Reducing False Failures in Metrology

1. Reducing False Failures inMetrology TECH 581: Champion/Design Phase John R. Ulrich Fall 2013

2. Project Selection The project chosen was given to me by my company and we want to reduce the number of false failures when calibrating client equipment

3. Project Selection Matrix This slide is unnecessary because the problem was given to me by a company and has been deemed their biggest issue and is the problem they wish to focus on

4. From the Project Charter…. Principle stakeholders Business case Problem statement Project Scope Goal Statement Project deliverables Project schedule

5. Principle Stakeholders

6. Business Case:Reducing the number of false failures during calibration The aim of this process is to reduce the number of false failures experienced in the laboratory at Tangent Labs. If the organization can reduce the number of false failures for equipment that is calibrated, there will be fewer complaints lodged with the company, avoidable corrective actions won’t surface, and the clients will be able to better rely on the company and the company can provide a more solid service. The primary target of this process is to reduce the number of false failures. The secondary target is to improve client satisfaction and improve laboratory confidence in getting measurement results. In the metrology industry, having confidence in your calibration provider is essential to a company’s success. You have to be able to rely on the service they provide so that you can be confident that he equipment you had calibrated was done correctly and that when you are using that equipment in your processes you can be confident that your own measurement results are correct. Company’s use the calibrated equipment to manufacture their own items and they also use it to calibrate their own items in house. If a client suspects they are not getting good calibrations they will never use your services again.

7. Problem Statement • Problem Statement: The industry standard for percentage of failures is 5% for all calibrations. A failure is when a piece of equipment is found to be out of tolerance. Currently, Tangent Labs has an overall failure rate of 27% which is far above what a typical lab should experience. The problem impacts the organization in the following ways: • Decreases client satisfaction • Decreases number of clients • Affects A2LA assessment negatively • Costs more money per calibration for the company • Raises confidence concerns with ability to calibrate properly

8. Project Objective and Scope • Objective: • Decrease the number of false calibration failures to get the failure rate back to below 10%, which is closer to the industry standard of 5% • Scope: • The phenomenon being addressed begins with the sales representative taking an order to get equipment in the door and it ends with the lab technician calibrating and passing or failing that equipment. The other departments such as shipping, cleaning, and check-out are not within the scope of this project.

9. Goal Statement and Deliverables • Goal Statement: Improve overall process from order being taken to calibration sticker being put on finished equipment; specifically by making sure all calibration requirements are explicit during the sale to making sure each technician is trained adequately for all calibrations being performed to get the failure rate down under 10%. • Deliverables (long-term, end results of project): • Decrease number of failures from current rate of 29% to under 10% • Reduce amount of time it takes to review failures • Decrease number of errors in sales representatives not giving technicians accurate information needed for each calibration

10. Project Schedule

13. Voice of the Customer Analysis • Key stakeholders surveyed: • CEO • COO • Director of Metrology/Quality Manager • Service Manager • Clients

14. VoC – SWOT Analysis Strengths Have good enough equipment to ensure no false failures occur Have reputation in industry for being reliable Director of Metrology has been trained by a Doctored mentor in measurement and can offer good implementation techniques Support from CEO and COO Enough capital to make improvements should any be monetary in nature

15. VoC – SWOT Analysis Weaknesses Front end of office (sales) does not communicate with back end (technicians) Each department operates in a silo Not enough cross trained technicians Lack of meetings to address failures Lack of motivation among technicians to ensure calibration is correct

16. VoC – SWOT Analysis Opportunities • Improve overall communication between the front end and back end • Improve quality of training of technicians to provide quality calibrations • Build confidence with CEO and COO that calibrations are being done correctly • Restore the culture of the team being a family and all helping out

17. VoC – SWOT Analysis Threats Could possibly create a bigger division and resentment between front end and back end Could cost too much money if extra monitoring is needed Technician pushback is a possible issue Calibration turn around times could be slowed Decreased sales if sales reps have to learn new systems

18. Customers are the management team as well as the technicians and myself. CTQ is definitely setting up the calibrations right with the proper information before the equipment even gets into the lab. KPOV’s are the time it takes a technician to calibrate a piece of equipment and know if his failure is good or not or if he needs someone elses approval to fail that equipment

19. Rough ROI Analysis By decreasing the number of false failures at Tangent Labs, their clients will be happier and more confident with their calibrations and lab technicians will have access to better training and be more confident that when they fail something it is an actual failure. When a failure has to be double checked by the service manager and quality manager, that costs the company time and money. If this step is taken to ensure that the failure rate is closer to the industry standard, there should be an uptick in sales and satisfaction among clients. If this is done properly, the company will actually save money if it invests a little capital now to make this happen Increased satisfaction of client base Quicker turnaround times if lab technicians are confident with their measurements Can utilize the quality manager in other more pressing needs saving time Improve quality of work for assessment pruposes