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Process FMEA: Template, Use Cases, and Examples

September 5, 2022 by Renaud Anjoran

Process FMEA: Template, Use Cases, and Examples

The Process FMEA is so useful... and so poorly conducted a lot of the time. There is an art to it, just like there is an art to conducting a solid root cause analysis. It seems to be quite a difficult and unnatural exercise for most engineers, technicians, and managers in China or Vietnam. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Process Improvement Tagged With: failure, FMEA, process FMEA, process improvement

What’s a Supplier Development Program, and Why Implement One? [Podcast]

April 16, 2022 by Adrian Leighton

What's a Supplier Development Program, and Why Implement One? [Podcast]

In this episode… Let's say you're now working with a new supplier who’s doing your manufacturing in China (or elsewhere in Asia). No doubt some things will be great, and there may be issues that you wish could improve. Rather than abandoning a supplier with some problems, how to develop them to obtain better performance and results? A supplier development program is for you. Furthermore, what sort of results should we be aiming for if we embark upon such a supplier development program? … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sourcing New Suppliers Tagged With: process improvement, quality improvement, supplier development, supplier development program

How To Improve Supplier Performance? [Podcast]

June 25, 2021 by Adrian Leighton

How To Improve Supplier Performance? [Podcast]

In this episode... Renaud talks you through a common query that we get on a regular basis when customers ask us: "How do I get my suppliers to improve?" A recent survey of importers found that 70% said that their biggest challenge was working with suppliers to improve performance. So, with this in mind, Renaud goes through the topic based on training that he gave for European Chamber of Commerce in China members on improving suppliers with a focus on product quality, delivery times, price, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Supplier Management Tagged With: improving quality, podcast, process improvement, supplier improvement, supply chain improvement, tips for importers

An Introduction to Root Cause Analysis (Not Just for Manufacturing)

October 16, 2020 by Renaud Anjoran

An Introduction to Root Cause Analysis (Not Just for Manufacturing)

One of the most frustrating aspects of working with Chinese suppliers is that, for the most part, they don't want to (or cannot) conduct a root cause analysis. Let's say you found a serious issue in one of your productions and you don't want it to come back in the future. You ask for an investigation into that problem. And they come back with very superficial responses that are clearly still far from exposing root causes. Here are very common excuses: "It is due to an issue on the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Process Improvement Tagged With: 8D, fixing problems, process improvement, root cause analysis

Defining and Enforcing Manufacturing Processes for Better Control

October 5, 2020 by Renaud Anjoran

Defining and Enforcing Manufacturing Processes for Better Control

As David Collins from CMC often says, there are 5 key success factors that determine a factory’s performance: Production Planning, Incoming Material, Workforce Training, Process Control and Equipment Maintenance. In this article, I'd like to focus two of these success factors: workforce training and process control. And, more specifically, on the way to evaluate how manufacturing processes were defined and how they are kept in place in daily practice. I am reading the latest edition … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Factory Audits Tagged With: manufacturing process controls, process audits, process control, process improvement

How To Fill Out an 8D Report and Fix a Problem in a Factory

April 1, 2020 by Renaud Anjoran

How To Fill Out an 8D Report and Fix a Problem in a Factory

Filling out an 8D report means following a highly-structured approach to understanding, addressing, and (in the future) avoiding a problem. It is particularly effective for issues that are important and relatively complex. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Process Improvement Tagged With: 8D, 8D reports, process control, process improvement, product improvement

A Good Way To Analyze Data to Drive Process Improvements

January 13, 2020 by Renaud Anjoran

measures of success mark graban

I just read the book Measures of Success by Mark Graban, and I found it does a great job of covering the basics of how managers should work with data. His whole approach is largely based on concepts from Don Wheeler's books. If you are not familiar with Don Wheeler, he is the most respected manufacturing-focused statistician of the past 30 years. Graban covers what to do in two cases managers don't like to see.   Case 1: an unstable process leading to a widely fluctuating … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Process Improvement Tagged With: books, data, process improvement, process improvement tools, process improvements, root cause analysis

How Quality Planning Drives QC and Process Improvement

November 18, 2019 by Renaud Anjoran

How Quality Planning Drives QC and Process Improvement

What does quality management consist of? Juran wrote about this first in 1986, and he suggested 3 types of activities that make up the "Juran trilogy": Planning Quality control Improvement … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quality Control Tips Tagged With: process improvement, process improvement tools, QC, quality assurance, quality control, quality planning

All about the Metal Machining Process, Surface Finishes, and Tolerances [videos]

October 7, 2019 by Renaud Anjoran

metal machining

For all the talk about 3D printing (also called additive manufacturing), the vast majority of metal products are shaped into their final form by subtracting material using metal machining processes. Even when a component or product is cast, it is nearly always finished on a CNC machine. If your products include metal components, some material is very likely to be subtracted at some point of its fabrication. So, our senior engineer Paul prepared a series of videos that cover (nearly) all … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Process Improvement Tagged With: boring, broaching, drilling, EDM, grinding, laser engraving, metal, metal machining, metal products, milling, process improvement, reaming, shaping, subtractive production, turning

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

February 27, 2019 by Renaud Anjoran

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

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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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