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Can something as complicated as Statistical Process Control Systems be implemented with existing equipment? All the power you need is probably on your desk right now. Today's PCs have the power of the mainframes of just a few years ago. Work- stations, LANs, servers, and mainframes can all play a role in SPC systems. G&E specializes in creating custom solutions to complex problems. The computing environment is usually not the problem. Selecting the right pieces and putting them together in unique ways to accomplish your objectives is G&E's specialty. Polaroid’s SPC was built solely out of existing pieces of Polaroid's computing environment. We used their favorite spreadsheets (Quattro for one system, Excel for another), their databases (RDB for one, Access for another), their existing PCs and DEC PathWorks LAN to build SPC systems for all their camera assembly lines. Some data is collected by automatic testers, some is collected by inspectors with tally sheets. Either way G&E provided a custom solution that makes data entry and report access so easy that production line workers are responsible for operation of the system. Yet the charts and statistics satisfy all data requirements for the industrial engineers.
Experience In 1992 Polaroid, began production of the Captiva. Marketed first in Germany as the Vision, then in Japan as the JoyCam, Polaroid needed world-class quality to win over finicky consumers. To achieve the coveted Six Sigma level of quality, Polaroid needed a Statistical Process Control (SPC) system to monitor dozens of camera performance characteristics. G&E Systems created a totally customized SPC for Polaroid's camera production line. The Polaroid production line is highly automated; dozens of robots assemble hundreds of small parts into each camera. Automated test stands controlled by PCs test every shutter and completed camera. The test stands upload their test results to a LAN server at the end of each shift. The SPC system is a client/server application running on any PC connected to the LAN. Detailed data for every shutter and camera is extracted from the server. The system then produces summary results: · Pareto of failures directing attention to the most critical problems
· Histograms (both overall and segregated by tester) of each characteristic with upper control limit, lower control limit, and target · Tables under each histogram comparing mean, sigma, Cp, and Cpk achieved with the nominal specification, tolerance and quality standard (generally, Cpk = 1.5 or 3 ppm)
· Charts showing the previous sixty days' performance · Reports on details of each failure detected Polaroid views this SPC as the key to achieving a six sigma quality standard and being a world-class manufacturer. The Captiva SPC system was so successful that Polaroid retained G&E Systems to develop similar systems for all its camera production lines. SPC Statistical Process Control SPC Statistical Process Control SPC Statistical Process Control SPC Statistical Process Control SPC Statistical Process Control SPC Statistical Process Control SPC Statistical Process Control SPC Statistical Process Control SPC Statistical Process Control SPC Statistical Process Control SPC Statistical Process Control SPC |
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