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The Problem With Visual Management Boards in Factories

March 28, 2019

The Problem With Visual Management Boards in Factories

Visual management boards of some kind are now basically the norm in all factories belonging to a multinational group, so they must be effective, right? I'm not so sure. Not that they cannot be useful (they CAN be VERY useful), but, in most cases I have witnessed, these boards just aren't contributing as much to lean initiatives or process improvement as factory management would like them to be. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In The Factory, Process Improvement Tagged With: factory performance, lean, project management, visual management, visual management boards

How To Keep A Clean Factory And Stop Dust On A Budget

March 22, 2019

How To Keep A Clean Factory And Stop Dust On A Budget

In many industries, one of the most common reasons for defective goods is dust contamination, and they have adopted different cleanliness standards (see the Wikipedia page on cleanrooms and factory cleanliness). If you have visited Chinese factories in certain industries, you have probably seen their efforts in that regard. During our factory audits, we always give a grade about general organization and cleanliness. What advice can I offer about maintaining a clean factory without spending … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In The Factory, Process Improvement Tagged With: clean factory, cleanroom, factory audits, factory performance, process improvements

What Are the Process Inputs & Parameters to Keep under Control?

February 27, 2019

What Are the Process Inputs & Parameters to Keep under Control?

In our daily jobs, we are in contact with hundreds of different manufacturing processes. We don't always have time to observe the process and use tools such as flow charts, FMEAs, and so on. If that's the case, how do we keep control more easily? … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Process Improvement Tagged With: flowcharts, FMEA, process control, process FMEA, process improvement, process inputs

Benefits of ISO 9001 for a Chinese manufacturing organization

January 28, 2019

Benefits of ISO 9001 for a Chinese manufacturing organization

I wrote recently about ISO 9001: What are the standard and the certification process 10 ways it can get poorly implemented in a factory To summarize my view on this topic: It is a good standard, keeping in mind that it was designed to apply to all sorts of organizations Many companies did not implement it the right way, as they took shortcuts and they were only interested in the 'marketing impact' of a certification The real culprit is the way registrar bodies audit and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: ISO 9001, Process Improvement Tagged With: China, chinese factories, ISO 9001

Factory Audit Tips: 10 Signs of a Bad ISO 9001 Implementation

January 17, 2019

Factory Audit Tips: 10 Signs of a Bad ISO 9001 Implementation

A few days ago, I wrote about the basics of ISO 9001 -- both the standard and the certification/registration process. I got some comments on Linkedin about how useless ISO 9001 is. It is useless indeed in many manufacturing facilities I have visited, and the key reasons are: Poor implementation (because managers want to take shortcuts), combined with Inadequate auditing (lack of understanding of processes and of what is important, and lax enforcement of the standard by many registrar … [Read more...]

Filed Under: ISO 9001, Process Improvement Tagged With: factory audit tips, factory audits, ISO 9001, ISO 9001 implementation, Tips

How a Factory Can (and Should) Go Beyond ISO 9001

January 13, 2019

How a Factory Can (and Should) Go Beyond ISO 9001

I wrote a few articles about ISO 9001 recently: The standard itself pushes companies in the right direction, but the auditing & certification process has many flaws: Basics about ISO 9001: The Standard and the Certification Process The standard pushes manufacturers to think in terms of systems and processes, among other benefits: Benefits of ISO 9001 for a Chinese manufacturing organization Many factories have been certified, but implementation was really bad: Factory Audit Tips: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: ISO 9001, Process Improvement Tagged With: IATF 16949, ISO 9001, ISO/TS 16949, new product development, process control, process FMEA

Basics about ISO 9001: The Standard and the Certification Process

January 12, 2019

How many of your suppliers claim to be ISO 9001 certified? Is it true? And, to start with, what does it mean? I want to shed some light on this topic. The purpose of the ISO 9001 standard is to "help businesses and organizations to be more efficient and improve customer satisfaction". How does it do that? First, what is a Quality Management System (QMS)? Basically, a QMS is what a company puts in place to ensure it meets its customers' requirements. Among others, it includes: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: ISO 9001, Process Improvement Tagged With: ISO 9001

Tired of Your Chinese Factories’ High MOQs & Long Lead Times?

December 3, 2018

Tired of Your Chinese Factories' High MOQs & Long Lead Times?

A few months back, I wrote about how some buyers can no longer put up with their suppliers' quality issues. And I often lament on the poor state of quality systems here. In this article I'd like to mention the other enormous source of frustration for foreign buyers: the high minimum order quantities (MOQs) and the long lead times. High MOQs and long lead times are tightly linked They come from the same underlying issue: the "big batch & long queue" mentality. Industrial engineers, as … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Process Improvement Tagged With: chinese factories, lead times, moqs, organization

The Sad State of Quality Systems in Most Chinese Factories

November 8, 2018

The Sad State of Quality Systems in Most Chinese Factories

The sad truth in China is, 5% of the manufacturers are doing a good job consistently, and the rest have ups & downs that irritate and frighten Western customers. And, of those 5% that do a good job consistently, 0.5% do so because of good systems and the other 4.5% do so because operations are not very complex and management watches what happens carefully. Yes, I made these numbers up. But that's my impression after 12 years spent working here across multiple sectors (from apparel to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Process Improvement

Do Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Audits Drive Improvement?

October 31, 2018

Do Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Audits Drive Improvement?

In any industry, there are generally-accepted 'good manufacturing practices' (or GMP). And customers often audit their suppliers' operations by using those GMPs as a checklist. First, what are those 'good manufacturing practices'? Think of it as the requirements of ISO 9001 (which are vague enough to be applicable in any type of organization) + some specific manufacturing arrangements. For general consumer goods, GMPs include batch-level traceability, identification of all materials, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Process Improvement Tagged With: gmp, good manufacturing practices

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Weekly updates for professional importers on better understanding, controlling, and improving manufacturing & supply chain in China.

This is the official blog of Sofeast.com.

This blog is written by Renaud Anjoran, an ASQ Certified Quality Engineer who has been involved in Chinese manufacturing since 2005.

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