Preparing your employees to not only understand, but buy into, and value the tools and methods a QMS offers, is vital to the success of its implementation. IMEC offers training on many of the concepts that are relevant for Six Sigma, as well as more advanced Quality Management System implementations. Our workshops typically include real-world case studies, or hands-on demonstration of the tools, to facilitate an understanding of the methods that are introduced and the value these tools can create.

IMEC’s Quality Toolkit Training programs include:

• Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) – 1-day — Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) is a methodology of defining and establishing the steps necessary to assure that a proposed product or service satisfies the customer. By assigning a cross-functional team to follow a step-by-step approach to fully determine the customer needs and expectations, companies are able to plan and direct resources to carry out the project deliverables, promote early identification of required changes and, ultimately, provide a quality product or service at the lowest cost and with the least risk.  This overview covers the steps involved in the APQP process and the tools used to support this process to provide a good foundation for implementation.

• Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) – 2-day — Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is a structured technique to analyze a design or a process to determine shortcomings and opportunities for improvement. By assessing the severity of a potential failure, the likelihood that the failure will occur, and the chance of detecting the failure, potential issues can be prioritized for improvement.  Many companies integrate the FMEA methodology into their Quality Management System to drive improvements in their processes and support the advanced product quality planning required by many OEMs.

• Measurement Systems Analysis (MSA) – 1-day — Measurement Systems Analysis (MSA) techniques are used for analyzing the variation within a measurement system, determining its suitability for use, and identifying ways to improve measurement systems.  Once a measurement system is found to be acceptable, it is equally important to have a formal system to manage the measurement system to ensure that it continues to be reliable and dependable. Companies typically implement formal management of measurement systems as part of a Quality Management System to drive further improvements in their overall quality costs.

• Statistical Process Control (SPC) – 2-day — Process stability is one of the most important concepts of any quality improvement methodology. Stability involves achieving consistent and, ultimately, higher process yields through the application of additional controls and improvements.  Statistical Process Control (SPC) is a methodology used to monitor, control and improve process performance over time, study variation in the process and evaluate ways to solve process variation problems as they arise for overall improvement of the process.

• Problem Solving and Root Cause Analysis – 2-day — Companies are continually striving to eliminate undesirable outcomes, chronic problems and customer complaints. The tendency in many companies is generally to treat the symptom rather than the underlying fundamental cause that is actually responsible for the errant situation. Dealing with the symptom, rather than the cause, typically means that, in time, the problem or complaint returns and must be dealt with once again.  Using a structured problem-solving methodology to understand why errors and problems occur, allows a company to implement appropriate solutions to address the root cause(s) and, ultimately, prevent the problem from occurring again. 

• Coaching and Implementation Assistance — IMEC’s primary role with companies is in supporting internal champions, team facilitation, and on-site coaching to ensure full implementation of these tools. In addition, we can work with internal staff responsible for developing procedures or work instructions to integrate these concepts into their existing Quality Management System.