Blog — Page 21

More posts from the Advantive team. 323 posts total.

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  Sep 18, 2019 · Grace Barton

  How should the subgroup size be selected for an X-bar chart? – Part 1

  The key is to specify a subgroup size so that significant shifts are detected with high probability and that insignificant shifts are unlikely to produce a signal. Click here for Part II of this article The purpose of control charts is to detect significant process changes when they occur. In general, charts that display averages … Continued

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  Aug 19, 2019 · Grace Barton

  The Surprising Source of Variation and How to Reduce It

  I recently wrote a series of posts on Measurement Studies for the PQ Systems blog: Assuring Measurement Accuracy with Gage R&RMSA – When Should a Measurement System Study be Completed?Setting Up a Measurement System The next step is analyzing the data. To illustrate, we will use an example R&R study conducted on the length of … Continued

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  Aug 5, 2019 · Grace Barton

  Leading Independent Bakery Uses WinSPC to Reduce Production of Underweight Snacks

  Timely feedback from a real-time SPC system is allowing one bread manufacturer to minimize production of non-complying snacks–a costly waste of raw ingredients, manpower, and machine energy. One of the nation’s largest independent bakeries integrated WinSPC real-time quality improvement software into its plant floor production operations. One of its goals is better compliance with the … Continued

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  Jul 25, 2019 · Grace Barton

  How Barcode Technology Streamlines Warehouse Processes & Reduces Costs

  Have you been putting off using barcodes in your warehouse? While barcodes may seem like a heavy lift, they are not as difficult as one would think. You can start small, by focusing on one area of the warehouse, a customer or process, and measure effectiveness from there. Using barcode technology and a WMS can … Continued

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  Jul 18, 2019 · Grace Barton

  Zero Defect Mentality…or Continuous Improvement

  “Zero defect quality control”—what do you think of when you hear that phrase? Do you think of “No headaches today?” or “No one screaming at me today?” Or does is it call to mind Lean/Six Sigma? Preventing escapes? Maybe “improvement” in your manufacturing processes in general? Or maybe you think of it in a purely psychological/motivational … Continued

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  Jul 1, 2019 · Grace Barton

  3PL Customer Profitability & Business Intelligence

  Business isn’t easy for a 3PL provider. Competition is high, profit margin is low and managing distribution, warehousing and fulfillment can be chaotic. 3PL’s must be smart about the type of customers they take on and how they run their overall operation since a 3PL’s customer base determines their profitability. In order to maintain a … Continued

• Jun 10, 2019 · Grace Barton

  Setting Up a Measurement Study

  Setting up a measurement study involves looking at the measurement system with respect to equipment, technique, environment, and the people involved. I’ll use an example to illustrate the approach. This example is a classic style of study and will examine a measurement study for assessing the system used to collect the pH of a product. For your … Continued

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  May 14, 2019 · Grace Barton

  Data in Everyday Life: Are Honey Bees on the Decline?

  Honey bees, both wild and domestic, perform about 80 percent of all pollination worldwide. A single bee colony can pollinate up to 300 million flowers each day. While grains are primarily pollinated by the wind; fruits, nuts, and vegetables are pollinated by bees. Seventy out of the top 100 human food crops — which supply about 90 percent … Continued

• May 1, 2019 · Grace Barton

  Problem Solving 101: 6 Easy Steps

  “We’ve got a huge problem! We shipped over 300 orders yesterday, and none of our clients got their shipping notifications.” “Hurry up and re-boot the shipping work stations, they must be stuck!” “What, that didn’t work?! Hurry up and re-record the shipments so we can update our customers!” What seems to be a critical problem … Continued

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  Apr 26, 2019 · Grace Barton

  How do I choose the appropriate type of control chart?

  Proper control chart selection is critical to realizing the benefits of Statistical Process Control. Many factors should be considered when choosing a control chart for a given application. These include: WinSPC Means Lower Costs and Higher Quality WinSPC is software to help manufacturers create the highest quality product for the lowest possible cost. You can … Continued

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  Apr 26, 2019 · Grace Barton

  Why is Cpk data important, and how can my company benefit from tracking it?

  To answer that, we need to start off with what these capability indices represent. Capability indices characterize a process as compared to a specification. Now the important thing about these capability indices is that they are calculated on the individual measurements, and all of the indices require a process that is in control in order to mean … Continued

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  Apr 26, 2019 · Grace Barton

  What is the philosophy of Process Control (rather than Product Control)?

  Process Control is proactive rather than reactive. The key elements of process control are outlined in this article. What is Quality? Ask people involved with the design and manufacture of a product the following question: “What is Quality?” Many, if not most, of the responses will be some form of the following: “Quality is ensuring that our … Continued