Assembly Planbook - April 2008 - (Page 28) Quality in Assembly Don’t just talk about Quality Control, it! • Closed loop system performs in-process quality checks based off of parameters that you define. • Accurate positioning to less than +/- 0.0004”. • Part ID information can be imported and married with press data. • Windows® based software with user friendly graphical setup requires little or no training. Powertrain components are carefully inspected as part of the Toyota Production System. Photo courtesy Toyota Motor Corp. DSP-1500 Series Digital Servo Press System Think Green! If you’re currently using hydraulic or pneumatic systems, visit our website to see how much you and the environment can benefit by switching to the DSP-1500 Series Servo Press System. Electric Multi-Spindle Fixtured Nutrunners * Electric Single-Spindle Handheld Nutrunners Electric Servo Presses * Turnkey Automated Assembly Systems 51327 Quadrate Dr. Macomb, Mi. 48042 Phone: (586) 781-2100 Fax: (586) 781-0044 E-mail: sales@fec-usa.com come visit us at WWW.FEC-USA.COM 28 ASSEMBLY / April 2008 www.assemblymag.com Boeing has sent scores of engineers to its suppliers’ plants to find the source of snafus and resolve quality problems. The company is expected to reveal the full extent of the 787 delays and release a revised production schedule this month. “Boeing has outsourced core competencies,” says Rick Harris, president of Harris Lean Systems Inc. (Murrels Inlet, SC). “When you do that, you lose a certain degree of control over quality. It adds another degree of variability to the production process that needs to be carefully addressed.” Some of Boeing’s suppliers are located in China, Italy and Japan. “When your suppliers are located further away from your final assembly line, it causes potential quality problems,” warns Harris, who formerly served as manager of final vehicle assembly at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky Inc. (Georgetown, KY). “The feedback loop is much longer.” According to Harris, that’s one of the reasons why all Toyota plants operate with a mini stamping facility attached. That way, the quality feedback loop is only two to three days, instead of seven to eight weeks for automakers that operate centralized stamping plants which supply all of their factories. Toyota has refused to blame suppliers for its recent string of problems, despite the fact they have been the source of some quality lapses, such as the camshafts used in the Tundra. Instead, top management has urged all employees to carefully examine their own actions on the assembly line and not rely solely on the company’s quality control processes. Smalley believes that’s a http://WWW.FEC-USA.COM http://WWW.FEC-USA.COM http://www.assemblymag.com
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