QualityInspection.org

Quality Assurance, Product Development, and Purchasing Strategies in China

Auditing the Processes of a Rubber Molding Factory in China

Today we are focusing on the way to audit a rubber molding process. It is quite common in tire factories, but also in many other productions. What are the Rubber Molding Processes? Processing rubber to produce final products for end use really depends on what the shape and product is. The main processes for shaping rubber are Extrusion, Compression Molding, Transfer Molding, and Injection Molding. Tires are the principal product of the rubber industry; tires are about 75% of total rubber … [Read more...]

7 Common Mistakes Revealed by Factory Org Charts

One of the first things we look at, during factory audits, is the organization chart. And it often points to serious operational dysfunctions. The ISO 9001 standard does not require an org chart to be prepared (it only asks for the definition and communication of authority lines). It is a very common document, though, and many Chinese manufacturers fall into the same pitfalls. Mistake 1: not having a quality department Most small workshops don't have personnel dedicated to checking quality … [Read more...]

Quality System Audits vs. Process-Specific Audits

When it comes to estimating how reliable a potential supplier is, most importers choose to send a quality auditor. There are advantages to this approach, but experience has taught me that it is not always the best option. In this article I want to contrast conventional "quality management system audits" based on ISO 9001 and what I call "process-specific audits". 1. Quality System Audits The checklist is generic and is designed to be relevant to any process. Advantages The auditor … [Read more...]

What to Do When A Supplier Can’t Provide Product Certifications?

As I wrote in How to Check Lab Test Certificates/Reports?, I guess that  10-30% of the product certifications given by Chinese suppliers to their customers are fake. A "fake" certification is often a real certificate that was issued regularly by an accredited testing laboratory and that was later "photoshopped" to show another product and/or supplier name. Another popular method is that of obtaining a "real" certificate that doesn't correspond to actual tests (in other words, the result is … [Read more...]

7 Signs of a Poorly Managed Chinese Factory

Before you can evaluate a Chinese manufacturer's quality level or engineering capabilities, one thing should jump at you: are they well managed? I made a list of 7 signs that you should observe when touring a plant. Let's start at the top... 1. The boss keeps sipping tea with friends in his office I know that being a good host is important in China. I know that personal relationships are important. But how can the boss stay on top of what happens if he spends 3-5 hours a day chatting and having … [Read more...]

Setting up Injection Molding Machines in China

Many importers complain about the lack of technical expertise in Chinese factories. In most cases, there is one key engineer who "works his magic". And, when he is gone, really bad things start to come out. Setting up injection molding machines is one of these things that require deep experience, and that can ruin a whole batch if handled improperly. And, to make things more difficult, the engineer in charge of doing and fine-tuning the setup seldom (never?) speaks English. Communication … [Read more...]

ISO 9001: More Popular in China than in the US or Japan

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) shows how many companies are currently ISO 9001 certified in each country: And the highest number of ISO 9001-registered companies is... China. And that number is on the rise. Is this surprising? No, for two reasons: China probably counts the highest number of manufacturing companies, and the ISO 9001 standard is mostly implemented in the industrial sector. Many registrars in China are very lax. Getting accredited is easy, … [Read more...]

A simple method to find a production problem’s root cause(s)

The biggest frustration I have with Chinese engineers is their lack of interest in fixing the root cause of a problem. Let’s say a machine’s printing mechanism deviates to the right, and their customer’s logo is totally disfigured. If they know their customer, they understand it is a real problem. So, what will they tend to do? A correction. They will reposition what has deviated, so that the logo looks good again… for now. And what do they tend to forget? The corrective action — making … [Read more...]

Suggestions for factory improvements in China: make it visual

Last week I spent two days in a factory, studying a process and thinking of ways to improve it without spending any big money. It made me realize something very important about communication with Chinese people. They are happy to buy into an idea that is proven, but they won't give a chance to something that is "up in the air". Here is how it went. I wanted to improve the flow in a powder coating workshop. Metal parts arrived after several baths, went into an oven, got covered in … [Read more...]

Chinese factory TURNAROUND: is it good to hire new managers?

When a factory gets sold, the new owner generally brings a new general manager (GM) in. And what does the GM do? He evaluates the top managers and seeks to replace the under-performers. This is expected in a typical factory turnaround. He typically finds the replacements among his former team -- at his former employer. It allows for quick hires of proven managers and engineers. However, as Kim Pen from Chinese Manufacturing Consultants tells me, it can backfire … [Read more...]