Defects are found too late
Move checks earlier so bad output does not travel through the whole process.
01 · What is usually happening?
A defect appears at final inspection, or worse, at the customer. By then a whole batch has been made the same way, and sorting it costs more than preventing it would have.
The earlier checks existed on paper but were skipped when the line was busy.
The question people usually ask“Why did this reach the end?”
The more useful question“Where in the process could it have been seen, and who should have been looking?”
02 · Common causes
- 01Inspection is concentrated at the end
- 02First-piece checks are skipped under pressure
- 03Operators lack a clear acceptance standard
- 04Gauges are not calibrated or not at hand
- 05Incoming material is not checked
- 06Problems found early are not recorded
03 · What to check now0 of 6 checked
04 · What good looks like
- 01A first-piece check at every setup.
- 02Checks at the stages that matter, not only the end.
- 03Operators have clear limits and samples.
- 04Gauges are calibrated on schedule.
- 05Each defect is recorded with where it was found.
05 · Where this connects
This rarely stays in one department
What it can lead to: A whole batch is made wrong before anyone knows.
Start from a problem
Work flows left to right, top to bottomKEYMost important for manufacturing
These support every part of the business
Problem
Defects are found too late
Usually connected to
How it spreads
- Quality
What it can lead to: A whole batch is made wrong before anyone knows.
lamplamp could remind the operator of the first-piece check at each setup.
06 · Related processesQuality issue to closure
07 · Useful toolsTemplateQuality Issue Log
Related guidesWhat a production supervisor needs at shift handover
08 · lamp
lamp could keep this moving
lamp is not available yet. These are things it is being built to do.
- lamp could remind the operator of the first-piece check at each setup.
- lamp could log a defect from a photo and a voice note.
- lamp could show where in the process defects are found.
- lamp could flag a gauge that is due for calibration.
Does your business handle this differently?Tell us what we have missed: a cause, a check, or a better way of handling it.
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