The worldwide
automotive industry has been enjoying a period of relatively strong growth with
automotive technologies advancing year on year[1]
but the future outlook is uncertain.
Consumer expectations
climb with technological advancement and those expectations pass down the
supply chain. Better, faster, cheaper is the lifelong mantra for the automotive
industry.
This is great news
for everyone isn’t it? The answer is of course is ‘yes’ but it does also mean
greater demands, challenges and risks have passed down the supply chain.
As automotive
manufacturing becomes increasingly automated both at assembly and manufacturing
so we’ve seen the rise in fastener and fixings contracts promising zero defects
no matter how many parts are provided.
Consider this. A
manufacturer places an order for 300 million parts with a zero PPM target. If
your failure rate is just one PPM, that equates to 300 vehicles whose quality
could be jeopardised. Where do you draw the line of how much risk you’re
prepared to tolerate?
How are we rising to the challenge?
With car manufacturers now expecting their fasteners
supply chain partner to provide faultless stock, we’ve invested in technology.
Through robust
APQP processes we can ensure that our manufacturing facilities have invested in
the necessary inspection / optical sorting equipment to meet relevant PPM
targets.
For instance, at
our head office we have invested in Keyence machines which are tough judges of
quality measurement, precise to within one micron.
Does anyone have any better ideas?
If exceeding
quality expectations is the ultimate competitive edge on which brands are
built, where are we going to set those expectations given we’ve now reached
perfection?
Is the answer
‘more economical perfection’?