Agility [uh-jil-i-tee] – the power of moving quickly and easily.
In business terms, being agile is being able to adapt efficiently and effectively to changes. Each time IMEC visits a manufacturer or provides a solution, the experience is different. We all adapt. We need to exercise business agility.
Recently, I began working with a manufacturer that was experiencing some significant quality problems. Their processes were individual and discrete. From what we observed, there were no characteristics that could be measured from which to adjust the process, no dwell time to adjust to bring their process into control. Statistical Process Control (SPC) seemed to be a viable option, but we wondered how we would adapt traditional SPC methods to a discrete process. Even if variable data was collected, no adjustments made would affect the next piece produced. How could we decide if the process was truly stable and in control?
It became evident that gathering information, generating paperwork, measuring components and competing final inspections is indeed a process, a process that could provide us with the necessary inputs and outputs. We had to test to determine how results would vary if information was not documented. Would the part conform if characteristics were not to specification? What if a key piece of information or an entire document was missing?
These, and other conditions, are often the causes for process variation. If the process depends on verifiable documentation and the measurement of gaps, we need to determine what part of them, or all of them, are missing in order to determine if the process is in control and stable.
Expanding upon these ideas, I adapted our SPC model to encompass this type of process. Initially, the concepts of calculating control limits, frequency plots, and calculating process capability seemed Greek to the company participants. However, after adjusting the traditional xbarR chart into a simplified p-chart and inserting variable data for a specific characteristic into the number of non-conformities in a given documentation packet, the applications became apparent to everyone.
If a packet with all documentation completed, all measurements recorded, all initials present, and forms indicating what work was done is considered a process in control and capable, then it was evident to the participants that their own documentation efforts fell short of what was needed to ensure the conformance of EVERY part to their customer’s specifications. We made a few adjustments and inserted the correct controls.
While the client’s employees did not initially see the relevance of an SPC for their processes, we were able to demonstrate how the tool could really work. We demonstrated agility.
