Standard operating procedures

[Bob W.]

I am putting together standard operating procedures for my shop to set in place accountability and also make procedures and expectations crystal clear for my employees (and myself). This is also to make sure we all use the same procedure for various tasks and it will begin to pave the way for ISO certification down the road. I am curious what tasks are generally assigned SOPs. We have them in place for first article inspection and running the first article on the machine (program prove out). We also have one for setting tools. I know it isn't much but its a start :-)

[Guest MTB Technical Services]

ISO Certification isn't hard.

It just means that your actual procedures match your documentation.

 

Gage Calibration and QA/QC definitely needs proper procedure and a controlling document.

 

Employees need to get copies of all relevant controlling documents and they need to sign for them so there is a record that they have them.

They should also sign another document that indicates that they have read them and understand them.

 

Any ISO audit will spot check employees on procedures so this is necessary to achieve what you're after.

[Guest]

Bob,

 

With ISO on your radar, be careful how tight you make your SOP

 

The thing with ISO is you have to do exactly what you say you do, you want to be sure to leave enough wiggle room in your process's that you don't pigeon hole yourself

 

So start broadly, then as you think you need, narrow down your list but always remembering to keep it as loose as possible

[Guest MTB Technical Services]

You'll want to set up an SOP for Probing.

 

If nothing else, you'll save money on replacement tips from Renishaw.

[Bob W.]

You'll want to set up an SOP for Probing.

 

If nothing else, you'll save money on replacement tips from Renishaw.

Every employee here breakes a probing tip once from jogging in the wrong direction or some other stupid mistake. When this happens I tell them the first one is on me but they get to buy the next one and clock out until the new tip is installed and the probe completely calibrated in the machine. I don't have any employees that have broken more than one tip :-)

 

Like clockwork though, a new employee will break a tip in the first week...

[Bob W.]

My primary goal is to set procedures so we all do things using the same methods, and hopefully this will be the most efficient method. Accountability is also important because the procedures are designed with safety, efficiency, and quality in mind. If there is a costly mistake and the employee wasn't following standard procedures they will be held accountable.

 

Great idea on signing these, makes sense.

[The Cathedral]

In regards to ISO, one of the most important things is making sure your employees know where to go when they need to find a procedure. It's not important that they memorize a procedure--they don't need to--but they need to know where to go to find the information. We have computers all throughout the shop and on every desktop is an ISO master index that contains all the SOP forms. So if an auditor walks up to an employee and says, "Whats your standard procedure for checking your measuring tools?" the employee doesn't just stand there and say, " i dunno." He can say, "I don't have the procedure memorized, but I can show it to you right here."

[RaiderX]

we called them reference work instructions and had a book in each department or for different machines.

wise advise to keep this seperate from your iso. revisions are so much easier for reference instructions as things change or you find a better way. AS9100 and ISO only hold you specific to certain things dont volunteer more. it is also good to look for any thing that is value added to you, they do not pay you extra to be certified.

[Del.]

When the auditor asks me what I do with bad parts I always say I throw them on the bottom.

[THEE THAINZ™]

I like see the pond out back?? let them draw their own conclusion.....   

[crazy^millman]

Like John Said do what you say, document what you do, audit what you do and prove what you do. KISS applies to ISO. KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID. Had a quality person one time say all files from Boeing will be Ran through the Validate Program. Audit said okay I want you to show me your record for all PDF's and Emails and etc..... Quality person was upset. I laughed because I had told them the same thing only put what we need give room to make judgement calls.

 

SOP's become the gospel unless made in such a way to allow for freedom.

 

Great suggestions from above and just keep plugging away. I would look to AS-9100 before ISO, but that depends on the work you are doing.

[Guest MTB Technical Services]

Anything that standardizes your procedures is good.

Without it, you can't measure and analyze performance.

 

I did an automation project for a major Oil Field Services company in their CNC Programming department.

I created a CAM Add-in that enforced all kinds of best-practices.

For example, if a programmer attempted CRC without a perpendicular linear lead-in/lead-out, the operation wouldn't be allowed to build.

I standardized on the FANUC method as it will work for every CNC on the market.

There was also a redundant check prior to the output of NC code.

This would catch any violations in older programs being updated for revision changes.

Just this little tidbit prevented the inexperienced programmers from using CRC incorrectly

and insured that CRC would work on every control in the shop.

 

Always a good idea to consider a 5S(6S) program BEFORE you attempt an ISO certification.

[The Cathedral]

When the auditor asks me what I do with bad parts I always say I throw them on the bottom.

 

 

I like see the pond out back?? let them draw their own conclusion.....   

 

 

Many years ago, we had a huge roll-off that we used to put our carbon steel scrap/chips in. They would get all rusted, and the roll-off would collect water from the rain because it wasn't covered.

 

One time an auditor ask an old employee: "Hey, why do you guys throw chips outside like that?"

 

The old guy says: "Those ain't chips, those leaves! From the trees!"

 

Auditor says: "Oh yeah? And what about all that liquid? That looks like nasty rusty water and coolant."

 

Old guy replies: "Nah, that's just leaf juice!"

 

True story.

 

About two weeks later we had a brand new awning over our chip hoppers.

[Bob W.]

I would look to AS-9100 before ISO, but that depends on the work you are doing.

I will be looking at both, this is just the starting point.

 

Without it, you can't measure and analyze performance.

Bingo! Exactly what I am after, but I do want to set them up so I don't need to revisit/ redo every one of them during a certification process.

[Bob W.]

So tool calibration, quality control... What are some of the other big items that warrant a SOP?

[BrianP.]

We had at one place machine maintenance as part of ours. Each machine had a check off list for daily and weekly maintenance to show the equipment was being properly maintained. I have worked at a few places that went for ISO  and was an internal auditor one time. So the one thing I would say is as the others have said keep it as loose as possible but also getting it to do what you want it to do. Never did help bring in any more work in my experience. Just ended up being a huge pita.

[Newbeeee™]

Bob,

Purchase ISO 9001:2008. It's not a lot of money. There's 8 mandatory things to comply with by memory.

One of them is to have AGM's and you have to set measurables (you can set what you want but you then have to measure - we have things like 100% OTD, 0% reject, 50% win rate for quotes etc.

Machine maintenance is a biggy (over here) although no-one (auditors) realises there's not a lot to do to machines nowadays - but again you can have a couple of things like once a month check estop,  and ensure the operator daily checks for buildup of chips on the covers, check level of coolant etc etc. This wants to be just a printed sheet on a magnet on the side of the machine.

Gauge control - excel spread sheet with every item (within the cal system) having a specific number and annual calibration - and a file with them in or scanned and network in a folder.

Approved supplier list for your material and treatments purchases - and every 3 years you audit these companies to re-approve them for your use.

ISO isn't much work. AS is a huge amount more and if your cuctomers don't ask for it, I really wouldn't bother yet.

You're the same sort of size of company as us - if you want PM me and I'll zip a load of stuff together and email you it.

[Newbeeee™]

Anything that standardizes your procedures is good.

Without it, you can't measure and analyze performance.

 

I did an automation project for a major Oil Field Services company in their CNC Programming department.

I created a CAM Add-in that enforced all kinds of best-practices.

For example, if a programmer attempted CRC without a perpendicular linear lead-in/lead-out, the operation wouldn't be allowed to build.

I standardized on the FANUC method as it will work for every CNC on the market.

There was also a redundant check prior to the output of NC code.

This would catch any violations in older programs being updated for revision changes.

Just this little tidbit prevented the inexperienced programmers from using CRC incorrectly

and insured that CRC would work on every control in the shop.

 

Always a good idea to consider a 5S(6S) program BEFORE you attempt an ISO certification.

Pesky alarm 041....

[Newbeeee™]

Bob,

 

With ISO on your radar, be careful how tight you make your SOP

 

The thing with ISO is you have to do exactly what you say you do, you want to be sure to leave enough wiggle room in your process's that you don't pigeon hole yourself

 

So start broadly, then as you think you need, narrow down your list but always remembering to keep it as loose as possible

A mate worked at a company where they got a non-complience for signing documents in blue ink.

Clear as daylight in the manual, was written 'documents to be signed in black ink'...

 

In the words of Margaret Thatcher, you have to be 'specifically vague'.