Anoplate
Corporation is a plating job shop that publishes a quarterly newsletter covering
not only activities at the company, but also explaining to its employees and customers
the intricacies of the finishing processes it provides and why management does
the things it does.
The most recent issue is
a super example of how Anoplate lets its employees know how certain decisions
affect the entire company and make the company a better place for all the employees.
In the Spring 2001 issue, Anoplate describes the benefits of having an ISO 9002
quality management system by providing practical, everyday examples of how and
why it works.
Example 1: Dry-film lubricants
and various organic coatings are applied to parts following various chemical treatments.
Many of these require various cure schedules prior to final inspection. Whether
or not a part is finished often is not evident to an untrained inspector. For
one such job, the customer needed parts, and the parts looked finished, meeting
adhesion and thickness requirements. The parts were shipped even though the paint
operator's signature was not on the job sheet.
Whoops! The paint operator
returned the next day to give the parts their secondary cure and found them shipped.
ThisTeflon required
two cure temperatures and had only seen the first cure. The parts were returned
and cured. However, now with ISO 9002, that should not happen.
Example 2: Some tubular
parts were designated for nickel plating with a specification that said "for
corrosion resistance." The plater rationalized that EN would better coat
the ID of the tube and provide more corrosion resistance. Well, in the customer's
assembly the parts were heated to 1000C and the EN softened and fused the parts
together. This would not have happened with pure electroplated nickel, which melts
at 1453C. Anoplate now avoids such departures from control using Process Control
Element 9 of its ISO 9002. Documented work instructions are issued that demand
operators obtain any departures in writing along with suitable authorization.
Letting the employees know
why things are done the way they are and how they are affected by management decisions
can make for a more cooperative work force. Anoplate has found a practical way
to accomplish this.
