Tracking Quality

Today many places have departments known as Quality Control and it is staffed by people known as Quality Analist. The term Quality Control gives many the wrong impression of what actually takes place. A better name is Quality Services due to the fact the Analist normally collect samples of product and inspect, test or otherwise verifiy the product or service meets the established criteria. These analist control no aspect of manufacturing or service, they only report their findings to those who do have control over production or services. With out this way of plotting the ongoing process there would be no accuate way of tracking the variables of the process to know if you need to make changes. In days past it was the pride of the craftsmen that maintained a certain level of quality and today people dont seam to take their work as personel and tend to just do whats necassary to make their time. Due to this change in attitude you have to have this unproductive group of analist that eat away at profits just to over see the people that are only there to get a paycheck with as little exsertion as possible.

The writter seems to have little knowledge of modern Quality Assurance. Just to set the record straight, Quality assurance is the provence of engineering specalists skilled in various aspects of metrology, test, quality engineering, reliability engineering, Six Sigma processes, Design of Experiments and Cost of Quality analysis. The transistion from guilds to the assembly line fostered by Ford Motor Company and measured scientific work analysis taught by Taylor was long in coming. It was mostly caused by the specialization of work when production lines were created and the individual craftsman no longer completed the job from beginning to end. Measurement and test activities that are currently in use require specialized training not often available to the machinist or mechanic. You are correct that the Inspector doesn't control any part of the production process, hence, that aspect has been flowed down to the machinist or mechanic in most shops. In Japan today there are shops where there are no human attendents at all, but where mechines look after themselves, stop when out of material and measure parts using computer pattern recognition technology.

Guest you do a good job of bringing facts to the discussion. I would only point out that the "quality as defense" attitude is an anachronism. Today's quality department is PROACTIVELY performing capability studies, Failure mode effects analysis, and proving that the company's manufacturing and measurement processes are capable. Or justifying improved equipment that can be capable.

We live in a world that is failure intolerant and risk averse. Quality professionals prevent failure far more today than prior years' inspection mentality inspectors "found failures."

Who wants a car where the brakes don't always work, or to fly on a plane where there might be a 1% chance the landing gear will fail? Proud workers can make crap. Capable processes don't require proud workers, merely competent ones will do. which is great, since what truly is decreasing these days is the number of motivated, knowledgeable, expert workers in the mechanical trades. Everybody wants to do it on the computer. Cams and gears seem to be too difficult to understand for the nintendo generation.

Milo "critical thinking is a process, not an outcome"

You were doing well until you added the last two sentences and that blew a hole in everything you said,for me.Yes,I do agree with what you say about pride in workmanship,It just is`nt there.

I`m Q.C.for a manufacturing facility In Dallas Tx.,out of 25 employes we have 2 blacks,2 whites & the rest are hispanic & only 2 or 3 can understand English & maybe one can speak English well enough to understand.It`s time for me to learn spanish,because,If they can speak and understand our language their not going to let you know. A large part of our problem is language barrier.

According to records for last year alone ,in reworks and missmanaged jobs this place lost close to 2000,000. ,The return ratio went from 24% to 1.2% in 3months;thats the 3 months Ive been here.Now you tell me how can an organization survive with losses that stagering?Not long.

You make me look like a vulture sitting on highline wire waiting for something to get run over.I`m not my friend,I work hard for this co.I feel like they are getting there money back they spend on me, and aperantly they do to,because i`m still here.

Just remmember my friend when you point that finger,you have 3 pointin right back at ya!

How productive are you?

Agreed, Milo and Guest. There is no cost of good quality, merely the cost of poor quality. Regardless of the skill/competence levels of expert craftsmen or semi-skilled floor workers, the process must be 100% in control from beginning to end.

Process failure analysis must be done for each step to determine the inherent risk(s), the level of risk(s) and the location of risk(s) so that appropriate inspection/measurement can be concentrated at these particular ends without adding excessive cost in areas where such inspection/measurement may be but a redundancy or useless endeavour altogether.

Ing. Robert Forbus