Tips and Tricks for Quality Management

This document offers tips and tricks for the Quality Management course. Click one of the items below to see information that may be helpful to you as you go through the course.

Importance of Student-Created Sites

It is extremely important that you set up and work within your own site to maintain data integrity.  

If you work within any other site, you will compromise your own exercise data as well as the data of other students. Predictable exercise results require that each student's data be isolated in a unique site. The site you create should be linked to company 10.

If you have not created your own site in the current course database, see the general exercise for Site for instructions.

Data Used in Course Material

If you are an instructor, you may want to obtain additional information about the Racing database, which is the database used by all IFS training materials. The Racing database contains different data layers, including the following two layers, which form the foundation of the database:

To get more information about the Racing database, including a link to documentation for the RTUBE data layer, see Racing Database in IFS Training Help.

Following the Chapter Sequence  

It is important that you follow the chapters in the sequence outlined in the course description. Each chapter introduces a number of concepts that build on concepts described in the previous chapter. Moreover, each chapter-based set of exercises requires that previous exercises have been completed, or the student will not be able to proceed as intended.

Preparations

General

Verify that you have structures and routings with Buildable status for the following parts:

Verify that you have an active control plan for the following parts:

If you are going to demo the shop order flow with a serial-handled part (part no. 29-721, Camshaft), verify that in the Part window the check boxes Inventory Serial Tracking and After Delivery Serial Tracking are selected for that part.

If you are going to demo the shop order flow with a lot/batch-handled part (part no. 29-821, Camshaft), verify that in the Part window Order Based is selected in the Lot/Batch Tracking list for that part. The lot/batch functionality will not work if Order Based is not selected.

Changing Control Plans

The three different control plans that have been entered in the Racing database are already activated. The only thing you can modify after a control plan has been activated is the SPC setup data. If you want to change a control plan in any other way, you have to create a new revision.

Events

To be able to use the IFS messaging system (so-called events) for Quality Management, you need to start the Administration executable and activate the specific events. The events for Quality Management can be found in the Event – Overview.

  1. Open the Event – Overview window and look for the event you want to activate.
  2. Select the line, right-click, and then click Event Details. The Event Details window appears.
  3. Enter a new line in the Event Details window.
  4. Select an action type, for example Email.
  5. Enter an e-mail address and the message.
  6. Enable the event by selecting the Event Enabled check box.
  7. Enable all events for Quality Management.

To verify proper event activation, create a new control chart for the camshaft using the Control Plan – Manufacturing window. If there are any alarm rules violations, you should receive an e-mail to that effect.

Connecting IFS/Quality Management to IFS/Document Management

During Quality Management classes, questions concerning document management are frequently raised. Be sure to point out that IFS/Document Management can be an important tool for a Quality Control or Quality Assurance department because it allows the user to save documents—such as project plans, process diagrams, drawings, and reaction plans—and attach them to different objects in IFS/Quality Management. To be able to do so, you need to establish a connection between the two components, which are not connected when IFS Applications is installed. Follow this procedure (in this example, for a Manufacturing control plan): 

  1. Start the Administration executable.
  2. Navigate to Foundation 1 Administration and then open the Configuration window. 
  3. Click the Object Connections tab. 
  4. Create a new record and enter QmanControlPlanManuf in the LU Name field. 
  5. In the View Name field, enter QMAN_CONTROL_PLAN_MANUF.  
  6. In the Service List field, enter DocReferenceObject^.  Save the information.
  7. Start the Quality Management executable. (If it is open, shut it down and start it again.) 
  8. Open the Control Plan – Manufacturing window and populate it. The Attachment button will be visible if you have Document Management in the same executable.
  9. Click the Attachment button and attach an existing document to the current control plan.

Audit Object Connections

It is possible to create and connect an audit to any kind of business object in the application, for instance a specific Supplier, Customer, Project Activity or Inventory Part. However, to be able to do that the business object of interest needs to be audit aware.

Note: only a system administrator can set a business object to audit aware.

When a business object is made audit aware, then an option will be available in the Attachments panel of the business object to be able to:

  1. Open the Object Connections window.
    Note: Only a system administrator can access and configure the audit object connections in the Object Connections window.
  2. Verify that the LU Name InventoryPart is audit aware.
    Note: This means that AuditObjectConnection^ should be present in the Service List column for the LU Name InventoryPart.

Note: You need to log out and then log in to the application to be able use any newly created audit object connections.

NCR Object Connections

It is possible to create and connect a Non Conformance Report (NCR) to any kind of business object in the application, for instance a specific Purchase Order, Project Activity or Shop Order. However, to be able to do that the business object of interest needs to be NCR aware.

Note: only a system administrator can set a business object to NCR aware.

When a business object is made NCR aware, then an option will be available in the Attachments panel of the business object to be able to:

  1. Open the Object Connections window.
    Note: Only a system administrator can access and configure the NCR object connections in the Object Connections window.
  2. Verify that the LU Name ShopOrd is NCR aware.
    Note: This means that NcrObjectConnection^ should be present in the Service List column for the LU Name ShopOrd.

Note: You need to log out and then log in to the application to be able use any newly created audit object connections.

Scenario Description

The Flow

The chapter sequence for the Quality Control related part of the Quality Management course is based on a flow of interrelated tasks, as shown below.

  1. Create a design FMEA.
  2. Create a process FMEA.
  3. Create three control plans (Manufacturing, Purchasing, and Inventory). These plans will control five operations on four parts.
  4. Produce the rocker arm (repetitive production), measure the mounting hole diameter, and enter the test results.
  5. Inspect the intake valve in inventory (seat leak check) and enter the inspection results.
  6. Purchase the valve cover, count the number of cracks, and enter the test results.
  7. Produce the camshaft, inspect its hardness and measure its outside diameter, and enter the test results. 
  8. Create control charts.
  9. Calculate capability indices.
  10. Create a capability indices graph.

The Steps

Failure Modes and Effects Analyses

Design FMEA—Most commonly, IFS/Quality Management is used in conjunction with shop orders. The camshaft used in the training material is a shop order–handled part. You will find a design FMEA for the camshaft in the Racing database. Open the Product Structure window and query for part no. 29-321. Click the Design FMEA tab. Show the students that a design FMEA header has already been entered. The maximum risk priority number (RPN) for the failures attached to this FMEA is calculated and shown in the Max RPN field. 

To show the students what the design FMEA is comprised of, open the Design FMEA GraphicDesign FMEA Graphic).

Field Value
Part No. 29-321
Function The bearing journal surfaces must very hard to resist wear
Failure Too soft
Occurrence 3—Low: Relatively few failures
Cause Incorrect heat treatment
Effect Excessive wear
Severity  9—Hazardous with warning
Control Rockwell hardness test 
Detection 4—Moderately high

After the detection number has been entered and the record is saved, the RPN will be calculated:

Risk Priority Number = Severity * Occurrence * Detection = 108

Process FMEA—You will find a process FMEA for the camshaft in the Racing database. Open the Routing window and query for part no. 29-321. Click the Process FMEA tab. Show the students that a process FMEA header has already been entered. The maximum RPN for the failures attached to this FMEA is calculated and shown in the Max RPN field.

To show the students what the process FMEA is comprised of, open the Process FMEA GraphicProcess FMEA Graphic) and query for the camshaft. Expand the FMEA structure.

The entered failures can be viewed in a graph. To do so, open the Design FMEA Effects Analysis Graph or Process FMEA Effects Analysis GraphDesign FMEA Effects Analysis Graph Process FMEA Effects Analysis Graph). The failures in the upper right quadrant are the most severe.

Control Plans

The following control plans have been entered and activated and can be used to demo the different flows:

SPC Charts

The charts listed below have been created in the Racing database and can be used for demos.

Xbar & R chart no. 100004 for part no. 29-321, Camshaft (based on data entered 2 October 2001)

Remember to always analyze the range chart first.

The range chart looks good. Next, analyze the x chart (average).

The average chart does not have any runs, shifts, or trends. It looks like it is in a state of statistical control.

Xbar & R chart no. 100008 for part no. 29-321, Camshaft (based on data entered 3 October 2001)

Remember to always analyze the range chart first.

The range chart is questionable. Next, analyze the x chart (average).

Xbar & R chart no. 100009 for part no. 29-321, Camshaft (based on data entered 4 October 2001)

Remember to always analyze the range chart first.

The range chart is questionable. Next, analyze the x chart (average).

X & MR chart no. 100002 for part no. 29-523, Rocker Arm (based on data entered 21 September 2001)

Remember to always analyze the range chart first.

The range chart is questionable. Next, analyze the x chart (average).

Remember: This type of chart is not as sensitive other variable charts, but obvious patterns should not be overlooked.

c chart no. 100005 for part no. 29-320, Valve Cover (based on data entered 3 October 2001)

p chart no. 100006 for part no. 29-521, Intake Valve (based on data entered 3 October 2001)

Note: There is also a capability indices graph (graph no. 100007) based on the results of two days (2 and 3 October 2001), which are shown on the x-axis. If you want a more substantial graph, you need to enter more test results for the heat-treated camshaft and create a new graph.