Comments on Advance Care Planning is Wrong Podcast with Sean Morrison Aug 2020

 https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/comments-advance-care-planning-wrong-podcast-sean-morrison-cachat

Want to know how bad the current Supplier PPAP process is? Ask a Supplier Quality Engineer.

 

Want to know how bad the current Supplier PPAP process is?  Ask a Supplier Quality Engineer.

 

Don’t believe them? Ask the suppliers.

 

I recently came across an interesting document - Production Part Approval Process Evaluation, A Case Study at a Large OEM, Master’s Thesis in the Master Program Quality and Operations Management, by Albert Rydström Joakim Viström, January 2020. (Source)

 

I felt compelled to share this research because it clearly documents that Executives really don’t know how the Supplier and internal Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) is full of waste (non-lean) and variation (non-6 sigma) and is a barrier to Flawless Product Launches and Zero Defect efforts.   Supplier PPAP is intended to minimize risk and reduce costs!

 

The research is clear.  Want to know how bad the current Supplier PPAP process is?  Ask a Supplier Quality Engineer!   SQEs will tell you it is highly administrative and perceived as non-value added.

 

 

 

Another aspect of this that can be linked to the high administrative workload is the lack of system support in connection to PPAP. This makes it hard for the SQEs to keep track of activities and manage the incoming documents in a straightforward way. When historical documentation is needed this also puts a strain on the SQEs since they need to go to the supplier and ask for it. This was cumbersome by the SQEs and was deemed to increase the administrative burden.

PPAP documentation handling was deemed to be administrative, and it is an example of when the employees do not see the added value for the end customer.

 

Anyone who has read my previous articles, or attended my webinars, knows my focus on People, Process, then Software (PeProSo).  I am not suggesting software solves all the People and Process issues documented in the research, but I do know that trying to emphasize that PLM apps, highly engineered QMS apps, just project management software, and Supplier Portals do not address the People and Process issues.  Simply uploading spreadsheets to other systems does not work.

 

Why does uploading spreadsheets not work?   Because the Supplier and SQEs know that it is viewed as a simple project management task that needs to be checked off to ship parts.  I had a Supplier tell me that they simply take old spreadsheets, do a File Save As, and simply change the part number and submit, because “the Customer never reviews these documents.”

 

The most important reason is the SQEs really want to help suppliers.  SQEs walk into a supplier that has been providing high precision machining, stampings, plastic inject modelling, and more, for two to three generations and they do not get PPAP.  SQEs explain it is not big deal, because what we are asking is part of your culture that makes you successful.  PPAP is just asking:

·        How are your going to make it?  (Process Flow)

·        What are the risks? (PFMEA)

·        How are you going to manage the risks? (Control Plan)

This is an opportunity to change from the Supplier / Sourcing conversation from “PPAP will cost you more” to “we have a robust PPAP process, do the low cost suppliers I am competing with have the same?”

Imagine the ability, when reviewing a Supplier MRB/NCM, to go into the PFMEA and see if either we did not even know about the risk, or we knew about the risk and simply missed it.   Review Severity, Occurrence, and Detection values to drive a conversation with the Suppliers.  The SQEs will love it.

Imagine the ability, when reviewing a Supplier CAR, to go into the PFMEA and look at the right side of the form to see Recommended Actions (Corrective Actions) to see RPN reduction.

If companies can provide a simple Supplier PPAP document authoring tool as a “baby step” that can be taken today and will be accepted by the SQE and Supply Chain.  I know this because I have spent the last three years talking with hundreds of Suppliers and SQEs.

Here are the recommendations:

·        Short Term - Focus on Improving Knowledge Sharing Internally and Externally

·        Medium Term – Conduct an External Study and Implement IT System

 

By having a transparent communication channel, the OEM and supplier will be able to decrease product development and PPAP risks. Also, it will mitigate the risk of losing valuable information and documentation from the supplier in case a SQE is absent or quits or is laid off.

The external study means asking Suppliers.  The number of software purchase for Supplier PPAP that fail is huge, because you never asked the Suppliers.  Several software tools start with the DFMEA, which of course, most Suppliers do not have design authority.  This immediately turns them off.

 

Here is a software demo recording that shows what a simple, yet powerful, next step to a relational database to replace spreadsheets looks like, that was designed by Suppliers using spreadsheets.

https://vimeo.com/463890338

 

Need help convincing your executive team? I can help.

 

John M. Cachat

PeProSo, LLC

jmc@peproso.com

www.linkedin.com/in/johncachat

Stop Managing the Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) with emails and spreadsheets – FREE – Thur. Feb 6 at 11 AM EST

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2267705753296667139

Stop Managing the Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) with emails and spreadsheets – FREE – Thur. Feb 6 at 11 AM EST.  Certificate of Attendance will be provided, and recording will be made available.

This webinar will discuss how the Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) can either be a significant risk or a significant benefit to your company.   

Finance - PPAP approval impacts revenue recognition and cash flow

Engineering – on-time product launch makes money, delays cost money

Legal – the product liability lawyers are now asking more than just FMEA, they want to see the PPAP

Purchasing – if you do not actually review the Supplier PPAP information, don’t ask for it

Marketing – protect the brand – no recalls

Sales – use a robust PPAP process as a competitive advantage

No Supplier PPAP is better than a bad Supplier PPAP ! Nov 21, 2019

AS13004 Software Demo Scheduled for Industry Review - PR4US

AS13004 Software Demo Scheduled for Industry Review - PR4US

ISO 9001:2015 Transition Made Easy and Fun and Profitable

Once every 10 or 15 years, Quality Professionals are given the opportunity to make significant contributions to their company, their profession, and their career.   This is one of these times! This is a game changer!

ISO 9001:2015 is the first major revision of the standard since 2000, and it has been written with today’s business challenges in mind. The changes make it flexible enough to offer multiple benefits to organizations not just as a quality management tool, but a significant framework for business improvement, delivering efficiencies and improving customer satisfaction

Two big things – the QA manual is no longer required and the highest ranking executive at the facility is responsible for quality with emphasis on leadership engagement – not the QA Manger, not the ISO management rep.

Skeptics have argued against Quality Manuals for decades by asking where is your Engineering Manual? HR Manual? Marketing Manual? Every organization now gets a chance to create business driven process maps and process flows. This is a great way to apply all sorts of good business practices instead of just updating an old quality manual based on a new ISO standard that no one reads except during an audit.

Every quality professional gets to actively engage leadership with business driven conversations instead of “You have to for ISO.” The addition of risk based thinking appeals to every executive that has been frustrated by what has been perceived as a costly and non-value add QA/QC stuff done for ISO compliance – the plaque on the wall.   For an example, please review “Bridging the Gap between Quality and Finance”- https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/21171045

Transition steps

• Find an external resource to help that speaks in business talk and understands traditional QMS, in that order. Do not engage a resources that only speaks ISO standards and ISO paragraphs and what auditors will look for – we are leaving that behind and going into a new and powerful business approach.
• Provide appropriate training and awareness for all parties
• Learn and rapidly adopt a process map / process workflow approach. Key business metrics will come from these processes – make sure you are collecting data and have a reporting engine.
• Apply the process modeling across the entire organization – this is a business system, not just a quality management system. Get the executive team involved – they own the process, they should create, approve, and audit the new process definitions.
• Check the registration timeline and plan for it – it you do not get re-certified and your certification expires, you have to start over with the registrar.   This is an expensive mistake you want to avoid.
• Decide if any manual, labor intensive, time consuming process should be automated. Make sure data is being collected, reported, and actions taken.

Summary
ISO 9001:2015 is less rigid than previous versions and incorporates more business management terminology and concepts. Documentation requirements are left to the organization to judge its own needs. The standard is written for the benefit of organizations, not auditors.

How Can I Help You?
I am providing half day Executive Overviews, and 5 day, 10 day, and 20 day engagement plans that are customized to meet your specific needs. Send me an email to learn more at jmc@peproso.com
I am working with ISO9001, ISO13485, AS9100 and TS16949 sectors

http://peproso.com/recomendations/

Ethical and Societal Implications of Automated Vehicles - Joe Barkai

Ethical and Societal Implications of Automated Vehicles - Joe Barkai