Solving the Problem of Waste Pieces in the Type of Broken Downlight Legs during the Production

Abstract

Objective: To solve the problem of waste pieces generated in the manufacturing process of downlight legs in a company by applying the principles of quality control methods. The goal was to reduce the waste pieces, specifically broken downlight legs, by 10 - 20%.

Methods: The problem solving process started from a study of the manufacturing process of the downlight legs, by preparing and processing 50 kilograms of raw materials. The finished products were sorted by qualified and waste pieces. The breakage type and amount of the waste were recorded. Then the researcher considered a solution, by applying the principles of quality control. The problem solving process started from using a cause and effect diagram to detect the cause of the tear during the production. Hypothesized the potential cause of the problem and performed preliminary tests. Hence, the problem was solved by designing and constructed a mechanical system used to feed the workpieces to replace a human operator and precisely control the width of the steel entering the process. The designed equipment was installed in addition to the original “feeding pump”, then the legs of the downlight were produced. The results were then compared between before and after installing the device.

Results: Data collection showed that, before solving the problem, the manufacturing of downlight lamp legs using 50 kilograms of raw materials, 268 pieces of torn type were found. After installing the device that analyze and construct to solve the problems, it was found that only 70 torn pieces were produced. Therefore, the installation of the device could reduce the waste-pieces that have a torn mark-by the amount of 198 pieces, which accounted for 73.8%.