I have a problem. A very serious problem. I work for a company that
manufactures car parts, and the process I am responsible for is falling
apart. I am trying to improve it. I need a strategy, here is my
situation.
I am a quality engineer and customer relations rep. The machine I am
concerned about is falling apart, variation is extremely high. The
machine is scheduled for overhaul and rebuild in August. We are ramping
up production, and have been for the last 2 months. The machine will be
down for an estimated 3 weeks. The machine makes the most expensive part
in our entire facility. The parts are die cast aluminum and we cast them
only, machining happens at our customer. The defectives we encounter are
primarily ****osity and soldering / non cleanup.
Detection is almost non-existant for ****osity and very subjective
for soldering. A ****p ahead regime is our only detection method and many
****fts of parts may be made before any defectives are found. We have
limited changepoint control.
I have worked for this company for 6 years, going on 7. I can see
clearly the path it must take to improve, but it will take alot of
investment and a major culture change.
The customer has been somewhat patient, but this won't last for very
much longer. Countermeasures have been lame as of late, always claiming
August as the magic time of change. Te machine will be overhauled, which
is a good thing, but what of today? The customer is running parts we
produced a month ago. Some very significant countermeasures have been
implemened, yet left unproven. Half-assed analysis has been the norm for
so long. We have had countermeasures for ****osity making the soldering
worse and countermeasures for soldering making the ****osity worse.
I am about as frustrated as they come, I need a strategy to combat
upper management ambivalence, middle management neglect, and operator
apathy. Not to mention quality / customer relations burnout. My process
is flawed, out of control, and incapable. I am about ready to start
writing my resume, but I hate to quit! I need a strategy, a tactic. Any
ideas?
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