Statistical Process Control: Focus on preventive action NOT, corrective action

These steps require process control during daily production to improve first-pass yield, efficiency, and costs. Knowing and trusting your process with each step provides ROI. Process Control and JIT-type delivery make it happen.

Focus on preventive action, not corrective action. As you develop your fiber optic polishing process, I encourage you to implement a statistical process control system. For example, rubber pads, film, and fixtures will wear out over time, and yields will begin to degrade. Mark your film for usage. Record the data, track it, and actively analyze it. This will help you prevent problems rather than fix them after they occur. Watch the trends, take preventive action, and consistently see high yields. i.e. ROC; Apex Offset; Fiber Height

The basic polishing process involves these steps:

  1. Epoxy Removal
  2. Geometry
  3. Final Step: finishing the optical surface

For those who feel they cannot afford to implement
SPC, the reality is they cannot afford not to.

Dr. W. Edwards Deming

Sometimes called “The Father of Quality Management”, William Edwards Deming shaped the field during the twentieth century.

His work is firmly focused on production processes, shop floors in automobiles, or other traditional industries, but I believe that a lot of it carries over to other fields, even software development. Fields like medicine have taken notice of Deming's work, after all.

Statistical Process Control (SPC) is an industry-standard methodology for measuring and controlling quality during manufacturing.  Attribute data (measurements) is collected from products as they are being produced. By establishing upper and lower control limits, the process can detect variations before they result in defective products, eliminating the need for the final inspection. SPC performed during the manufacturing/assembly process eliminates the need for final review and, equally importantly, significantly reduces material scrap along with direct & indirect labor waste. The result is an immediate increase in bottom-line profitability.

SPC itself will not make improvements. Rather, SPC will give operating personnel a tool to identify when a special cause of variation has entered the process so that the special cause can be eliminated (if the special cause hurts the process) or built into the process (if the special cause has a positive effect on the process). Deming's points apply to any type and size of business. Service companies need to control quality just as much as manufacturing companies. And the philosophy applies equally to large multinational corporations, different divisions or departments within a company, or even single-person operations.

In addition, we offer a cost-effective polishing film and SPC.  CALL to discuss your application.  All of our support TEAM have been working with polishing, film, and/or interferometry since the '90s.  *We provide FREE evaluation sample Film when available for Polishing Process evaluation and confirmation. 

SQC VERSUS SPC

Statistical quality control (SQC) is defined as the application of the 14 statistical and analytical tools (7-QC and 7-SUPP) to monitor process outputs (dependent variables). Statistical process control (SPC) is the application of the same 14 tools to control process inputs (independent variables). Although both terms are often used interchangeably, SQC includes acceptance sampling where SPC does not.

SN Custom Plate Process Controlled

Custom Plate MFC. for Quality Control

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