ISO 9001 By Mary McDonald
marymcd@mcdcg.com
Color Me Organized T
here’s been some talk amongst some of my clients lately about labeling – whether it’s necessary, or just another way to slow down production. (I know, some of you are beyond this stage, but it might be helpful for those who are still deciding whether to implement or not.) I follow the conversations with interest, as I’m all about streamlining, but also all about sys- tems, and the pros and cons fall square- ly in one camp or another. Pros: • Prevents costly errors • Allows easy identification of parts that may look similar
• Allows faster double checking of order prior to shipment Cons: • Labeling takes too much time – “my team is experienced and doesn’t need this”
• It’s too expensive (for materials as well as labor)
While both of these points have their merit, I fall on the side of “pro” for this one. (Those who know me aren’t very sur- prised by this.)
Let me offer some alternatives to what you may be thinking.
Labeling, when I talk to those who are resistant to implementing it, is always perceived as words on a sticky piece of paper – often handwritten by the disas- sembler who laboriously hand marks the parts (any parts where confusion could occur, at a minimum).
Although that definition is certainly one application of labels, there are much easier ways to label parts that don’t involve writing at all – namely, using color coding wherever possible so you can tell from a greater distance the sta- tus of a part, box, or assembly. For instance, on shipping options, one client has different pieces of cardboard tucked into the flap of the box: • Red is overnight • Blue is 2-day
• White is hold for pickup
• Green is regular freight, or labeled for day of shipment/pickup
This allows them to know at a glance whether overnight shipments have gone out, what is the status of freight, etc. These cardboard labels are removed prior to final shipment, and re-used over and over – a quick way to see what needs to be processed for FedEx/UPS/LTL/ hold for pickup visually, without needing to go “read” anything.
Do you have some colored file folders hanging around? Cut them up to use as shipping indicators, and hang up a key or legend for folks so they know what color means what! A sign near the scales typically works well. For similar parts, why not differentiate parts that appear similar with the use of color coding for:
• Different manufacturers • Different model years • Levels of damage, etc. • The typical “which side” labels. If you run out of “L” and “R” stickers, if you always use the same colors for the same side (“left” is green and “right” is red), you can use unlabeled red and green stickers in a pinch (again, put this color code up for all to see). In the office, use colors for your accounts receivable (and A/P, also). • Red for accounts past due • Yellow for accounts due within 10 days • Green for all other accounts For my work while at a client site, you’ll see me refer to colored folders: • Blue are the legislation/standards I refer to often, including environ- mental, health/safety;
• Yellow is work in-progress awaiting response from someone else before I can proceed;
• Green is active work in progress; • Red is critical – past due or atten-
Color coding shipments and parts is a great way to save time and stay on track.
tion needed (like who I need to call and get sta- tus from, who’s late with
information to me, etc.) I try to keep the red folder empty. I use this system so I can see, at a glance or even if the tabs are not facing me, which folder I want to grab. When setting up client files, I often set up colored files or use colored paper for • Preventive Maintenance – by week, month, quarter, year – different col- ors are different intervals.
• Regulatory submissions – different colors are different requirements (after a rainfall for a catch sample vs. a specific calendar time submission). For example, the blue file for post- rainfall vs. the yellow folder for OSHA 300 recordable.
• 5S /6S – list of daily, weekly chores, or different assignments are differ- entiated by being printed on differ- ent colored paper. For example, yellow is done by disassemblers, green by warehouse, blue by office, white by sales, pink by management. A quick search of an automotive sup- ply house shows that there are lots of options for labeling – blank labels, labels that comply with Hollander, Pinnacle, or CheckMate, dots, rectangles, hang tags, tags ready for filling out, and more. So next time you’re wondering if you should bother with labeling, get creative (and colorful) with your solution and clearly mark your parts. Your customers, and your pickers, will be happy you did.
Mary McDonald is the CEO/CTO of The Mc- Donald Consulting Group since 1995, working to help clients improve processes to positively affect the bottom line. She is a Certified Qual-
ity Auditor and a RABQSA Certified Lead Auditor in several standards, as well as an author and speaker on systems integration and strategic business planning.
January-February 2016 | Automotive Recycling 23
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