Minitab and GainSeeker Help Generate Six Sigma Savings

The Preco-Morton Building, Morton, IL.

As a provider of electronic manufacturing services to original equipment manufacturers, the Morton Division of Preco Electronics, Inc. is doubly concerned about the quality of its products and services. Their ability to deliver skillfully designed electronic assemblies and manufacturing solutions not only creates their strong bottom line, it also ensures the profitability of their customers.

To be able to achieve and replicate this level of quality, Preco-Morton realized it needed to statistically monitor process and product performance using Statistical Process Control (SPC) and Process Capability. They also knew they had to track defects and determine their root causes using the drill-down approach, and establish a method for prioritizing improvement projects. Preco's existing system of analysis was based on a customized database, but it required data to be entered manually and lacked the statistical analysis and reporting capabilities Preco required to meet its increasingly sophisticated needs. Clearly a new system was needed.

In an ideal world, this system would have a proven process for implementation, come with customized training and implementation services, and use the highest quality software available for quality improvement Minitab Statistical Software and GainSeeker SPC and GainSeeker Defect Management System Software. In 1999, Preco found the ideal solution, thanks to QualiFine, Inc., a manufacturing systems solution provider and authorized reseller for Minitab Inc. and Hertzler Systems Inc., the makers of Minitab and the GainSeeker products.

QualiFine worked with Preco's Jeff McKee, Quality Systems Engineer, and John Keller, Director of Quality Systems, to customize the GainSeeker software for Preco's specific applications. QualiFine also provided training to several key Preco engineers, assuring they would be able to internally maintain and expand the use of the software once it was put in place. Although each of Preco's process areas had its own unique implementation requirements, the system was up and running and operators were trained and using it within one week.

Making the Grade

In 2001, Preco's alliance with QualiFine and its use of Minitab and Hertzler products was put to the test when a product introduced by one of its customers was not performing as planned. To assess and rectify the problem, a team consisting of representatives from both companies developed a Six Sigma project with the goal of: 1) identifying design deficiencies that were responsible for low end-of-line yield; and 2) minimizing scrap losses. The project relied on Minitab and the GainSeeker software to realize Six Sigma's DMAIC Improvement Process:

• Define Opportunities
• Measure Performance
• Analyze Opportunity
• Improve Performance
• Control Performance

In the Define stage, the Six Sigma team used GainSeeker SPC and GainSeeker Defect Management System to establish performance baselines of the new product. The baselines included yield, defect Pareto charts, and the performance of various output parameters over time.

In the Measure stage, the team used GainSeeker SPC and GainSeeker Defect Management System to plot and analyze data from input, process, and output parameters of the product. The SPC module was used to determine whether special causes of variation existed in the product. Both Minitab and the GainSeeker software were used to establish product and process capability of the initial design. Additional baseline performance data were collected, plotted, and analyzed to assist the staff in product improvement planning.

In the Analyze stage, the team used Minitab and the GainSeeker software to stratify data and identify, analyze, and validate root causes of design and process problems. Minitab was used to assess the capability of the measurement equipment via Measurement System Assessment (MSA).

In the Improve stage, the team used Minitab to validate various improvement methods through a structured Design of Experiments (DOE). The team used the GainSeeker software to quantify the results of the DOE and to establish the product performance improvement baseline.

In the Control stage, the team used the GainSeeker software to verify the reduction in defects and scrap, to monitor the first-pass end-of-line yield improvements, and to track stability over time. The team used both Minitab and the GainSeeker software to establish capability and sigma levels of the improved product in order to verify the gains they realized as a result of the Six Sigma project.

Keller was very pleased with the results, noting that Preco and its customer have realized an end-of-line yield improvement from less than 50 percent to current levels of 90 percent or greater, with a projected savings of approximately $250,000 or more in reduced scrap and rework charges.