. In addition to collecting an accurate computerized record, it is also possible to control an entire process based on the input from the tools that you use to measure the process. This type of automation creates an extremely efficient process designed to maintain the manufacturer’s quality control standards.
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Statistical Process Control (SPC) is a scientific, data-driven methodology for quality and process improvement. It removes guesswork out of quality control.
Statistical Process Control (SPC) is a statistical technique for measuring and controlling product quality. It is applicable for in-coming, in-process and out-going quality control. Quality data in the form of Product or Process measurements are obtained in real-time during measurement. This data is then plotted on a graph with pre-determined control limits. Control limits are determined by the capability of the process, whereas specification limits are determined by customer.
Data that falls within the control limits indicates that process is operating as expected. Any variation within the control limits is likely due to a common cause—the natural variation that is expected as part of the process. If data falls outside of the control limits, this indicates that an assignable cause is likely the source of the product variation, and something within the process should be changed to fix the issue before defects occur.
To quantify the return on your SPC investment, start by identifying the main areas of waste and inefficiency at your facility. Common areas of waste include scrap, rework, over inspection, inefficient data collection, incapable machines and/or processes, paper-based quality systems and inefficient lines.
You can start to quantify the value of an SPC solution by asking the following questions:
For more detailed information about Blue Ocean Real Time SPC System, please contact us for system demo.
Blue Ocean Data Solutions is a highly experienced company provides turnkey manufacturing solutions. With more than 10 years of experience serving a large customer base in manufacturing and hands-on expertise in programming, software and statistical data analysis combine with six sigma and lean manufacturing methodology, we assist our clients to solve complicated operation problems – yielding profitability increases and driving service and product delivery excellence.
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