Hank Kolb -- Production Improvement

Background:

Hank Kolb had been Quality Assurance director for only four weeks. After his return from a seminar, Kolb was finally able to look into quality problems at an industrial products plant employing 1200 people. Kolb’s first encounter with deficient quality was with the Greasex line (a specialized degreasing solvent packed in a spray can for the high technology sector). A little high pressure was found in some cans on the second shift, but a supervisor vented them in order to meet their delivery schedule.

From talking with Mark Hamler, his quality control manager, Kolb knew more about the background of the Greasex production line. He found two main problems:

· Filling equipment. There was some trouble with the new filling equipment and some of the cans were pressurized beyond the upper specification limit.

· Production rate. The production rate was below standard. Mac Evans, the inspector for that line, found the problem, tagged the cases “hold”, and ...