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Component Manufacturing dverti$er
Don’t Forget! You Saw it in the
Adverti$er
August 2019 #11241 Page #34
Does the Manufacturing Facility’s Environment Affect Quality? an quality be determined by examining the environment of the facility manufacturing the product? It seems like the two are unrelated, but, after evaluating hundreds of facilities, quality seems to be proportional to the environment of the manufacturing. By this, I’m not saying that brand new plants make better products— that’s not true. The environment I am talking about involves the overall surroundings, settings, and especially the atmosphere of the truss plant. Even more esoteric, the culture of the facility is a great indicator that the plant manufactures quality products.
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In order to discuss this concept further, we need to clarify two terms that are used almost interchangeably: Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC). While these are definitely related, the terms are not interchangeable. The difference is: QA is the process and QC is the product measurement. When we are talking about QA, we are talking about culture. While the QC procedure helps the company make quality products, it is only part of the story. It is the QA that ensures products are meeting the demands of the industry.
The four steps in a solid QA program are Establishment of Standards, Measurement of Actual Performance, Comparison of Actual Performance, and then ultimately Corrective Action. Establishment of Standards Most plants in the US rely on the Standards developed and referred to as the ANSI/TPI 1–2014. Quality is discussed in Chapter 3. It provides a process and standard for measuring quality. When quality is discussed with plants that do not follow the TPI standard, they almost always state, “but we are building a quality product.” Even so, with further discussion, it becomes apparent their program lacks standards, measurement, and inspections. Without these elements, a true QA program is not possible. Measurement of Actual Performance A solid QA program must measure actual performance. This means physical inspections, measurements of critical elements, and documentation of these elements. Without the paperwork, the inspection information cannot be transferred and used to improve the process, and evaluation is not possible. Continued next page
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