Jim Thompson

Email Jim at jim.thompson@ipulpmedia.com

When one sees commercials or ads emphasizing quality, there is automatically a slowness and care about them. If you live anywhere that the Ford Motor Company has run their "Quality is Job 1" commercials you may remember they show a human hand with a shop towel, slowly polishing the trademark "blue oval" with the Ford script in it. Slow, careful, deliberate.

Until modern computer control came along, circa the 1970's, most quality functions tended to be slow, for they were done at the pace of human comprehension. In the fifty plus years since then, computers and software have allowed us to speed up our manufacturing processes while maintaining or even improving quality. At the same time, appropriate standards organizations have improved required parameters defining quality products.

Yet now we may be in a new phase, depending how fast our manufacturing process is and how fast our controlling/measuring computers and sampling are. I tend to think in an analog fashion, as I went to university before digital became popular. Thus, my expression of what I just said is this. Now, first and second derivative solutions may need to be calculated into our quality measurements (you young whippersnappers would call this sampling rate, I think).

And then you can see the problem. If sampling rate is out of sync with the ability to change parameters in real time, one can actually make the product worse (wider measurement excursions) rather than improve it with computer sampling. This means you can make off-spec product at an even greater rate than before. Wonderful.

My serious point is this. Quality control, manufacturing and computer control must work closely together in order to fine tune the parameters and the machine reaction to the parameters in order to minimize loss. There must also be a way to check for control drift on a regular basis, a way that will quickly point to the source of possible error.

Today we have more opportunity than ever to make off-spec product very, very rapidly. Watch out!

Be safe and we will talk next week.

For a deeper dive, go here.

Study Guide: Quality and Speed in Modern Manufacturing

This guide provides a review of the key concepts discussed in Jim Thompson's article, "Can Quality be Quick?" It includes a short-answer quiz to test comprehension, an answer key, a set of essay questions for deeper analysis, and a glossary of essential terms.

Short-Answer Quiz

Instructions: Answer the following questions in 2-3 complete sentences based on the provided source text.

1. How does the author characterize the traditional perception of "quality" in manufacturing and advertising?
2. According to the text, what major shift began in the 1970s that altered the relationship between manufacturing speed and quality?
3. Besides technology, what other factor has contributed to the improvement of product quality over the past fifty years?
4. What is the modern, digital term for the author's analog concept of "first and second derivative solutions" in quality measurements?
5. What is the primary danger if the sampling rate is not synchronized with the system's ability to adjust parameters in real time?
6. What ironic outcome does the author highlight regarding the potential failure of modern, high-speed quality control systems?
7. What is the author's "serious point" about the necessary collaboration required to prevent manufacturing losses?
8. In the author's view, how have computers and software impacted manufacturing processes since the 1970s?
9. What specific, regular check does the author recommend ensuring the stability of the quality control system?
10. What is the author's final warning about the capability of today's manufacturing environment?

Answer Key

1. The author characterizes the traditional perception of quality as being synonymous with slowness, care, and deliberate action. This is illustrated with the example of a Ford commercial showing a human hand slowly and carefully polishing the company logo.
2. Around the 1970s, the introduction of modern computer control and software began to alter the relationship between speed and quality. This technological shift allowed manufacturing processes to speed up significantly.
3. The text states that in addition to technology, "appropriate standards organizations have improved required parameters defining quality products." This established better and clearer definitions of what constitutes a quality product.
4. The author, who thinks in an analog fashion, equates his concept of needing "first and second derivative solutions" with what he believes younger professionals would call the "sampling rate."
5. The primary danger is that the system can actually make the product worse by causing "wider measurement excursions." If the system cannot adjust parameters as fast as it takes samples, its corrective actions will be out of sync and magnify errors rather than fix them.
6. The author points out the ironic outcome that a poorly tuned high-speed system allows a manufacturer to "make off-spec product at an even greater rate than before." The very technology designed to improve quality can, if mismanaged, accelerate the production of faulty goods.
7. The author's serious point is that the Quality Control, Manufacturing, and Computer Control departments must work closely together. This collaboration is essential to fine-tune the parameters and the machine's reaction to them in order to minimize loss.
8. Since the 1970s, computers and software have allowed manufacturers to speed up their processes while simultaneously maintaining or even improving product quality. This broke the traditional link between quality and slowness.
9. The author recommends instituting a regular way to check for "control drift." This check should be designed to quickly point to the source of any possible error in the system.
10. The author's final warning is that "Today we have more opportunity than ever to make off-spec product very, very rapidly." This underscores the high stakes of managing modern, fast-paced manufacturing systems.

Essay Questions

Instructions: The following questions are designed for deeper, essay-format responses. Use the concepts and arguments from the source text to construct a thorough analysis.

1. Discuss the evolution of the relationship between speed and quality in manufacturing as outlined in the text, from the pre-1970s era to the modern challenges of high-speed, computer-controlled systems.
2. Analyze the central problem presented in the article regarding the synchronization of sampling rates and real-time parameter changes. Elaborate on the potential negative consequences and the author's proposed solutions for mitigating this risk.
3. The author states, "Today we have more opportunity than ever to make off-spec product very, very rapidly." Deconstruct this warning using the specific concepts of computer control, sampling rate, measurement excursions, and control drift as discussed in the article.
4. Explain the critical importance of the collaboration between Quality Control, Manufacturing, and Computer Control departments as advocated by the author. Why is this synergy indispensable in the context of modern, high-speed production?
5. Evaluate the author's use of an "analog" viewpoint (e.g., "first and second derivative solutions") to explain a modern digital problem. How does this perspective effectively illustrate the core challenges and risks of contemporary quality control?

Glossary of Key Terms

Term Definition from Source Context

Control Drift A gradual deviation in the control system's parameters over time. The author recommends a regular check to quickly identify the source of this error.

First and Second Derivative Solutions An analog term used by the author to describe the complex calculations needed for quality measurements in very fast manufacturing processes, analogous to the modern concept of sampling rate.

Measurement Excursions Deviations from the desired product specifications. The author warns that unsynchronized systems can lead to "wider measurement excursions," thereby worsening product quality.

Modern Computer Control The use of computers and software in manufacturing, beginning circa the 1970s, which enabled processes to be sped up while maintaining or improving quality.

Off-Spec Product A product that fails to meet the required quality parameters. Modern systems carry the risk of producing this faulty product at an unprecedentedly rapid rate.

Quality Traditionally perceived as a function of slow, careful, and deliberate human-paced work. In the modern era, it is a set of defined parameters that can be maintained or improved even in high-speed, computer-controlled environments.

Sampling Rate The modern, digital term for the frequency at which a computer control system takes measurements to check for quality. If this rate is out of sync with the machine's ability to react, it can degrade product quality.

Standards Organizations Entities that contribute to quality improvement by refining and enhancing the "required parameters defining quality products."

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