When Did Rework Become Part of Your Process? – Part IV

Vice President of Engineering and Technology, Saint Clair Systems

Rework is a “four-letter-word” in the manufacturing world; it represents the last resort when all of our efforts at process control have failed.  And yet, as we discussed in Part I, Part II and Part III of this series, many dispensing operations have incorporated rework as part of their process…

A Brief Review

Now that we’re at our fourth and final installment of this series, it’s a good time for a quick review.

 

In Part I, we covered growth markets for automation and how many new industries are turning towards it.  

 

We explored how natural it seems to automate fluid dispensing due to its importance to the appearance and performance of our products, and the importance and complexity of automation when it comes to producing precise, flawless results in a fluid dispensing process.

 

Finally, we looked at some situations that create the need for rework in our automated fluid dispensing processes.  We concluded  that, despite the fact that a robot can reliably repeat motion, we often end up having to “clean up” after our application process so we can meet shipments and control scrap costs.  

 

In Part II we looked at examples of “countermeasures” we take to correct deficiencies in our automated fluid dispensing process like brushing out sealer beads, cleaning off excess adhesive, buffing out paint, or even sanding and repainting certain areas.

 

We also examined the driving factors that make it easy for these practices to become permanent fixtures in our process, noting that we choose to call them "Touch-up” or “Finesse” or “Final Inspection”, but at the end of the day, they’re still rework.  

 

And finally, in Part III, we got into detail about the root causes of many of the defects that drive us to incorporate rework.  We related the “Temperature Hierarchy” and the “Viscosity vs. Temperature Relationship” for modern industrial fluids and how they combine to create variation in key fundamentals like spray pattern and bead shape.

 

But perhaps one of the most important take-aways from Part III is how easy it is to let our assumptions about what is under control and what is not betray our common logic.

 

So, to wrap this series up, we need to figure out how we can use all of that information to systematically eliminate rework from our operation altogether.

Where Do We Start?

To eliminate rework in manufacturing, we need to start at the point of the rework and work backwards, measuring everything in the process path to identify those parameters that are causing the defects in the first place – the real root cause(s).  

Benchmark

Objective evaluation is made easier if you benchmark.  

 

Benchmark against your industry standards (often available from trade organizations).  

 

Benchmark against your equipment suppliers’ specifications.

 

Benchmark against your competition.

 

Benchmark against any metric that helps you honestly evaluate what you really do have under control and, more importantly, what you don’t.  

 

And don’t be complacent with average numbers.  Drive hard to be in the top 5%.

 

Seek out innovative perspectives in your industry.  

 

Ask your suppliers.  

 

Ask your customers.  

 

Alternate perspectives can help you uncover problems you’ve overlooked or otherwise taken for granted.  And you’ll probably be surprised how willing they’ll be to help.

 

Once the big issues have been identified, investigate and incorporate new procedures and technologies that can help convert process variables into process constants. What you ultimately want is a process that produces predictable and repeatable results.

 

You might recognize these as the foundations of any good Continuous Improvement platform.)

Rework Doesn’t Have to be Part of Your Process

We call it part of our process, but it’s still rework.  We just feel better about it.

  

The real problem is that rework reintroduces manual operations and subjective judgements into processes that we have spent significant money, time, and effort to automate. And it is very likely that the cost savings associated with the elimination of manual labor and quality defects were high on the list of justifications that got the project approved in the first place.

 

I titled (and opened) this series based on a seemingly simple, yet provocative question posed by SCS’ own Mark Portelli.  It’s important because it points out that this is not a singular event. Rework becomes part of your process slowly over time.  

 

And that makes it easy to rationalize; easy to dismiss as “that’s the way we’ve always done it.”

 

So let’s end where we started: with a question. 

 

What’s the true cost if you don’t continue to innovate and improve? 

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Will you be passed over for new business?  

 

Will you lose customers?  

 

Will you go out of business?

 

Only you know. But if you’re willing to look at what’s causing rework in your process, you’re already ahead of the game.

 

Want help evaluating your process? Get in touch with our experts to schedule a consultation today!