An 80% drop in scrap in just three months

Halla Climate Control Canada is a leader in the production of underbody refrigerant and coolant lines, accumulators/receiver driers, blower units and clutch components used in automotive air conditioning compressors. Every system they manufacture is custom-designed for each specific model of vehicle, producing a unique set of dimensions, configurations and performance requirements related to quality. During every phase of production for its refrigerant and coolant line products, workers respond to unacceptable process conditions in real time with the help of Zontec's Synergy 2000 SPC Software.

"Our biggest success has been in the end-forming area, where we create the couplings that will eventually be crimped to the hose," says Quality Supervisor Shane Davidson. "It was an area where we previously had constant issues every shift: non-conforming products, scrap and rework. About three months after we implemented the Synergy 2000 software, you could see the scrap rate drop off. We improved at least 80%, and rework dropped off with it."

Synergy 2000 has also helped Halla–a TS 16949 certified company–redirect its appraisal costs. "Appraisal costs are inherent," says Davidson, "but they don't have to be as costly if you're spending your time on the right processes. We can see which processes are highly capable, where we're spending too much appraisal time, and which processes don't need to be monitored as closely. We can take that unnecessary inspection time and put it to better use in areas that need more improvement."

Halla's processes incorporate vernier calipers, vernier length gages, bore gages and a variety of other measurement devices: a much more accurate and efficient way to input data into Synergy 2000 than keyboard entry.