Success Stories : Case Studies
First-Time Quality in an Assembly Process
SITUATION:
The valve assembly process of an automotive supplier had a rolled throughput yield of 75%.
CHALLENGE:
A low yield meant loss of production, high labor cost, and the inability of the company to deliver product on time to the customer.
IMPACT:
The ability to resolve the issues of yield would improve the competitive position of the company by reducing material and labor costs.
SIMONS-WHITE PROVIDED:
Based on extensive statistical and Pareto analysis, it was decided to target the leading causes of failures with the valve assembly. The solutions resulted in adding a cleaning operation prior to the assembly process to ensure cleanliness of components and reduce resistance cased by friction in the valve.
A Design of Experiment was developed to identify the factors that contributed to leakage in the assembly. The results of the experiment enabled the team working on the project to establish settings for the component.
RESULTS:
Overall the yield improved to 93%, which delivered an average annual savings of $300,000.
