QC Downtime on Work - Orders of 100 Pieces or Less for Packaging/ Boxing Area

Abstract

In this investigation you will obtain information about a continuous improvement methods: the A3 Project application. This method follows the Plan Do Check Act (PDCA) cycle which will be conducted in the production lines for the first time in a high production medical device company. It will be focused on reducing the downtime generated in the packaging areas by the quality control (QC) inspectors in works of less than 100 pieces while allowing the inspections to be completed with a high quality. After several modifications with personnel from different areas such as: Planning Department, Quality Department and Packaging Department as well, was obtained an agreement in increasing amount of jobs and updated inspection sheets to standardized inspection processes facilitate inspectors tasks. Standardized inspection processes were also obtained. All the changes performed contributed notably to a significant reduction of downtime allowing the company to achieve a higher customer satisfaction and rating. Key Terms - A3 Project, DMAIC (DefineMeasure-Analyze-Improve-Control), Lean Six Sigma, PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act).