In business we strive to not only meet, but exceed customer expectations. Our quality and delivery performance to our customers is a direct result of our ability to produce product right, first time, every time. Our measurable performance indicator for this is RFT (Right First Time) or Yield.
We manage risk and implement rigorous processes and procedures to maintain this performance to customer. Having all this in place reduces risk to an acceptable level, but the best is to remove a risk and eliminate it all together. This is known as Error Proofing, or as Lean Practitioner would refer to it as Poka-Yoke.
A recent example of error proofing is the introduction of the laser marking. We had a 30% failure rate for adhesion issues with the paint infill falling away from its engraved feature; this was by design and not necessarily FGP liability. However, by introducing the laser marking we have totally removed this failure mode by permanently etching the finished text and logos directly into the anodised surface.
The added benefit with this process is the lead-time improvement, the engrave and paint process took over 2 days to complete at 2 separate suppliers covering 60 miles of travel. The laser marking for both components takes <3 minutes, a 99% increase in TAT.
When performing Root Cause Corrective Action (RCCA) we should always strive to eliminate the causes by introduction of Mistake/Error Proofing. This is the ultimate way to prevent reoccurrence of a problem and drives significant benefits for both the business and ultimately our customers.
