2. Total Quality
Management:
Guiding Principles
for Application
J a c k P. Pekar
ASTM Manual Series: MNL 22
ASTM Publication Code Number (PCN)
28-022095-34
1916 Race Street • Philadelphia, PA 19103
4. Foreword
Committee F16 on Fasteners is very concerned with the Fastener Quality Assurance
Act (FQA) of 1990, which is expected to be implemented in 1995. F16 is comprised of
fastener manufacturers, users, and distributors, all of whom have a large stake in this
law. As a consequence, F16 requested and sponsored me to write a manual that would
show our members how to comply with the law and remain competitive. But this
book goes beyond assisting those in the fastener industry to cope with the FQA. It can
be of benefit to any industry or enterprise because it is about total quality manage-
ment (TQM).
This book was written so that others may share what I have learned during my 30
years in the quality profession. It is a book that presents principles and guidelines
that, when applied, can be used to develop and implement a total quality management
system. Today, more than ever, we in the business community face challenges at every
turn from every corner of the world. Those businesses that survive will be those that
demonstrate leadership and innovation and listen to the voices of their customers.
Those who practice the teachings in this book have a better chance than most to
achieve success. They may find the journey difficult and cluttered with obstacles that
impede their progress, but, if they are true leaders, their message will be heard. They
must not and will not be discouraged for they must lead us to and through the new
global market.
5. Acknowledgment
I wish to thank all those who helped provide background information for this book.
The list includes companies I've worked for past and present, people I worked with in
the past, those with w h o m I currently work, and family members. There are a few
whom I wish to give special thanks. I could not have completed my manuscript with-
out my very talented administrative assistant, LaVerne Craven. The topics on futuris-
tic quality planning and supplier partnerships are in large part an adaptation of pro-
grams developed in concert with my manager, Gary Fitzgerald, Kennametal's MWM
Quality Manager. But most of all, I want to thank my wife, Liz, for all the encourage-
ment I received while writing and editing this book. It took considerable time away
from our personal life, but she never complained because she saw the value this work
would provide to those who accept the challenge it presents.
6. Contents
Introduction vii
PART 1: MANAGEMENT'S RESPONSIBILITY
Chapter lmManagement's Role 3
Chapter 2~Strategic Planning 9
Chapter 3~Continuous Improvement 21
PART 2: QUALITY ORGANIZATION FUNCTION
Chapter 4--Quality Systems 31
Chapter 5~Quality Reporting 37
Chapter 6---Supplier Qualification 40
PART 3: STATISTICAL QUALITY CONTROL
Chapter 7~Statistical Quality Control 47
PART 4: THE QUALITY ASSURANCE MANUAL
I n t r o d u c t i o n to Part 4: The Quality Assurance Manual 57
Chapter 8mManufacturing Company Quality Assurance Manual 59
Chapter 9~Service Industry Quality Assurance Manual 63
Chapter 10~Distributor Industry Quality Assurance Manual 67
PART 5: FASTENER QUALITY ASSURANCE ACT
Chapter l 1--Public Law 101-592 73
APPENDICES
Appendix A--ASTM Standards F 1469, F 1470, and F 1503 81
Appendix B--IFI Standards IFI-139 and IFI-140 97
Appendix C--Public Law 101-592--Fastener Quality Act 133
Appendix DmSupplier Quality Systems Survey 147
Appendix E--Attribute Gauge Analysis Form 155
Index 157
7. Acronyms
ANSI American National Standards Institute
ASME-FAP-1 Quality Assurance Program Requirements for
Fastener Manufacturers and Distributors
ASQC American Society of Quality Control
ASTM American Society for Testing and Materials
CMM Coordinate Measuring Machine
CPI Critical Performance Indicators
E&I Empowerment and Involvement
FAC Fastener Advisory Committee
FMEA Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
FQA Fastener Quality Act
HRC Hardness Rockwell C
JIT Just in Time
NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology
NVLAP National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program
P&IC Production and Inventory Control
PIE Plan, Initiate, Evaluate
QFD Quality Function Deployment
R&R Repeatability and Reproducibility
SCD value Severity rank times the Capability rank times the
Detection rank
SEM Scanning Electron Microscope
SPC Statistical Process Control
SPQP Service/Product Quality Planning
SQC Statistical Quality Control
TCQ Total Cost of Quality
TQM Total Quality Management
8. Introduction
T H E PATH TO TOTAL QUALITY Training
The organization must assess the current skill level and
THERE IS NO single path to achieving total quality within an awareness of total quality principles of all employees. The
organization. There are no hard and fast rules to follow to idea is to start with top management and move through the
become a world class company. The only constant are basic organization. Begin by training top management; with their
guidelines, that, when followed, lead to success. This is be- commitment and knowledge of total quality, it will he easy
cause all organizations have their own cultures, people, and to train those who follow. This training will pay high divi-
technologies. What may work well for one company will not dends at every level in the organization. Through training,
necessarily work for another. These guidelines are as follows. we assure that our employees have the necessary skills and
technical knowledge to perform their jobs effectively. We can
also count on them to be effective participants in contrib-
Leadership Commitment uting to the total quality process. Information should be pro-
The leadership of an organization must be committed to vided to employees describing educational programs avail-
able to them through various professional organizations and
continuous improvement. This commitment must be visible
throughout all layers of management. Management must community colleges. By creating an awareness of these op-
portunities, the organization demonstrates its commitment
"walk the talk." Only when management is committed will
employees excel at what they do. It takes time to change work to a continuous improvement of employee skills.
cultures and work habits, but with perseverance the message
of enlightened management will prevail. Employees want to E m p o w e r m e n t and Involvement
do a good job. All they need are the right tools and the right
systems. These can by supplied only by management. Soon after the commencement of training, management
must provide opportunities for employees to apply what they
have learned. They need to test their skills. They will not and
Customer Focus should not be content with the way things are. Every aspect
of their job should be evaluated and measured against the
The organization must be customer focused. Everyone in new paradigms. This will bring new challenges to their su-
the organization must understand that without the customer pervisors. The supervisors, in turn, through their own train-
there would be no purpose to their work, no paycheck, no ing will now be equipped with the attitudes and analytical
capital investment, and no company picnic. What must also skills to consider their suggestions. They will no longer feel
be understood is that the external customers are served by the threat of losing control.
the internal customers (employees). There is, therefore, a
need to focus on the requirements and expectations of both
internal and external customers. One of the first steps man- Measurement
agement should take in this regard is to conduct surveys of
Before those of us in management can find out if we have
external and the internal customers. Employees (internal made improvements, we need to know where we were. If we
customers) should be apprised of the results of external cus- don't have historical data to let us know, we must at least
tomer surveys. A truly committed management team will determine where we are through a short-term study.
also allow employees to see the results of internal surveys.
The first step is to define the organization's critical perfor-
This brings "the good, the bad, and the ugly" to the table for
mance indicators (CPIs). Critical performance indicators are
discussion. The good can be improved upon. The bad can
defined as those measures that contribute to customer satis-
lead to opportunities for improvement. The ugly must be ad-
faction. There are several tiers of indicators in any organi-
dressed through open, two-way communication with cross- zation, and they can he broken down as primary, secondary,
functional teams to find solutions.
and tertiary. Examples of first-tier CPIs include On Time De-
livery, Customer Satisfaction Indicators, and Cost of Quality.
1Portions of this introduction were taken either in whole or in part Second-tier CPIs are measures that contribute to the first-
from an SME technical paper by the author entitled, "Continuous
Improvement--Managing Yesterday, Leading Today." Reprinted tier CPI's. Examples of second-tier CPIs to On Time Delivery
with permission of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Copy- may be quote turn around, manufacturing lead time reduc-
right 1993, from the Cold Forming '93 Conference. tion, and supplier performance. Third-tier CPIs are the em-
vii
9. ployee involvement action items. Examples of third-tier CPIs suppliers, and their customers. I cannot provide enough dif-
for manufacturing lead time reduction could be (1) set up ferentiation among this trilogy to say one is more important
reduction and (2) scrap and rework reduction. CPIs are dis- than the other. All participants in this trilogy of communi-
cussed in detail in Chapter 2. cation must interface for an organization to be truly suc-
cessful. Within the organization, employees at all levels need
Recognition and Awards information on continuous improvement projects so they
can become aware of progress, their contribution, and the
Everyone appreciates a pat on the back after they have
effect these projects have on critical performance indicators.
achieved a noteworthy goal or successfully completed a dif-
Business goals must be communicated to suppliers. Sup-
ficult or important task. This encourages further participa-
pliers should be viewed as extensions of the organization
tion by the employee and shows other employees that their
who contribute to the overall success of continuous improve-
efforts are appreciated. When a team has met an established
ment. They should be part of decisions to utilize purchased
goal, the entire team should be recognized.
services. Suppliers are specialists in their fields of expertise;
The form of recognition should fit the accomplishment; in
therefore, their input should be required when decisions are
other words, the value of the recognition should be com-
made to use them. World class purchasers understand the
mensurate with the value of the accomplishment. Too, when
difference between price and value. As purchasers (custom-
recognition is given, it should be consistent. To assure con-
ers) we expect, and should demand, products that contribute
sistency, a panel of management and nonmanagement em-
to our success.
ployees should be established to set up a recognition pro-
The voice of the customer must be heard. Customers are
gram to acknowledge those individuals and/Or teams who
the reason we are in business. Without customers, no pro-
meet company objectives.
vider of goods or services could survive. To understand cus-
tomers' needs, we must listen to their messages. Invite ex-
Communication isting and potential customers to your facilities and ask them
This last guideline is by no means the least important. The to apprise your teams of their business objectives. Let them
organization must communicate with the work force, their tell you how you can assist them in achieving their goals.
Vlll
11. 1
Management's Role
THE PRIMARY ROLE OF MANAGEMENT i s t o provide employees tomer. The customer rejects the part because it does not
with the leadership necessary to meet the goals of the or- meet his requirements! (See Fig. l-1.)
ganization. This leadership must reflect the principles of to- Management needs to break down silos in their organi-
tal quality management. These principles were presented in zations because they create waste, redundancy, and poor
the Introduction: leadership commitment, customer focus, quality. We are getting better today at breaking down silos
training, empowerment and involvement, measurement, rec- and allowing interaction through cross-functional team
ognition and rewards, and communication. management. Management should evaluate themselves to
determine if their management style is autocratic or team
oriented.
LEADERSHIP COMMITMENT
Autocratic M a n a g e m e n t
Management must first examine how they manage. Is their
style tailored to encourage input from other managers and I remember when I first started working. I was told that
departments? Or is their style that of not allowing other de- in order to succeed and to keep my job, I had to remember
partments or disciplines to influence their decisions? In two rules. Rule l: The boss is always right. Rule 2: When the
other words, do they operate as team leaders or as silos? boss is wrong, remember Rule 1. Those were the days when
When I refer to managers operating as silos, I mean that they systems were more important than people. Employee in-
stand alone within the organizational structure by excluding volvement consisted of doing only what the boss told you to
input from other managers or departments. This concept is do, whether it made sense or not. Management felt that em-
explained further below. powering the worker took control away from management.
Switching to a management style that encourages em-
ployee involvement and empowerment is a tough transition
Silos for many. Unless special training is provided for middle and
Management in the past relied on experts in given disci- first-line management, the transition may never take place.
plines to develop systems and procedures to guide the or- And, unless upper management invests and participates in
ganization. These experts headed up their own departments this training, the organization is bound to fail. It will be over-
(silos) and had specialists working for them who created the taken by other organizations who have invested in their most
culture and systems for the silo master. valuable resource, their employees, and are cashing in on
The silo master made it clear to all other silo masters in that investment. Employees of an enlightened organization
the organization how his department functioned and that contribute every day to improved operations and systems.
there would be no interference from other groups or de- Once management has committed itself to breaking down
partments. This allowed the silo master to keep control of silos, it must embrace the concept of Team Management.
his territory. This also assured that the other department
managers did not fully understand the requirements for posi-
Team M a n a g e m e n t
tive interaction between groups or departments within the
organizational structure. Gone are the days when managers are expected to be pro-
Here's a classic example of how silos can thwart satisfying ficient in only one discipline. Today managers must be part
customer requirements. The marketing group receives an or- of a management team, and they must have a working
der from a customer and tells the design group what the knowledge of their peers' responsibilities. For example, the
customer wants. The design group gives their interpretation quality manager needs to understand how design engineer-
of the customer's needs to the manufacturing engineering ing, manufacturing engineering, purchasing, sales, produc-
group. Manufacturing engineering tells manufacturing what tion control, customer service, and every other department
process to use to create the product that will satisfy the functions. And every other manager should know the roles
needs of the customer. Manufacturing does their very best of the others.
to manufacture the part according to criteria supplied by This is not to say that they need to be as well trained in
manufacturing engineering. The quality department inspects the other disciplines as their peers, but they must under-
the final product and decides it is manufactured incorrectly. stand how the entire organization functions. We want to
Rework is performed and the part is shipped to the cus- break down silos so we can move freely throughout the or-
12. 4 TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT MANUAL
AS MARKETING REQUESTED AS ENGINEERING DESIGNED IT
AS MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING SAW IT AS MANUFACTURED
K , ¢ , ¢ .
QUALITY REJECTS DESIGN DRAWING WHAT THE CUSTOMER WANTED
Figure 1-1 --Customer requirements.
ganization. This creates a n o t h e r d i l e m m a b e c a u s e n o w we so until he tires. Then he d r o p s b a c k a n d a n o t h e r goose
n e e d to allow m a n a g e r s who are outside o u r responsibility moves in to lead. Geese in a flock are willing to follow the
to be p e r m i t t e d , even welcomed, to h a n d l e situations that lead of whoever is l e a d i n g at the t i m e b e c a u s e they all have
s t r u c t u r a l l y m a y belong to us. a c o m m o n goal.
It's t i m e for the goose story. We as m a n a g e r s should take We can l e a r n a lot f r o m the goose! Geese have l e a r n e d h o w
a lesson f r o m the goose. I ' m sure y o u have observed geese to w o r k as a team. All in the flock are willing a n d able to
in flight. They fly in a p a t t e r n t h a t forms a h o r i z o n t a l V. lead w h e n necessary. The l e a d e r w h o d r o p s b a c k is n o t in-
There is a g o o d r e a s o n w h y geese fly in a V pattern. The lead t i m i d a t e d b y a n o t h e r t a k i n g his place. H e u n d e r s t a n d s t h a t
goose breaks the air c u r r e n t a n d creates a n uplift b e h i n d h i m for n o w it is best t h a t s o m e o n e else a s s u m e s leadership.
t h a t the o t h e r geese can take a d v a n t a g e of. The second tier
of geese likewise does the s a m e for the t h i r d tier a n d so on
a n d so forth for the entire flock. CUSTOMER FOCUS
The l e a d goose eventually tires of b u t t i n g his h e a d against
the wind, so he d r o p s b a c k in the formation. Here's w h e n M a n a g e m e n t m u s t develop an attitude t h a t puts the cus-
s o m e t h i n g interesting takes place. A n o t h e r goose from the t o m e r in every decision m a d e . The c u s t o m e r is the r e a s o n
flock moves to the front to a s s u m e the lead. This goose does we are in business. W i t h o u t c u s t o m e r s there w o u l d be no
13. CHAPTER 1 - - M A N A G E M E N T ' S ROLE 5
job to perform, no requirements to be met, and no reason The TQM steering committee (discussed in Chapter 3)
anyone would wish to purchase your company's stock. should review and analyze employee survey results and de-
As explained in the Introduction, there are two kinds of termine the training program required to bring employees
customers: internal and external. External customers provide up to speed on company goals. Training can be conducted
income for the organization through purchasing goods or by inside experts or by using outside resources. There are
services. Internal customers (employees) satisfy the require- advantages and disadvantages to both approaches.
ments of the external customers and the requirements of The advantages to using inside experts are cash flow con-
others in their own organization. Both are important and tainment and assuring that the training is tailored to existing
need to be understood for an organization to succeed and company paradigms. The disadvantages of using in-house
prosper. experts are having to overcome existing negative perceptions
of the expert, if there are any, and removing the expert from
External Customers his duties to provide preparation and training.
The advantages of using outside sources for training are
The expression "The customer is always right" is not al- many. Among them is the natural perception that an outside
ways true; however, one right of the customer is always true: consultant knows more about a subject than inside people.
"The customer has the right to purchase from whomever he This advantage can create a more receptive learning envi-
wants." With this in mind, we should make every attempt to ronment for the employee. Another advantage is that no time
make sure the customer wants to buy from us. is taken from anyone's schedule for preparation of lesson
To assess the needs of your customers, utilize input from plans. Two major disadvantages are expense and the fact that
all customer contact personnel. In an organization that fol- the outside resource is not familiar with your company
lows TQM principles, input can come from the sales repre- culture.
sentative, your marketing group, the quality department, Both options of training must be evaluated by the TQM
manufacturing, customer service, and engineering. The steering committee, and selection of training resources
method in which the input is provided can be reactive or should be made on the best fit analysis. The key is to assure
proactive. Both sources should be looked upon as opportu- that whatever training source is utilized that the source em-
nities for satisfying your customers' needs. ulates the goals of the organization.
Reactive input is in the form of customer complaints or Activities concerning customers need to be communicated
from interpreting customer purchase orders or sales in- to everyone in the organization in a timely manner. Most
quiries. When customer complaints are received, either as information can be distributed on a monthly basis, but spe-
written complaints or in the form of returned goods, most cial news should be disseminated as required. An ideal
organizations react as fire fighters and focus on the hot spot. method of sharing news is through a company newsletter
We sometimes ignore the system that created the problem that contains information on employees, customers, and
in the first place. When a purchase order or sales inquiry is continuous improvement activities.
received, most organizations interpret their customer's re-
quirements through the mirror of their own paradigms.
Proactive input is solicited through visits to the customer's TRAINING
place of business, visits to your facility by your customer,
customer satisfaction surveys, and by cross-functional teams Continuous improvement cannot occur within an organiza-
consisting of employees from customer and supplier facili- tion unless training is part of management's agenda. Leaders
ties. All these activities should be part of management's stra- in respective departments should take the initiative to conduct
tegic business plan. The strategic business plan will be dis- an analysis of each employee's ability to perform his or her job.
cussed further in Chapter 3. This is often referred to as a needs assessment analysis.
The needs assessment analysis should be performed on the
I n t e r n a l Customers job function, not the individual performing the job. For ex-
ample, suppose the job is to prepare an accurate product
In a TQM environment, the attention paid to employees is certification document. A flow diagram on completing a
as important as, if not more important than, attention paid product certification is shown in Fig. 1-3.
to the customer. The employee is the internal customer of The focus should be on preparing an accurate product cer-
the organization, the individual who can make things hap- tification, not on the skills of the final product auditor, the
pen. His or her understanding of the organization's goals and material handler, or the typist. Study each step in the flow
commitment to the customer must be complete. This can be diagram for the job and determine exactly what is required
assured by following a three-step process that includes (1) for that step to be successful. For example, let's look at the
an employee survey, (2) an employee training program, and seep: Inspect All Critical Characteristics Per Sample Plan.
(3) regular communication sessions to continually reinforce To be successful at this step, every step preceding must
the organization's goals. have been performed correctly and accurately. All critical
characteristics must be identified on the inspection plan or
Employee Survey engineering drawing. The sample plan should be available
The employee survey should be designed to provide an as- and germane to the product being inspected. The test equip-
sessment of how the employee feels about the company and ment and inspection equipment should be in full calibration
how he perceives his role to the customer. An example of a and acceptable for the tolerances being examined. The in-
survey I used successfully is provided in Fig. 1-2. dividual conducting the task must be qualified for the task.
14. 6 TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT MANUAL
IN PLANT "ASK ME" BOX
(1) How do you perceive your role in service (4) Do you receive everything you need from
for customers? the previous operation or department to
Directly Involved do your job well?
Indirectly Involved Yes No (circle one)
Not Involved
If no suggestions:
(2) How do feel about service you receive
from related departments?
Satisfied
Not Satisfied
No Opinion
(5) If you could make one change in
(3) Do you have enough authority to make either your department or the
improvements to better serve our customers? company as a whole, what would
you change to improve service for
If No, Suggestions: our customers?
(6) If you could rate overall the products and services provided to our customers, what would that
rating be?
Superior ~ Good Average _ _ Poor Other
Please explain:
Figure 1-2~Employee survey.
Any deficiency found in any of the subgroups contributing evaluate and suggest how to improve current systems. It is
to the successful completion of the main task of inspecting through these management teams that lower-level employee
all critical characteristics per sample plan may require train- teams are created.
ing for the individual doing the inspection or correcting The teams formed at all levels will concentrate on improv-
some upstream activities. ing the organizations critical performance indicators (CPIs).
CPIs are tracked and evaluated through measurement pa-
rameters established by management E & I teams.
EMPOWERMENT AND INVOLVEMENT
One of the more responsible acts management can per- MEASUREMENT
form is recognizing that their employees can make signifi-
cant contributions to the success of the organization. If man- Management should establish measurements to track
agement provides the tools and training, a great deal can be progress on CPIs. The unit of measurement should fit the
accomplished through employee empowerment and involve- indicator being evaluated and should be understood by those
ment (E & I). However, the employee must be properly pre- who contribute to the improvement process for that indica-
pared for such responsibilities. ton For instance, the cost of quality CPI should be measured
The first employees that should be prepared for Employee in dollars and compared to several key values, such as cost
E & I are managers and supervisors. The concepts of TQM of sales or cost of manufacturing. Another example is on
must be provided through several training sessions and time performance. This CPI can be measured in several
should be reinforced through appropriate actions from sen- ways, which should all relate directly to customer require-
ior management. One of the better methods of demonstrat- ments. For example, this CPI can track orders shipped to
ing senior management's commitment to Employee E & I is customer-required dates (external customer measure), or it
by forming management teams and allowing these teams to could track design engineering input to manufacturing en-
15. CHAPTER 1 - - M A N A G E M E N T ' S R O L E 7
i~ INSPECT OF~
I DELIVER ORDER .REVIEW
TO INSPECTION ROUTING&
DRAWING
HOLD FOR
MATERIAL
REVIEW
PULL
INSPECTION
PLAN FOR PART
INSPECT ALL HOLD FOR
CRITICAL
MATERIAL
CHARACTERISTICS
PER SAMPLE PLAN
REVIEW
COMPLETE
CERTIFICATION
FORM
TYPE ON
STANDARD GIVE TO TYPIST
CERTIFICATION
FORM
ATTACH
INSPECTOR CERTIFICATION
DELIVER TO
.... _ ~ REVIEW AND TO PACKING
INSPECTION
SIGN SLIP
Figure 1-3-- Productcertificationflow chart.
gineering (internal customer measure), or it could track a recognition and rewards program designed to improve and
quote turn around from your suppliers (a measure of your maintain employee job satisfaction.
needs as a customer of your supplier). A three-tiered system should be developed that includes:
CPIs will be discussed further in Chapter 2 when methods (1) day-to-day recognition, (2) informal recognition, and (3)
of continuous improvement are explored. formal recognition programs. The best way to get started is
to create a steering committee made up of staff management.
This committee can define the scope of the program and es-
RECOGNITION AND REWARDS tablish guidelines to be followed by employee teams estab-
lished to implement the program. Employee teams should in-
Management has the responsibility to provide an environ- clude participants from all levels of the organization.
ment for the work force that is safe and environmentally The steering committee can set the scope of the program
clean. This environment should also lay the foundation for to include as many systems as they feel the company can
supporting the employees' quality of work life. Once this support and effectively manage, but some systems should
foundation has been established, management must develop always be included because of their proven effectiveness.
16. 8 TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT MANUAL
The following systems, when properly structured and ad- COMMUNICATION
ministered, are very cost effective and contribute directly to
a company's profitability through various improvements. In
no particular order, these proven systems are: pay-for-perfor- This guideline is one of the more important for both man-
mance, perfect attendance, service awards, and continuous im- agement and employees. It is a two-way street, and both
provement programs. Pay-for-performance recognizes em- should strive to keep the airwaves open. Even though com-
ployees for their performance on the job and should include munication is a two-way street, it must start with manage-
such criteria as quality of work produced, productivity, at- ment. Management should set the standard by creating an
tendance, initiative, job knowledge, and safety. An atten- environment conducive to openness without fear of reprisal
dance policy should establish rules to define when employees or ridicule. At all times communication must be polite and
are to be on the job and when they are excused from their conducive to enhancing self-esteem. The best way to get
job. This may seem like a basic idea, but it is surprising how started is as with all the other guidelines: establish a steering
many companies do not have an established and docu- committee to set the policy and the guidelines for imple-
mented policy on absence from the job. When there is no mentation. Then create the opportunity for employee in-
written policy, there is no consistency, and this leads to dis- volvement teams to get the program underway.
satisfied employees who see management as untrustworthy Some of the more common and effective programs in-
or at the very least prone to favoritism. A service awards clude: company newsletters, staff and employee meetings, and
policy recognizes employees for their length of service with an open invitation from management to allow employees at
the company and can be very rewarding in enhancing em- all levels to hold informal conversations or brainstorming
ployee esteem and fostering employee loyalty. sessions in employee lounges during breaks.
17. Strategic Planning
ONCE MANAGEMENT'SROLEAND commitment are defined and preferably three years. The world changes so fast that plan-
established, the top executives of the organization should es- ning more than four years ahead is not practical. Markets
tablish a quality policy. The quality policy should state the change at almost a constant pace. Customers' requirements
organization's commitment to: (1) continuous improvement do the same.
and (2) customer satisfaction. These seem like basic organ- A long-term strategic plan should consist of four main pro-
izational goals, but, unless stated, the rest of the organiza- grams. There should be: (1) a program for futuristic quality
tion will not be aware of them or will not have a clearly planning, (2) a program for service and product improve-
stated policy from which to develop their own planning for ment, (3) a program for employee involvement and educa-
improvement. tion, and (4) a program for business systems. These pro-
Quality policies can be from one paragraph to a full page. grams require a mission statement so that the goals of the
The policy's length is not as important as its contents. For program are understood. As with the quality policy state-
lasting impact on employees and customers, it is best to keep ment, the mission statements for these programs should be
them short. After all, it is easier to recall one paragraph than short and to the point. This gives precise direction to steering
an entire page. An example of a quality policy could be" committees implementing these programs. Mission state-
(insert company name here) is committed to continuous im- ments for the programs I recommend are:
provement and providing products and services that are of the 1. Futuristic quality planning--Develop and drive business
highest quality. At (insert company name here), we believe cus- decisions that utilize quality tools and concepts to assure
tomer satisfaction is the most important service our employees the successful introduction and implementation of new
can provide.
products, processes, and services to our customers.
Although short, this policy is very much to the point. It 2. Service and product improvement--Develop and imple-
says a lot about the philosophy of the company's top exec- ment programs to improve office and manufacturing op-
utives. It says, "The most important goal of this organization erations, processes, and systems leading to improvements
is to satisfy the customer and to find better ways to manu- and consistency in service and products, and reductions
facture products and/or provide services." I do not want to in internal waste.
become too involved with what quality means in this quality 3. Employee involvement and education--Utilize the inherent
policy statement. There are as many definitions of this word knowledge and expertise of our employees to identify and
as there are words on this page. The following are a few participate in opportunities for improvement, and provide
definitions of the word quality that should provide a basis appropriate education as needed in support of these goals.
for developing many more. 4. Business systems--Develop and manage the business sys-
tems required to assure quality, improve operations, and
Quality is: support our internal and external customers.
1. When a product is consistently represented. These programs require further definition to understand
2. An attitude of excellence with an objective of error-free how they are applied to effect continuous improvement.
performance shared by all employees.
3. Achieved through dedicated and Skilled employees, mod-
e m facilities, controlled manufacturing processes, contin- FUTURISTIC QUALITY PLANNING
uing education, and a positive work environment.
4. Directly related to superior value and performance and is Futuristic quality planning is necessary to assure success-
provided to customers in terms of productivity improve- ful applications of new systems, processes, and products.
ments, reduced operating costs, and outstanding service. Futuristic quality planning applies equally well to existing
For the rest of this book, quality is simply defined as: pro- processes or products because it perpetuates continuous
viding goods and services that meet or exceed customer improvement. This planning program almost always re-
requirements. quires the use of cross-functional teams. The core members
To provide goods and services that meet this definition, the of this team should consist of people who have the necessary
executives of the organization must have a strategic plan to authority to make decisions that support the program. Dur-
lead the company along this path. The plan should contain ing the course of planning activities, it will often be neces-
both long-term and short-term objectives. The window for sary to recruit employees who have special insight or knowl-
long-term objectives should be no more than four years and edge of the process being evaluated.
18. 10 TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT MANUAL
It is best to use a structured approach for this planning nace operator allows the process to continue, but a "no" an-
process. This will assure consistency of purpose and allow swer requires assistance from quality control.
easy inclusion of participants who have had experience on
other quality planning teams. Phase 2: F l o w Chart A n a l y s i s
A method I have applied over the years fits the needs of
both service and product manufacturing. Both activities re- After the process is defined so that each major process step
quire futuristic quality planning to assure efficiency of op- is identified, the next phase is to assess the contribution each
erations and customer satisfaction. Service/product quality step has in reaching the desired end result of the process. In
planning (SPQP) is a structured approach that can be ap- this case, the end result is a bolt (or a processing lot of bolts)
plied to any business activity. It does not matter if we are meeting all metallurgical and design requirements after the
working in a manufacturing or service environment. It does salt heat-treating process.
not matter if we are looking to improve office systems Let's review the process step LOAD PARTS IN BASKET
or manufacturing processes. The principles are the same: (see Fig. 2-1). This step requires the furnace operator to ver-
(1) flow chart the process chain for the activity or product; ify several facts to assure compliance with meeting all qual-
(2) assess the current method and effectiveness of quality ity requirements of his work order. These quality require-
control; (3) do a failure mode and effects analysis of high- ments are the contributions that this step has in satisfying
risk process steps; and (4) develop a control plan to assure the metallurgical and design requirements for salt heat
quality. treating.
The SPQP process is designed to improve the quality of The operator has to assure that all paperwork received
current services and products. When new services or prod- with the product matches. This includes drawings, manufac-
ucts are under consideration, another quality tool should be turing routings, the heat treat process sheet, the quality as-
applied to achieve maximum customer satisfaction. This surance control plan, etc. The operator must assure that
other tool is quality function deployment (QFD). QFD is a when the parts are loaded into the basket the parts are po-
very structured and extensive analysis of customer require- sitioned so there will be an even transfer of heat during the
ments and needs. The study and application of QFD war- heat-treating operation. The operator must assure that the
rants a book of its own and will not be covered in this parts are positioned to minimize distortion. And the opera-
manual. tor must assure that if there are parts from other orders in
We can still develop a strategic plan for customer satisfac- the same basket, that these parts have weight and mass sim-
tion using only the tools contained within SPQP when ap- ilar to the parts for the current order. All aspects of this one
plied toward new services or products if the customer is per- step, LOAD PARTS IN BASKET, can be evaluated as to its
mitted to participate. I feel that most readers of this book overall effectiveness.
are more interested in finding methods to improve current In flow chart analysis, we evaluate each step in a process
services, processes, or products. The study of QFD is rec- as to the severity of failing to perform the step correctly, the
ommended for marketing functions and design engineers. capability of the process itself to perform the step correctly,
The steps and tools required to prepare an SPQP are as and the probability of knowing when the process is not per-
follows: forming as expected. We assign values to the severity, capa-
bility, and detection criteria to weigh the results so it is pos-
sible to prioritize required actions when the failure mode
Phase 1: Flow Chart and effects analysis (FMEA) is prepared. The guideline val-
ues for severity, capability, and detection are presented in
There are universal rules to follow when preparing a flow Tables 2-1, 2-2, and 2-3, respectively.
chart. A square box should be used to describe each major To see how these guidelines apply, let us continue to work
process step involved in creating the service or product. Ar- with our example for heat treating. In Step three (see Fig.
rows should be used to show the direction each process step 2-1), LOAD PARTS IN BASKET, the SPQP team made the
takes as the total process evolves. Diamonds should indicate following decisions as shown in Table 2-4.
decision points along the process chain. Either inside or ad- 1. For "paper work matches," the team chose a severity rat-
jacent to the diamond is usually a question. Process flow ing of 3 because they felt that incorrect information as to
lines (arrows) from the diamond points are used to act upon material type, for instance, would prevent the product
the answer and lead to the next process step. Other universal from responding as expected in the high-heat furnace. A
symbols are used to reduce the amount of text contained in capability of 3 was chosen because past experience has
a flow chart. One example is an inverted triangle to indicate been positive with hardly any cases of mixed paperwork.
that an evaluation or an inspection must take place at a par- For detection, the team chose "1," because mixed paper-
ticular process step. work is very easy to detect when it occurs.
An example of a flow chart using these symbols is shown 2. For "parts are positioned to assure even heat transfer," a
in Fig. 2-1. This is a flow chart for heat treating a threaded 4 was chosen on severity because failure to satisfy this
bolt in a molten salt bath. This flow chart has ten process requirement could result in nonconformance to metallur-
steps. Each individual process step could be expanded to de- gical properties. A 3 was chosen for capability because the
scribe the actions necessary to complete its task, but gener- baskets are designed with a partition that properly spaces
ally this is not necessary unless that particular step needs to the parts for even heat transfer. When it came to detection,
be improved upon. This process has two decision points con- the team picked "2" because if the operator put more than
trolled by the furnace operator. A "yes" answer by the fur- one part in a partition it would most likely be detected.
19. CHAPTER 2--STRATEGIC PLANNING 11
RECEIVE
PARTS
REVIEW
ROUTING &
DRAWING
LOAD PARTS CALL FOR QC
IN BASKET REVIEW
LOAD IN • I QUENCH IN WATER
J COOLTO
HIGH HEAT I~l~ SALT "~ ROOMTEMP - ~ WASH
FORNACE I r
TEMPER IN SALTAND
VERIFY HARDNESS
NO
UNLOAD
PARTS
STAGE FOR
NEXT
OPERATION
Figure 2-1 m Basic salt bath heat treat process flow.
3. For "parts are positioned to minimize distortion," the This process is completed for each step in the process of
team gave a severity rating of 4 because failure to satisfy salt heat treating. The end result is a compilation of values
this requirement could result in a dimensional defect. The that allow's management to prioritize the analyses and im-
capability was 3 because of operator experience with the provements to be made by the SPQP team. An example of
effects of incorrect positioning. The selection of 2 for de- the completed process flow analysis for salt heat treating is
tection was assigned because a double check of position provided in Fig. 2-2. In this example, one can see that the
prior to moving the parts to the high-heat furnace is per- SCD values (severity rank times the capability rank times the
formed by another operator. detection rank equals the SCD value) vary from one step to
4. For "parts have similar mass and cross-sectional area," the other and within each step depending on the controlled
ratings of 4, 3, and 2 were assigned for severity, capability, characteristic.
and detection, respectively, based upon the quality history Management must decide which controlled characteristics
and experience of the operators involved. require further evaluation through a FMEA. Companies usu-
20. 12 TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT MANUAL
TABLE 2-1--Service/product quality plan--severity assessment guidelines.
Severity The severity assessment rates the overall importance of each potential product nonconformance
Assessment to the process and final customer.
5 Safety related characteristic. Failure to satisfy this requirement could result in
unexpected and/or catastrophic failure, leading to personal injury or property
damage.
4 Critical characteristic. Failure to satisfy this requirement could either result in a
significant loss in performance or cause the end user to produce a product that
does not conform to his or her customer's requirements or would prevent or
significantly h a m p e r a following operation from performing its function.
3 Functional characteristic. Failure to satisfy this requirement could prevent the product
from being assembled and used as intended, lead to more variability in
performance than is normally anticipated, could be perceived as poor quality by the
final customer, or a subsequent operation would have some difficulty in its process
due to the nonconformance.
2 Nonfunctional characteristic. Failure to satisfy this requirement will not have any
appreciable impact on performance. Most cosmetic requirements shall be
considered nonfunctional characteristics unless there is a history of customer
complaints. Cosmetic requirements that have resulted in complaints will be
considered a functional characteristic. Subsequent operations would see no
appreciable difference in performance.
1 Process characteristic. Failure to satisfy this requirement has no impact on the
finished product or the manufacturing process.
TABLE 2-2--Service/product quality plan--capability assessment guidelines.
Capability For Manufacturing Processes with For Manufacturing Processes Without
Assessment Documented Process Capability Data Documented Process Capability Data
Cpk > 2.0 N/A
1.67 < Cpk < 2.0 or Ppk < 2.0 N/A
1.33 < Cpk < 1.67 or 1.67 < PPK < 2.0 Although documented process capability data are not available,
past experience with this process on similar products has
been very positive.
1.00 < Cpk < 1.33 or 1.33 < Ppk < 1.67 Very few known problems have occurred w h e n using this
process on similar products in the past.
Cpk < 1.0 This process has been known to be a source of scrap and/or
discrepant material when used on similar products or there
are no historical data for this process.
NOTE: This assessment uses the formula rain [x - 3g ' USL - x] for both Cpk and Ppk.
L_SL 3~ J
TABLE 2-3--Service/product quality plan--detection assessment guidelines.
Detection The detection assessment rates the probability that the current inspection and SPC system will
Assessment find a nonconformance should it occur.
1 A nonconformance will almost always be detected. Either the process automatically
detects a failure or a high capability has been established and SPC is appropriate,
understood, and used to run the process.
2 There is a good chance of detecting a nonconformance. SPC is generally understood
and usually reacted to in a capable process, or some form of 100% inspection is
used.
3 The current system may detect a failure. SPC is in place, but not fully understood
and or reacted to, or sample inspections are done throughout the run.
4 A nonconformance will probably not be detected. Control charts are done incorrectly
or are incomplete, or inspections are limited, such as setup only.
5 There is absolute certainty that a nonconformance will not be detected. No inspection
is done.
NOTE: "Detection" must take place before reaching the next applicable process/customer. Inspection by the next process
or final inspection is not appropriate in determining this rating.
21. CHAPTER 2 - - S T R A T E G I C PLANNING 13
TABLE 2-4--Load parts in basket.
Process Step Controlled Characteristic SCD Severity Capability Detection
Load parts in Paper work matches 9 3 3 1
basket
Parts are positioned to assure even 24 4 3 2
heat transfer
Parts are positioned to minimize 24 4 3 2
distortion
Parts have similar mass and cross- 24 4 3 2
sectional area
ally do n o t have u n l i m i t e d resources a n d m u s t limit the visor o f the h e a t t r e a t d e p a r t m e n t . An e x a m p l e o f the F M E A
n u m b e r of projects t h r o u g h the use of Pareto analysis. f o r m a t is s h o w n in Fig. 2-3.
Before going further, I feel it beneficial to p r o v i d e defini- Let's w o r k t h r o u g h a n e x a m p l e of c o m p l e t i n g a FMEA.
tions of Pareto analysis a n d Pareto chart. E a c h c o l u m n c o n t a i n s i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t leads to i n f o r m a -
Pareto analysis: Analyses of the frequency of events tion/action for the s u b s e q u e n t column. O u r t e a m c a m e u p
d e s c r i b e d on a Pareto c h a r t t h a t c o n t r i b u t e to a n out- w i t h the F M E A s h o w n in Fig. 2-4 for Process Step 4: H i g h
come. I n the quality profession, o u t c o m e s could be re- H e a t F u r n a c e . The following logic is a p p l i e d to fill the col-
jects, scrap, a n d o t h e r c o n t r i b u t o r s to cost of quality umns with information:
such as incorrect invoices, p u r c h a s e orders, m i s s i n g in-
formation, etc. Process
Pareto chart: A simple statistical tool t h a t r a n k s con- I n this c o l u m n , list the p r o c e s s step t h a t creates the con-
t r i b u t i n g factors to an o u t c o m e a c c o r d i n g to either cost
o r frequency of occurrence. This allows for easy priori- trolled c h a r a c t e r i s t i c u n d e r analysis. F o r o u r example, the
t i z a t i o n of c o n t r i b u t i n g factors for analysis, t h e r e b y first e n t r y in this c o l u m n is H i g h H e a t Furnace. This process
keeping cost of analysis low by focusing on the vital few step is the first p r o c e s s step o f t h e process flow analysis t h a t
a n d t e m p o r a r i l y not a n a l y z i n g the trivial many. h a d a n SCD value t h a t exceeded 50. To c o m p l e t e the FMEA,
I n o u r example, m a n a g e m e n t d e c i d e d to p e r f o r m a F M E A following in order, the next entries f r o m Table 2-5 w o u l d b e
on all controlled characteristics t h a t h a d a n SCD value t h a t Cool, Temper, a n d H a r d n e s s Test.
exceeded 50. The c a n d i d a t e s for FMEAs are s h o w n in Table Controlled Characteristics~Fail Mode
2-5. I n general, m a n a g e m e n t w o u l d also c o n s i d e r a n y con-
trolled characteristic t h a t h a d a 5 for either c a p a b i l i t y o r I n this column, list the c o n t r o l l e d c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a n d t h e
detection regardless of the SCD's value rank. a n t i c i p a t e d failure mode. F o r the process step, H i g h H e a t
F u r n a c e , the c o n t r o l l e d c h a r a c t e r i s t i c is P a r t Microstructure.
The p o t e n t i a l failure m o d e s are: incorrect a t m o s p h e r e ,
P h a s e 3: F M E A i n c o r r e c t f u r n a c e t e m p e r a t u r e , a n d incorrect t i m e at
temperature.
The F M E A is a d o c u m e n t designed to a c c e p t change. It
acts as a futuristic p l a n n i n g tool b y identifying p o t e n t i a l Effects
causes of failure t h a t s h o u l d be c o n s i d e r e d in the develop- I n this c o l u m n , list the effect the failure m o d e w o u l d have
m e n t of control plans. As n e w controls are i m p l e m e n t e d , the o n the c o n t r o l l e d characteristic. I n the case of o u r example,
F M E A is revisited a n d revised to reflect n e w process capa- all failure m o d e s identified w o u l d cause the w r o n g m i c r o -
bilities. FMEAs c a n be d e v e l o p e d for processes or p r o d u c t s . structure, l e a d i n g to p r o d u c t failure at a s u b s e q u e n t o p e r a -
In o u r example, we are c r e a t i n g a Process F M E A for the salt tion o r in p r o d u c t application.
h e a t treating process. A F M E A is an analytical t e c h n i q u e
utilized to assure to the b e s t o f its ability t h a t all p o t e n t i a l Likely Causes
concerns (failures) are identified a n d a d d r e s s e d t h r o u g h At this juncture, we e x a m i n e the likely cause(s) of the i d e n -
s o m e control m e c h a n i s m . The g r o u p best suited to develop tiffed failure modes. The likely cause of i n c o r r e c t a t m o s p h e r e
a F M E A is m a n u f a c t u r i n g engineering o r a s i m i l a r g r o u p o r is c o n t a m i n a t e d salt. The likely cause for i n c o r r e c t temper-
individual t h a t u n d e r s t a n d s the process ( m a n u f a c t u r i n g o r a t u r e is a defective furnace t h e r m o c o u p l e . The likely cause
service). The Process F M E A identifies failure modes, ex- of i n c o r r e c t t i m e at t e m p e r a t u r e is an i n c o r r e c t setting o f
plores the effects of the failure on customers, d e t e r m i n e s the t h e f u r n a c e timer.
p o t e n t i a l causes of those failures, looks at c u r r e n t controls
to avoid o r identify the failure, a n d suggests actions to im- Current Control Methods
prove control. I n this column, list the p r e s e n t m e t h o d of controlling the
The t e a m assigned to c o m p l e t e the F M E A s h o u l d consist likely cause(s) o f the failure mode(s). I n o u r example, t h e
of those close to the process b e i n g evaluated. As m e n t i o n e d f u r n a c e salt is evaluated every six m o n t h s b y the c h e m i c a l
earlier, for a m a n u f a c t u r i n g o p e r a t i o n such as h e a t treating, c o m p a n y the supplies the salt. The m a i n t e n a n c e d e p a r t m e n t
the b e s t p e r s o n to l e a d the t e a m is a m a n u f a c t u r i n g engineer. changes the furnace t h e r m o c o u p l e s every two weeks. The
F o r o u r example, o t h e r p o t e n t i a l m e m b e r s are the p l a n t met- r e m o v e d t h e r m o c o u p l e s are r e t u r n e d to the t h e r m o c o u p l e
allurgist, l a b o r a t o r y technician, furnace operator, a n d super- s u p p l i e r to b e c a l i b r a t e d a n d r e b u i l t as r e q u i r e d for future
22. 14 TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT MANUAL
SERVICE / PRODUCT Q U A L I T Y PLAN
P h a s e I - P r o c e s s Flow Analysis
Revised
Product Une: Salt Bath Heat Treat Original (9/30/93)
S C D S S Ci D S
Manufacturing Location: ABC Company e a e C e alI e C
v p t D v p t D
Original Issue Date: January 1994 e a e e ~ e
r b c r c
Approved By: i i t i i t
ti I i t I i
y i o y i o
Process Flow Controlled t n t n
Diagram Characteristics Y Y
1) Receive Parts 1) Parts are ready for Heat 4 3 1 12
Treat.
2) Review RoutJngs and 2) Parts match metallurgical 4 3 4 48 5 3 2 30
Drawings requirements of the routing and drawing.
3) Load Parts Into Rack or on Wire and 3) - Paperwork for each load 3 3 1 9 3 3 1 9
Match Paperwork. match,
- Parts are positioned to ensure 3 3 3 27 4 3 2 24
even heat transfer
- Parts are positioned to 4 3 4 48 4 3 2 24
minimize distortion.
- Parts have similar mass and 3 3 3 27 4 3 2 24
cross sectional area.
4) High Heat Furnace J,) Part microstructure 5 3 5 75
5) Quench 5) Part hardness 3 3 5 45
Part microstructure. 5 3 5 75
8) Cool ~) Part microstructure. 5 3 5 75
7) Water Wash ~') Parts free of salt. 2 3 1 6 3 4 2 24
8) Temper 3) Part hardness 5 5 3 75
Part microstructure. 5 3 5 75
9) Clean a) Parts free of Heat Treat 2 3 2 12 3 3 1 9
scale.
Parts free of Hea-tTreat 3 4 2 24
salts.
10) Hardness Test 10) Meet part hardness 4 3 2 24 5 5 3 75
requirement.
11) Unload Parts From Rack or Wire 11) Parts are free from:
and Match Paperwork. - Damage 3 3 2 18
- Distor'don 3 4 4 48
- Cracks 5 3 3 45
- Salt 3 4 2 24
- Paperwork matches parts 4 3 1 12
in individual orders.
12) Stage For Subsequent Operations, 12) Parts are as represented. 3 3 1 9
Black Oxide or Further Processing.
SaRHtIA) Page 1 of 1
Figure 2 - 2 m P r o c e s s f l o w analysis.
23. CHAPTER 2--STRATEGIC PLANNING 15
TABLE 2 - 5 - - S a l t Bath Heat Treat Phase 1 Results: operations a process o r for a product. The decision to m a k e a process
in the process that exceed 50 in the SCD rating.
o r p r o d u c t control p l a n is u s u a l l y d e c i d e d by the type of
Operation Characteristic SCD Rating organization. An o r g a n i z a t i o n t h a t provides a service, such
Step 4: High heat furnace Part microstructure 75 as a m a c h i n e shop m a n u f a c t u r i n g c o m p o n e n t s for a larger
Step 6: Cool Part microstructure 75 m a n u f a c t u r e r o r a c o m p a n y t h a t provides office cleaning ser-
Step 8: Temper Part hardness 75 vices, w o u l d m o s t likely e m p l o y a p r o d u c t control p l a n so
Part microstructure 75
Step 10: Hardness test Meet part hardness 75 t h a t t h e y are confident of satisfying all t h e i r c u s t o m e r s '
requirement u n i q u e requirements. On the o t h e r hand, a m a n u f a c t u r e r of
s t a n d a r d ASTM A325M 1 s t r u c t u r a l bolts o r a b a n k clearing
c u s t o m e r checks w o u l d find the process control p l a n m o r e
apropos. In either case, the control p l a n f o r m a t is the s a m e
use. The furnace o p e r a t o r s m o n i t o r the t i m e at h e a t as in- a n d is s h o w n in Fig. 2-5.
d i c a t e d on the electronic furnace controller. The control plan, as the FMEA, is divided into c o l u m n s
Responsibility (Resp. and Date) w i t h h e a d i n g s to provide a n a t u r a l sequence of events en-
abling users of the control p l a n a concise a n d clear guide for
I n this column, list the person(s) held a c c o u n t a b l e for ap- controlling the quality of the process o r product. We will
plying the c u r r e n t controls. F o r o u r example, the h e a t t r e a t n o w w o r k o u r w a y t h r o u g h a process c o n t r o l p l a n for h e a t
supervisor is held a c c o u n t a b l e for having the furnace salts t r e a t i n g an ASTM A325M s t r u c t u r a l bolt with a salt-bath
e v a l u a t e d every six m o n t h s , the m a i n t e n a n c e d e p a r t m e n t is furnace.
a c c o u n t a b l e for c h a n g i n g the furnace t h e r m o c o u p l e s every
two weeks, a n d the furnace o p e r a t o r s are a c c o u n t a b l e for Process Point Control
m o n i t o r i n g the t i m e at heat.
This c o l u m n contains the s a m e i n f o r m a t i o n in the s a m e
Recommended Actions sequence as the like c o l u m n in the process flow analysis for
This c o l u m n is used w h e n the t e a m identifies a n oppor- the salt h e a t t r e a t process. It is a listing of all steps r e q u i r e d
t u n i t y for i m p r o v e m e n t on one of the c u r r e n t m e t h o d s of in the process of h e a t treating via this m e t h o d in the exact
control. In o u r example, the t e a m felt t h a t the six-week in- o r d e r the steps are p e r f o r m e d .
terval was too a r b i t r a r y a n d n o t b a s e d on historical data.
This m e a n t t h a t d u r i n g s o m e six-month periods, the salt b a t h Controlled Characteristic
was o u t of control o r specification a n d n o t k n o w n except b y This c o l u m n c o n t a i n s the s a m e i n f o r m a t i o n in the s a m e
s p o r a d i c m e t a l l u r g i c a l failures. So the t e a m d e c i d e d to a p p l y sequence as the like c o l u m n in the process flow analysis for
statistical process control (SPC) to the salt b a t h analysis. A the salt h e a t treat process. All characteristics controlled at
p r o g r a m was e s t a b l i s h e d to analyze the b a t h every w e e k a n d the process step in the s a m e r o w m u s t be listed in this
c h a r t the m a i n variables of the b a t h on an individual's chart. column.
The b a t h could then be rejuvenated/replaced b a s e d on out-
of-control data. In the long r u n the t e a m felt t h a t m o n e y Control Methods~Sample Plan
could be saved using this a p p r o a c h b y e l i m i n a t i n g metallur- In this c o l u m n the m e t h o d of controlling the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c
gical rejections necessitating r e w o r k or scrap. The c h e m i c a l along w i t h the specified s a m p l i n g m e t h o d is detailed. Several
s u p p l i e r was p r o v i d i n g the b a t h analysis free of charge a n d m e t h o d s of control are available including first article veri-
was m o r e t h a n h a p p y to acquire statistical d a t a on the life fication, in-process i n s p e c t i o n to a s a m p l e p l a n b a s e d on lot
cycle of his c h e m i c a l s for m a r k e t i n g purposes. size o r p r o d u c t i o n rate/hour, statistical process control, a n d
Date 100% inspection. The m e t h o d of control is b a s e d u p o n the
capability of the process step to m a i n t a i n design criteria.
In this c o l u m n list the n a m e of the i n d i v i d u a l r e s p o n s i b l e
for the r e c o m m e n d e d action(s) a n d the d a t e the action(s) are Method of Evaluation
expected to be i m p l e m e n t e d or completed.
All FMEAs should be p u t on a review p r o g r a m to evaluate In this c o l u m n we describe the process, equipment, o r in-
a n d a s c e r t a i n the c u r r e n t n e s s of the d o c u m e n t . One of the s t r u m e n t a t i o n u s e d to evaluate e a c h controlled characteris-
b e t t e r m e t h o d s is to p u t d o c u m e n t n u m b e r s on the SPQP tic. Methods m a y include visual i n s p e c t i o n w i t h o r w i t h o u t
a n d a d d t h e m to the c o m p a n y c a l i b r a t i o n software system. a microscope, a metallograph, a p a i r of dial calipers, a scan-
This way, a one y e a r "calibration" cycle can be p r o g r a m m e d , ning electron m i c r o s c o p e (SEM), a h a r d n e s s testing ma-
a n d the review process c a n n o t be overlooked. The review chine, etc. Of i m p o r t a n c e here is the r e q u i r e m e n t t h a t for
does not require a team; all t h a t is r e q u i r e d is t h a t the in- w h a t e v e r m e t h o d of evaluation we employ, a n evaluation of
dividual m a k i n g the review be k n o w l e d g e a b l e of the process the r e p e a t a b i l i t y a n d r e p r o d u c i b i l i t y of t h a t m e t h o d be de-
u n d e r review. The individual can always solicit, as necessary, termined. One m e t h o d of c o n d u c t i n g an evaluation of the
the council of others in the o r g a n i z a t i o n for expert or spe- r e p e a t a b i l i t y a n d r e p r o d u c i b i l i t y of an evaluation m e t h o d is
cific assistance. d e s c r i b e d in ASTM Guide for C o n d u c t i n g a R e p e a t a b i l i t y
a n d R e p r o d u c i b i l i t y S t u d y on Test E q u i p m e n t for Nonde-
structive Testing (F 1469).
Phase 4: C o n t r o l P l a n
The final p h a s e of an SPQP is the d e v e l o p m e n t of a control 1Specification for High-Strength Bolts for Structural Steel Joints
plan. As with the FMEA, a control p l a n can be designed for [Metric].
24. 16 TOTAL Q U A L I T Y M A N A G E M E N T M A N U A L
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