I wrote an article a few months ago about manufacturing processes and their control. I illustrated this with the process of making a cup of coffee. A lot of things go into it: How to make a good cup of coffee? By using: The … [Read more...]
3 Basic Process Improvement Tools: Flow Chart, FMEA, Control Plan
There are 3 basic process improvement tools that you can use to help you plan ahead to avoid missteps that might be quite costly: The Process flow chart The Process FMEA (Failure Mode & Effects Analysis) The control plan … [Read more...]
The Right Way To Approach Production Automation
The Detroit Free Press just published a good article, Robots descending on Michigan industrial workplaces in record numbers, that describes what happens in the US but has a lot of significance for Chinese manufacturers too. Let's go … [Read more...]
How a Chinese Factory Can Get ISO 9001 Certified
I wrote before about the way certain consultants are routinely hired by manufacturers to “make paperwork look good”. It is the norm in China. However, some factory owners really want to manage their business in accordance with best … [Read more...]
Why Chinese Factories Don’t Get Better: Constant Fire Fighting
I came up on a really insightful article entitled Stop Fighting Fires. It was published in the Harvard Business Review in 2000 and is still very relevant. The authors identified the following 6 symptoms that are common to all … [Read more...]
The Best of Process Improvement Tools: The Flow Chart
Do you want to make changes in your, or your supplier's, factory? The question is, where to start? There are countless process improvement tools. Some lean purists say, draw a value stream map and strategize about what needs to be done … [Read more...]
Using Statistics To Improve Production Quality in China
I have covered at length how to use statistics to accept/refuse a batch of product based on a random sample. Those statistics are usually the only ones the typical production manager has ever come in contact with! I have visited hundreds … [Read more...]
Solving a Quality Problem Seldom Necessitates High-Tech Engineering
In many companies, and in particular in many Chinese companies, the response to problems is often "let's invest in technology". Unfortunately, spending a lot of resources on engineering is seldom the best solution. I just read a great … [Read more...]
3 Steps for Manufacturing ‘Off-The-Shelf’ Products in China
About 2 months ago, I posted a video about the steps to make a customized product in China. I noted that most of the steps outlined in that video don't apply when the importer is buying simple products that don't require serious … [Read more...]
A Control Chart You Can Ask Your Chinese Suppliers to Keep Track Of
A few days ago I introduced a basic statistical tool (the capability index) that is simple and can be represented visually, so that any Chinese factory can understand it and try to improve it. Today I want to introduce the p chart. It is … [Read more...]
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