A control plan is a 14-column table designed to list all product and process inspection points needed for a defect-less outcome. This is primarily used in manufacturing, but can be adapted for other fields. While very long and detailed, the 14 entries are pretty simple overall. The columns are as follows: 1. Part/Process Number: The […] Read more

Production part approval process is one of the finest ways of ensuring the quality standards of Components supplied and their production process. Production part approval process is prevalent in many manufacturing industries; however, the need was felt by the automotive industry to standardize the process of material and manufacturing quality. Hence, production part approval process […] Read more

The RACI chart (or Cairo or RASCI chart, among other names; they’re largely interchangeable) is a powerful tool for improving team organization and cohesion. People are inherently flawed and forgetful (and sometimes lazy), and charts like this help diminish the effects of these traits. The chart makes sure everybody knows their roles and responsibilities and […] Read more

Rolled Throughput Yield (RTY) is a concept at once complex and simple. It is used to measure how many non-defective, non-reworked examples of a given product are likely to be produced based on how many iterations or process steps your product goes through. To understand RTY, you need to understand a simpler formula for First […] Read more

DFMEA is a detailed, methodical method for identifying potential failure points and causes for projects. While initially developed for rocketry (where rockets have a high risk of failure due to complexity and failures are usually catastrophic), it is now used in many industries to reduce failures that can be avoided. DFMEA is used to identify […] Read more

The use of skill matrices in the workplace is spotty. Having worked in several industries (construction, retail, web development, games) it seems it is the kind of technique that companies will either go all-in on or not use at all; there is very little middle ground. As a result, skill matrices have an incredible level […] Read more

Balanced Scorecard is a simple concept, but one I often see is not fully understood by people I associate with. It’s easy to see why, with many explanations of the system (particularly from the Balanced Scorecard Institute) getting bogged down in the details and history. So today I’m going to break down the basics of […] Read more

There is a common misconception that the words “accuracy” and “precision” mean the same thing. To be quite fair, in colloquial speech, they are often used to mean the same thing. Both mean to hit your target, correct? Something which is accurate is also precise, correct? Well, not quite. Let’s properly define out terms: Accuracy: […] Read more

OEE is a simple but effective measure of how much productivity you’re getting out of your manufacturing process. This measure uses three factors: Availability, Performance, and Quality. An OEE score of 100% is essentially perfection (completely on time, no defects, and the process is as fat as possible). Let’ take a deeper look at these […] Read more

Critical to Quality specifications are an odd duck. They’re one of the few things in business that’s more an art than a science, and a lot of it comes down to thinking things through logically to best translate a customer’s words (which may be too vague or inaccurate) to their wants and needs. Essentially, Critical […] Read more

Autonomous maintenance is a practice so intuitive that it’s a wonder it’s not standard across all companies in every industry. There are factors in some industries that make it harder – artificially so if you’re a programmer; I’m sure we all know the pain of having a contractor from another company develop a key piece […] Read more