Westover electrical - Case Study Example

These rejected products are usually found in the course of the manufacturing process. The company had not identified the primary cause of the problem. Robert Gagnon found that for the duration of two months, costs sustained as a result of these rejected products have risen. This report by Robert Gagnon has prompted the company to take quick actions to solve this problem. Robert Gagnon’s report outlines problems facing the company,Possible solutions to the problems,Recommendations received from the investigation done.

The investigation was done through the identification of the problem by reviewing the supply chain. The supply chain starts from the production process (winding department) to the packaging department. The Pareto analysis chart provides a systematic flow of the results. It is simple to understand. To use of this mechanism, we are able to easily view that abraded wire is a Winder 3 problem. Therefore, in view of this, winder 3 that should be replaced so as to reduce the high number of rejected abraded wires.

Broken Lord has a Winder 1 problem. For this, it is important that Winder 1 be replaced so as to reduce the number of rejects. Graphs can be used as well. The plotting p chart could be done when an assumption is made that for any defect that results in production of a defective unit, there is only one defect per each inspected unit. A c chart could be used to plot the quantity of defective units per sample. Each will be separate graphs. Use of tables causes much confusion. It is difficult to understand the results without explanation.

These modes of presentations are both easy to understand and they also present a neat exhibit of data. 3. Gagnon’s recommendation Robert Gagnon recommended that Westover Electrical Inc. focus on finding the cause for abraded wire and the failed electrical test on the Winder 3. It may be possible that there exists a conflict between abraded wire and the electrical test. This conflict causes the two to overpower winder 3. Problems of the winder cause problems with the output. By fixing this, 53% of the total Winder rejects could be eliminated together with 88% of all Winder 3 rejects.

This is a surprising reduction in total costs incurred by Westover Electrical Inc. Further, Gagnon stated that it is important to pay much attention to the source for broken leads on Winder 1. This problem could be caused by the fact that Winder 1 may be of low quality in dealing with broken leads. It may not be strong enough or fully equipped to handle these broken leads. By eliminating this problem, 80% of Winder 1 total rejected product together with 24% of all total rejects will be eliminated.

Moreover, Robert Gagnon stressed that it was vital to find the cause for wrong core and wrong wire failure early within the month on Winder 2. The assumption made was that it might have been one of their new personnel who failed to handle the equipment properly. The new personnel may have placed a higher number of wires on the winder than its capacity could support. The mistakes made were reflected in the number of rejected units produced. In time, the new employee gained experience thus a decrease in the number of rejected units was observed. 4. Prepare the detail necessary to supplement Gagnon’