I have had an incredible time so far at Indium Corporation, particularly thanks to my supervisor, the quality management team, and the exciting project that I was able to take on. Being an intern didn’t feel strange or nerve-wrecking as I anticipated: everyone was so welcoming and supportive.
My internship project this summer focused on developing a non-conformity review dashboard for the quality management team to evaluate manufactured parts and ensure they meet the customer requirements. Indium Corporation places a significant emphasis on reducing non-conformities (any product defects) from reaching the customers. This project allowed me to see the great commitment of the company in maintaining its product quality and how that helps cultivate trust with our customers and product suppliers.
The non-conformity review dashboard includes all the critical parameters to define the non-conformities and corrective actions needed to resolve them. The dashboard serves as a great insight to develop detailed reviews of the non-conformities found in the inspection stage, which ultimately informs the quality management team on the most accurate decisions to mitigate the root cause and take effective preventive actions.
The importance of my project lies in assisting the analysis of critical factors within the manufacturing process contributing towards defects and failure. W. Edwards Deming once said: “Defects are not free, somebody makes them and gets paid for them.” That said, with this dashboard in place, the quality team will be able to figure out the process gaps that need to be fixed to improve the overall productivity and minimize undesired costs due to defects.
As I met with the subject matter experts in the company, I got to know that the non-confirming ratio plays a major factor in controlling the operational cost, which is one of key components in the production cost. When a non-confirming part is produced, it also leads to a waste of time and costs. However, by developing a standardized process, we will be able to control the process variations that cause the non-conforming part. There are various strategies that can be used to eliminate process variations, including lean engineering, continuous improvement, process streamline, and improvement of OEE (overall equipment efficiency) of the machines and resources available.
Potential results of implementing these strategies are increasing work efficiency, higher product quality, reduced cost, better process control, customer satisfaction, reduced lead time, and many more. That said, it is important to not only rely on one strategy but find a balance among them all to maximize efficiency. This system-driven approach will increase the production of confirming ratio, save the most money and time spent, and focus more on meeting customer requirements.
Finally, I wanted to thank my supervisor and the whole quality team for being so supportive and encouraging throughout this journey. The team is just as excited to see the Material Review Board (MRB) dashboard as I am.
The dashboard project is working great with new insights and challenges every day. I’m very much excited to see the dashboard adding value to the company and helping the engineers make more data-driven decisions.