Fig. 2. Detailed steps aid employees who are filling in for someone at a different department. Here, the method for hand-packing and tucking under a chill is pictured.


company has conducted a year and a half of audits. According to Ritter, the new quality system has improved Decatur’s on-time delivery while also educating the customer about lead times and the casting process in general. Customers can review the procedures for a job and come away with a better understanding of how a casting is made


and confidence that it will be produced as-specified, Ritter said. “When customers come to visit and


perform audits, we can show them the standard operating procedures and work instructions, which builds trust in the pro- cess,” Ritter said. “It also helps customers to know our [shop-floor] supervisors are the authors of the procedures.”


The actual process of creating the in-


tegrated manual was a benefit to produc- tion, as well. Representatives from every department were involved in writing the procedures, and in the process, they gained further knowledge of how other departments operated. Mapping out every procedure, while time consuming to set up, has made it easier to make


38


MODERN CASTING / February 2010


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