1st Edition

Popular Manufacturing Myths Eliminating Widely Held Beliefs That Reduce Competitiveness

By Douglas B. Relyea Copyright 2013
136 Pages 25 B/W Illustrations
by Productivity Press

136 Pages
by Productivity Press

Addressing the beliefs and attitudes that can be detrimental to your organization’s competitiveness, Popular Manufacturing Myths: Eliminating Widely Held Beliefs That Reduce Competitiveness offers time-tested insight into the most common myths encountered in manufacturing environments. It classifies these myths into management myths, shop floor myths , and if appropriate, shared management... Read more

Introduction to Manufacturing Myths
The Human Factor
Natural Variation
An Adjustment Is an Adjustment
Is It Ok if I Tweak?

Expectational Myths
Expectational Myths
     Two Safety-Related Expectational Myths
          Safety versus Productivity
          Accident Reports
          Remedy
     Quality-Related Expectational Myth
          Productivity versus Quality
     The Sales and Marketing Connection
Dispelling the Myths

Data Myths
Dispelling the Myths
The Reality of Collecting Shop Floor Data
Misuse of Data
In Conclusion

Our Process Is Different
Management Myth: Our Process Is Different
The Control Chart
A Process Is a Process
Operators
In Conclusion
Reference

Measurement Process Myths
The Measurement Process
     People
     Measured Product
     Measurement Procedures
     Measurement Equipment
     Accuracy versus Precision
          Accuracy
          Precision
     Resolution versus Discrimination
          Resolution
          Discrimination
In Conclusion

Only Adjust One Process Parameter at a Time
Evolutionary Optimization
Not Uncommon
Classes of Problems
Interactions
The Problem-Solving Matrix
The Interaction Plot
In Conclusion

Raw Material Myths
Dispelling the Myth
     Dispelling This Myth
In Conclusion

Addendum
Control Charts
Process Capability Studies
Standard Deviation
Evolutionary Optimization

Glossary
Bibliography
Index

Biography

Douglas B. Relyea is the founder and senior partner of Quality Principle Associates a New England-based consulting firm that specializes in the education and application of data analysis techniques to industrial problem solving.

Mr. Relyea has a degree in manufacturing engineering from Three Rivers Community College in Connecticut and a business degree from Eastern Connecticut State University.

He spent twenty years working at General Dynamics and a division of Rogers Corporation, specializing in extrusion, die stamping, machining and molding processes servicing the automotive and business equipment industries. During his time in industry he filled positions such as first-line supervisor, quality assurance manager, engineering manager, maintenance manager, and sales and marketing product manager. Most recently, Mr. Relyea contributed Chapter 19 of the Wire Association International Wire Handbook. This chapter is entitled "Elements of Statistical Quality Control."

In 1987 he left industry and formed Quality Principle Associates.