Integrating Performance-Enhancing Systems with Skill & Imagination
Integrating a system with the potential to improve the speed and accuracy of Phoenix Mecano’s product inspection process takes experience, skill, imagination, and persistence– qualities that Quality & Manufacturing Manager Rebekah Collogan saw in our longtime employee Kevin Lenderman.
“We needed to implement a Quality Audit System that could automate the inspection process to make it faster, more efficient, and more accurate,” said Collogan. “Kevin was the obvious choice to lead the testing and training team. He is an accomplished mechanical engineer with experience in automation, quality control, and Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) (a system for defining and communicating engineering tolerances.) He has a detail-oriented approach to product development that is crucial to a project like this. Developing a reliable, quality product means not accepting the obvious as the root cause of an issue– Kevin is extremely persistent and thorough with that part of any project.”
Phoenix Mecano’s new Quality Audit System compares a full scan of a finished product with its 3D model to check for machining accuracy. While the inspection process would generally take about 30 minutes, this system can provide a full inspection and report in under five minutes. Because it preserves the history of the product being scanned, the new system also allows for reverse engineering.
Our new Quality Audit System fits well within Phoenix Mecano’s employee development culture as well as our Statistical Process Control (SPC) environment. An advantage of SPC over other methods of quality control is that it emphasizes early detection and prevention of problems, rather than the correction of problems after they have occurred. In addition to reducing waste, SPC can lead to a reduction in manufacturing time and make it less likely that a finished product will need to be reworked or scrapped.
“This system provides value to everyone in the company,” said Collogan. “The new Quality Audit System will expand the capability and performance of every department– we’re looking at it as a company investment.”