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

October 16, 2020

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3 Basic Process Improvement Tools: Flow Chart, FMEA, Control Plan

November 30, 2017

3 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 (both for product and for the process) And there is a logical order that you can follow. This is very relevant in these situations: If you wonder why you still suffer from quality issues, even though the process is quite mature and seems to be well … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Process Improvement Tagged With: control plan, flow charts, FMEA, new factory, process improvement, process improvement tools, quality issues

How to reduce costs in a factory? The lean approach.

February 18, 2013

The number one challenge of Chinese suppliers is price, as revealed by a recent survey. Their costs keep rising, but price competition is stronger and stronger. Factory owners spend a lot of time trying to reduce costs. Unfortunately, they tend to focus only on three levers to keep their costs under control: Negotiating down material prices; Limiting salary raises; Pushing the employees to work hard, for long hours. These are actually NOT the main drivers of cost though... … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Process Improvement Tagged With: 7 wastes, chinese factories, cost reduction, eliminating waste, lean, lean manufacturing, process improvement


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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