During the past 25 years I have seen manufacturing migration and service degradation in the U.S. economy. We first transferred manufacturing of parts or products to our offshore subsidiaries due to our inability to solve problems. Some of the problems could be solved at offshore facilities, while others remained puzzles.
If it seems as if you are spending more time in the office, you are correct. That should be no surprise for Quality Magazine subscribers. In July, our Quality State of the Profession Survey revealed that 33% of you experienced an increase of work hours during the past year and 28% expect your work hours to increase during 2008.
While it is useful to have many special features, it is important to make sure they do not get in the way of functionality. That was the thinking behind the Quadra-Chek 300 digital readout system with video edge detection and image archiving, which allows operators to store snapshots of video images with part measurement data and user notations.
Reliable and consistent performance is essential in any industry to ensure customer satisfaction and increase the pool of high-yield customers. For Pratt and Whitney (East Hartford, CT), a manufacturer of aerospace components, reliable and consistent performance of its coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) proved to be a decisive factor in achieving high customer satisfaction levels and operating profitability.
Quest Aircraft (Sandpoint, ID) started out with prototyping and then moved into manufacturing light aircraft. The company uses a Komo computer numerical control (CNC) router for all of its sheet metal processing. The previous CAM system used with the router caused significant problems.
Problems can arise in factories that use 3 by 5 cards to keep track of gages. In fact, calibration problems are one of the top sources of nonconformances during ISO 9000 audits. Commercial software is available for managing a calibration program, but for small shops an Excel spreadsheet may do just as well. Learn how to program a spreadsheet to remind personnel when calibrations are due.
This summer marked the deadline for implementation of ISO/IEC 17025: 2005 General Requirements for the Competence of Calibration and Testing Laboratories. This came after a two-year transitional period in which accreditation bodies recognized by the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) had been assessing laboratories to the requirements of the superseding standard, which replaces ISO 17025: 1999.
In a fiercely competitive global economy, manufacturers and their suppliers are challenged to continuously improve quality and maintain compliance with government and industry mandates-with limited labor and resources. All the while, OEMS are increasing their dependence on suppliers for complex products, assembly operations and services.
Integration is in the air these days, and microscopy is no different. If the microscope cannot “talk” to the computer or camera or software, it may find itself out of a job. All components of the system must be connected for best results.
The debate raging over fuel economy and global competition is fueling a quiet revolution in the auto industry. The automakers are converting increasingly to plastics to make their products ever lighter and more cost-competitive. Some have even gone as far as experimenting with plastic powertrain, chassis and suspension components.
RSS
