102 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK LARRY BOROWSKI WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE AN AUTOMOTIVE FASTENER SUPPLIER? from page 32 A small portion of that coordination is the fasteners that hold the vehicles together. I’m sure you can imagine or have heard horror stories of “line down” and charge backs because of a defective part. That costs money! One of the ways automobile manufacturers try to combat this is to demand a “zero defect” policy from their suppliers. That does not necessarily mean 100% perfection with a PPM = 0, but does point back to contract review and the use of SPC (Statistical Process Control) to try and meet that demand. Cpk is a Process Capability Index, which is simply a number that represents the effectiveness of your process in achieving conforming parts. Consider trying to throw a series of balls through a 16 inch round hoop. The hoop size represents the product limits, and the sizes of the balls which vary from a 16 inch diameter playground ball to a 2 inch diameter golf ball, represent your production process. Of course it will be easier to throw the golf ball through the hoop, but that represents a very defined process and a higher Cpk value. The lower the Cpk value, the more variation you have in your process, and the harder it is to keep it centered as to not go beyond the product limits. The “tighter” your process becomes, the less centered on nominal product size you need to be. Automotive customers demand certain Cpk levels. Achieving “Zero Defects” means that you have met your customers Cpk value. Lastly, to even consider being part of the automotive supply chain, you must be willing to perform various automated sorting operations. This is typically done on critical features, where 100% automated sorting is done. For instance, the head height of a hex bolt might be the critical feature to assure effective tightening. You’ve already met your Cpk values for all features (including head height) on the fastener, but you know that a head height is considered “critical” because if the head height is too high it will interrupt production by clogging screw feeding equipment in final assembly. Based on your customer’s target Cpk value, you realize there may be a small percentage of parts present in the production lot that are out of tolerance on head height. This will be a feature that you will either sort for in-house or send out for an automated sorting/ inspection process before shipping the product. Automated sorting/inspection can be performed on a number or more “critical” features at a time depending on the type of inspection equipment used. There is no difference in the quality requirements for supplying U.S., European, or Asian automobile producers. All look at quality in the same extremely stringent manner, which is both demanding and unforgiving. It is my suggestion to anyone that is trying to supply the automotive market to follow the above general guidelines, which can be broken down further into more specific details. [1] Have a complete understanding of the part requirements. [2] Perform machine capability studies, gage R&R studies, and make sure you have a good gage calibration program. [3] Have procedures in place to inspect and optimize your raw material usage [4] Make sure your perishable tooling is properly designed and as resistant to wear as possible. [5] Have well-defined machine set up procedures are important because many non-conforming parts are generated when tooling is changed. [6] Make sure you are monitoring the production process using well-planned SPC methods to assure adherence to the required Cpk performance. [7] Have automatic sorting/inspection equipment suitable for removing parts with non-conforming “critical” features effectively at high production rates. Supplying the automotive market is not a task to be taken lightly. It involves dedication, commitment, and the ability to adapt to the changing market. It starts with solid internal operational discipline, thorough documentation, unwavering commitment to consistently high quality standards, and a never-ending adherence to the process of continuous improvement throughout the entire organization. LARRY BOROWSKI | GREENSLADE & COMPANY INC
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