Photo By Jennifer Bacchus | The Quality Assurance Office has numerous functions which assist in ensuring Anniston...... read more read more
ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, Ala. -- In 2016, the Directorate of Engineering and Quality split into two entities, the Directorate of Production Engineering, which was profiled in the April 6 issue of TRACKS, and the Quality Assurance Office.
The QAO was formed from the former Quality Assurance Division. The organization has numerous functions which assist in ensuring Anniston Army Depot's products meet or exceed customer specifications, including:
• Inspection of end items
• Performing final inspections
• Auditing processes
• Customer service visits to units
• Maintaining ISO 9001 program
• Reviewing defect trends by analyzing inspections
• Reporting top defects and defect trends to shops
INSPECTIONS
"Our main function is to inspect end items on the line and perform final inspections," said Jenny Grasser, chief of the QAO.
The office's four branches are named for the production areas they inspect -- Manufacturing, Cleaning and Finishing; Weapons and Components; Powertrain; and Tracked Systems.
Since quality issues in one area can often show up in another, they work closely to track and find solutions for defects.
"When we receive subassemblies or parts and perform a receipt inspection, we relay defects back to the other branches to let them know if there is a trend," said Keith Rainwater of the Tracked Systems Branch.
Since inspections are built into every production process, inspectors do not inspect 100 percent of items overhauled or repaired on the installation. Instead, using historical quality data and instructions from program managers, they test a percentage of items produced.
"We do have mandatory inspection points where we inspect 100 percent," said Shelly Goodman of the Manufacturing, Cleaning and Finishing Branch. "The first time we program a machine, we will perform a first article inspection."
The inspections performed by production employees in each shop are important, as are inspections performed upon receipt by the next shop. Those often can stop work on a particular part until quality issues are corrected.
"Defective parts should not be introduced into the process," said Donna Waldrop of the Powertrain Branch. "It is a waste of time and money to both the depot and the customer."
Sometimes, the defects found are caused by parts provided by external suppliers.
In that situation, a Product Quality Deficiency Report is written to determine the cause and track a solution.
There are two forms of PQDRs, internal and external. Internal PQDRs are written by the installation when parts or components received from a supplier contain defects. External PQDRS are sent to the depot by units who receive products and find defects.
"We do a failure report analysis on everything that comes back to the depot as a result of a PQDR." said Grasser.
AUDITS
Product and process verifications are conducted in the various shops throughout the installation to ensure employees are following the proper depot maintenance work requirements and national maintenance work requirements.
These audits are required for ISO 9001 certification and ensure the work is performed to standard and in the same way each time, ensuring quality of all products.
If deviations are found during an audit, Corrective Action Requests are sent to the cost center's supervisor. If defects are found during a quality inspection, they are noted in the quality tracking system.
Currently, the EMIDAS system is used to track quality, but the Complex Assembly Manufacturing Solution's quality component is scheduled to go live later this year.
INFORMATION
"We use quality bulletins for some issues, which go out to all e-mail users on the installation." said Grasser.
If a particular type of defect becomes prevalent in a process, the Quality Assurance Office may issue an all-users bulletin about it, informing the workforce to watch for situations in which that type of defect may arise and take steps to ensure the quality of products produced.
To mediate defect trends, the office also holds corrective action team meetings, bringing together employees from QAO, production and engineering areas to ensure the proper processes, equipment and inspections are in place.
Story was originally published on page 1 of the May 18, 2017, issue of "TRACKS."
| Date Taken: | 05.18.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 10.12.2017 09:37 |
| Story ID: | 251358 |
| Location: | ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 22 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, QAO audits, inspects for depot quality, by Jennifer Bacchus, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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