That is why the auto industry developed the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) in 1982 as a not-for-profit association where professionals from a diverse group of stakeholders work collaboratively to streamline industry processes via global standards and harmonize business practices. AIAG standards are involved in the production of virtually every car in the United States, as well as the international production of American automotive companies. With 750 member companies covering every step of the supply chain, AIAG standards define the industry.

AIAG has made Statistical Process Control (SPC) a requirement for supplying the US automotive companies. Implemented well, Statistical Process Control (SPC) can enable suppliers to profitably meet their automotive customers requirements.

Putting in place a high quality SPC product will not only meet these AIAG requirements, but also enable your company to eliminate scrap, reduce rework, maximize employee productivity, and proactively look at areas for improvement. Through:

• Maintaining your desired Sigma level
• Monitoring more closely the lifecycle of your equipment
• Reducing your customer defects to zero
• Using your SPC data to test out the viability of improvements to the production line
• Working closely with your suppliers to prevent rejects before they occur

Here is one example. Grakon LLC is a global leader in the design and development of advanced lighting systems and engineered trim components for premier Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) vehicle manufacturers. Don Bartlett, Director of Quality and Customer Service for Grakon LLC uses Synergy 3000 to meet their AIAG capability requirements. “Typically, the standard is a Cpk of 1.67, however, our internal goal is to be greater than 2,” Barlett said. ”Synergy 3000 has really helped us with quality system compliance, and continuous improvement.”

Schoeneck Containers

United Gear & Assembly using Synergy 2000 on the shop floor

United Gear and Assembly and Zontec were highlighted in the in the March/April issue of Gear Technology. The article talks about how United Gear and Assembly is using Synergy to generate new business! See the attached PDF!

Zontec and United Gear and Assembly

Or see the article below in the magazine online! The article begins the product news section of the magazine!

Quality Assurance Gains on the Manufacturing Floor: Zontec’s SPC Software Increases Productivity for Gear Manufacturer

• Prevent defects before they occur
• Reduce rework
• Eliminate customer rejections

Here are some lessons Dan learned about working with suppliers:

• Precision manufacturing demands instant coordination with suppliers
• Real-time information is key to good communication
• Once suppliers see the savings possible they become SPC cheerleaders

Are you wrestling with quality issues related to your suppliers? Watch the following video to learn more:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFpNPn3IrIo

Here are some of the features available in the Synergy 100:

• SPC software setup in minutes
• Flexible data collection
• Easy navigation — a click away
• Versatile interactive real-time charts
• Instant reporting (e.g. reports that show up to eight processes instantly)

See the related article in Quality Digest.

About Zontec

Zontec is a major world player in the Statistical Process Control (SPC) software market, carrying on a longstanding tradition as one of the first companies to offer SPC software for personal computers in 1983. Today, Zontec is highly respected for its focus on innovation and applying new technologies that help businesses address quality issues, maximize profitability and strive for long-term continuous improvement. Zontec is unique in the industry by offering a full suite of products to meet the needs of companies of all sizes. Zontec software has been adopted worldwide by more than 5,000 companies, spanning virtually every industrial category.

See PC Software Speeds Data Collection, Business Growth

The first webinar will be held on Tuesday, March 13^th at 1:00 p.m. EST/10:00 a.m. PST. The webinar will be for approximately 45 minutes. During this webinar, attendees will hear how MASS Precision, which maintains precision to 50 millionths of an inch, was able to work with its suppliers to reduce customer rejects to less than 1%.

During this webinar attendees will learn:

• How to be proactive vs. reactive in your supplier relationships
• What role good information plays in the relationship
• How SPC software can facilitate instant communications
• How suppliers can become your joint advocates in the improvement proces

See the related article in Quality Digest.

The February issue of Quality Magazine highlighted United Gear and Assembly as a case study about their use of the Synergy software to help them bring in new business!

For more information, check out the following article:
“Case Study: Software Brings New Business”

• Personalized Service – Each production environment is unique. As your vendor of choice, you want to talk to someone who understands your implementation of the software. You want to work through issues with someone that retains the knowledge of past issues related to your implementation.
• Persistent Service – Sometimes issues are complicated. Issues may take time to be resolved. When you are working through an issue, you want someone that will stay with you until the issue is resolved.
• Prompt Service – Because every minute counts, you want someone that will respond promptly and knowlegably to your issue or concern.

The SPC software you are using should reflect your own quality standards. Remember that in addition to building a quality product, the software vendor should provide you excellent customer service as well.

What does this mean for those in Quality? With the workload of Quality Managers these days being “very busy” the outlook looks positive. At Zontec, we are just coming off one of our best years in our history. Although growth may be slow, we believe that companies will continue to look at ways to drive down costs and increase revenue.

Because our software enables companies to reduce scrap, reduce rework, increase user productivity, and leverage existing equipment for new business, we believe that quality software will continue to be seen as a means to enhance corporate productivity. More than ever, companies are looking at ways to increase efficiency. Because this is what we do, the future looks promising.