Field Notes

A line goes down. A shipment is late. A critical part is missing. The team jumps in to solve it... Again. For many manufacturers, this pace feels normal. In fact, it often gets framed as responsiveness, agility, or even strength. But constant firefighting isn’t a competitive advantage. It’s a sign that the system isn’t working the way it should—and it’s quietly driving up costs across your ...

When it comes to manufacturing and assembly, fasteners are small components that play a big role. From the beams of a building to the bolts securing your car’s engine, fasteners hold together the products and structures we rely on every day. But not all fasteners are created equal—which is why fastening standards are so important.

FASTENER QUALITY MEASURED IN PPM How do you report your internal or external reject rate? Chances are you use a metric called PPM or Parts Per Million. In other words, PPM is a measurement of number of rejected parts for every one-million parts produced (internal metric) or shipped (external metric). By stating reject rate in terms of a generally accepted ratio you can compare your performance ...

DOES THIS PART NEED A PPAP? Does this part need a PPAP (Production Part Approval Process for those who stumbled upon this article by accident)? For many quality professionals this is one of the first questions asked of customers when a part changes or a new part is in the works. The answer to this question can most often be found in the customer’s Supplier Quality Manual or some other similar ...