Decatur Integrates Its Quality Standards
Decatur Foundry gave structure to its quality system, and the result was liberating. Shannon Wetzel, Senior Editor
W
hen ductile alloy and gray iron caster Decatur Foundry, Decatur, Ill., was looking to improve and take its quality system to the next level, the solution arose from an unlikely source—the pharmaceutical industry. Beverly Ritter, whose
background encompasses quality systems compliance and monitoring and auditing assurance, was brought in a few years ago as quality systems manager. She applied her experience in strict quality adherence at medical companies to Decatur and with the help of technical specialists and department leaders, devised an ISO-compliant quality system that fosters communication between departments and with customers and will help them achieve ISO certification in the future. “We can more quickly respond to quality issues and customer
requests for new requirements,” Ritter said. “Our customer feedback has been good. We have loyal customers and cast- ing buyers that now find it easier to justify why they use us.” As a jobbing metalcasting facility, Decatur casts more than
1,600 different parts. Many of those parts come with unique instructions and standards that either the customer has dictated for quality purposes or the metalcaster has determined will avoid excess internal scrap. Prior to implementing the new quality system, these work instructions were part-specific and needed to be more process systemic. The goal of the new quality system was to integrate the
various documents and instructions for every order into one unifying systems approach. Every piece of information pertaining to a product or process needed to be identified, coded and filed within its computer system. This structure revealed clarity of process, helping team members from dif- ferent departments to understand the entire flow of a part through the facility.
Mapping It Out
Decatur’s first step to refining its quality system was to identify the process steps. One of the company’s parts may run every two or three
years, so specific instructions are not memorized, Ritter said. Starting in 2006, she visited each department and work sta-
Decatur Foundry integrated the instructions and standards for its 1,600 parts into a single digital document.
36 MODERN CASTING / February 2010
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68