SCIO Implementation

• General Description
• Business Process Analysis of Current Methodologies
• Software Installation and Configuration
• Initial Data Set
• Data Migration
• First Use
• Rollout
• SCIO User Instruction
• FMEA Instruction
• DFMEA / PFMEA
• FMEA Facilitator
• FMEA Management Overview
• FMEA Sufficiency Review
• Business Process Improvement with FMEA

General Description

Implementation of SCIO software provides new tools and capabilities for the process of authoring and deriving value from APQP documents. To take full advantage of the new tools it is necessary to integrate them into the customer's business processes.

There are three main conditions that must be met to allow the successful use of SCIO software tools. They are: configured software operating in the intended computing environment, trained users, and a starting set of data. Implementation, consequently, is structured by the preparation of each of these elements.

Business Process Analysis of Current Methodologies

This begins with a kickoff meeting to define implementation scope and goals. This is followed by interviews with the business process owners that are associated with the quality documents. The goal is to understand and describe how these documents are currently created, reviewed, approved, updated and used. The documents subject to this analysis potentially are: block diagrams, process flow diagrams, design FMEA, process FMEA, and process control plans. Depending on the goal of the implementation, some of the items in this list are not needed, however the FMEA for process or design are generally always included. There are also supporting processes which provide information that affects the FMEAs such as: the development of product and process requirements, and the process for document archiving.

The business process influences the configuration of the software and training topics. Therefore, after the business processes are discovered and analyzed, the implications for these items are determined. SCIO software allows a good deal of configuration flexibility in order to meet the variety of situations encountered in the customer's environment, so certain decisions on these items must be made initially. Subsequent modification is of course possible.

Software Installation and Configuration

Installation of the software itself is performed after the server has been made available. After initial installation and operational testing, the configuration process will be undertaken in order to apply the configuration decided during the business process design phase. These configuration items include things like security settings, display options, selection lists, naming conventions and report appearance.

Initial Data Set

SCIO users frequently create libraries of FMEA information to help streamline the authoring of new FMEAs. There are several ways to obtain this library such as: starting from scratch, extracting portions of legacy FMEAs, or performing widespread conversion of legacy FMEAs. A mixture of all three is also possible. A decision regarding the best approach for the situation must be made, which gives consideration to factors such as the current state of the legacy FMEAs and the intended use of the documents. This data must be evaluated for overall quality and consistency to ensure that the initial data set is useful for the creation of new FMEAs.

Data Migration

Legacy FMEA documents in Excel format can be converted to the SCIO database with the SCIO Importer application. This is usually done on a selected basis for FMEAs that require continued and immediate use, or those that are candidates for inclusion in a library. Due to typical variations in the Excel FMEAs such as column placement and format details, the import process is preceded by a setup step. PlanTech offers importing as a service, the duration of which varies according to the volume of documents. As a guideline, however, quantities of 300 can be completed in a week.

First Use

With users, software, and initial data, the first use of the SCIO software tools can begin. This takes the form of several facilitated FMEA sessions for an actual FMEA assignment. The goal of this session is to validate the configuration decisions and detect any needed business process or policy adjustments prior to rollout. This step concludes by assessing the attainment of implementation goals and recording of lessons learned.

Rollout

There are 3 alternatives to propagating SCIO functionality and skill to other locations. They are: central training only, serial rollout, and multi-point. Combinations of these are, of course, possible.

Central training consist of conducting classes and initial use coaching at a single location. Lead users from each manufacturing site or design center would attend a single training event and receive some FMEA coaching, then return to their home location. This offers the advantages of consistency and timeliness since everyone hears the same message at once.

Serial roll out refers to focusing attention on one location at a time, with training being provided just prior to first use at each location. This offers the opportunity to use the experience to refine the training and configuration.

Multi-point moves the training and coaching to the home locations, but does so in a shorter period of time than the prior option, and with less concern about successive refinements. The goal is to allow the users to be trained and coached while conserving their time away from the job. Depending on the timing and resource considerations, multiple sites can be dealt with simultaneously.

SCIO User Instruction

There are 3 levels of user training for the SCIO application: basic, advanced, and administrator.

Basic instruction equips a user to create new documents, view, edit, and report on them. As the documents are usually created by teams who may have assignments in the documents they need to fulfill, each of the team members should understand the basics of viewing, editing, and reporting.

Advanced instruction provides a deeper understanding of the programs to enable a team leader, for example, to create new documents from library templates, use database features, manage the follow up on action items, manage specifications and various linkages to other documents. This course builds on the content of the basic instruction and requires 1 additional day.

Administrator instruction includes the content of the previous two levels and adds the ability to change configuration values, manage user lists and user access rights, create custom reports and analysis. The course adds to the content of the basic and advanced instruction and requires an additional ½ day. At least 2 administrators should be prepared to serve in this role.

The training is instructor led with examples, discussions, exercises, and quizzes. All students require access to a computer with SCIO installed either in a classroom only stand alone mode or with an actual connection to the intended computing environment. Class size is limited to 12.

FMEA Instruction

To appreciate the features of the SCIO tools it is necessary to have an understanding and appreciation for the documents those tools help to create, analyze and use. This leads to the potential need for instruction on the FMEA and Control Plan.

PlanTech offers courses to enable engineers to understand the value of the FMEA as an important component of a quality improvement program, how it fits into the engineering process in general, and the specific business process of the customer.

DFMEA / PFMEA

The Design and Process FMEA courses are separate since there are differences in how the FMEA tool is best used in the analysis of a product design risk versus manufacturing process risk, however, the structure and intent of the courses are similar. Both cover the standards and intentions that originated the Failure Mode Effects Analysis, as well as the details of the standard column worksheet form, how to assess and assign values to severity, occurrence, and detection to determine a risk priority ranking. The courses also provide guidelines for effective recommended actions to reduce risk, and how FMEAs fit into an effective, continuously improving engineering cycle.

FMEA Facilitator

FMEAs are typically the responsibility of design or manufacturing engineers who provide the technical expertise on the item under analysis. The length of the engineering cycle, however, presents a challenge to maintaining skill in the FMEA process itself, and the pressures of an engineering program may reduce objectivity and increase variability that seriously degrades the value of the analysis. Organizations deal with this by offering facilitators who are expert at managing the FMEA team sessions and provide the necessary neutrality for deeper, more insightful analysis.

PlanTech's FMEA facilitator instruction develops individuals who can make the FMEA sessions consistently valuable experiences for an engineering team. The course equips the prospective facilitator with understanding of the FMEA, meeting dynamics, value of consistency, and equips them to become the driving force that ensures FMEAs are done on time with high quality.

FMEA Management Overview

The FMEA management overview session explains how FMEAs can be value added activity that creates engineering knowledge assets instead of merely being a cost of doing business. The course covers the basic definitions for various aspects of the FMEA, and then shows how those building blocks form a foundation for improving the reliability of products, manufacturing processes, customer relations, and establishing the FMEA process as a competitive advantage.

FMEA Sufficiency Review

PlanTech offers a methodical review of a sample FMEA as a means to assess the current state of the FMEA process. The lessons of over 20 years have been boiled down into a 32 point evaluation that gets to the heart of the matter and points the way to value improvement. After obtaining the sample documents, the PlanTech FMEA expert reviews them in accordance with the evaluation process and provides a written report on the findings.

Business Process Improvement with FMEA

PlanTech believes the FMEA, and SCIO, used as an engineering tool, offer the means to dramatically improve product quality and competitiveness. This begins with defining customer requirements, and managing and designing to those requirements with the SCIO Matrix analysis tool. It continues with the methodical derivation of functionality needs at each level of the product system hierarchy, again using the SCIO Matrix analysis tool, and performing cost/benefit tradeoffs so that resource applications are prioritized in a manner consistent with the priority of the product functions. These functions can then be linked to manufacturing processes and even process machines. Then the analysis of the clearly defined and prioritized functions can be immediately done with the FMEA tools. That analysis provides recommendations for improvement that can be prioritized by risk, assigned, and tracked to completion.

The feedback loop from data about field failures back to the FMEA can be easily made due to the database power of the SCIO tools. This sets the stage for a methodical continuous improvement process.

PlanTech's consultants start with the business process analysis for the implementation, and enhance it to include a more comprehensive view of the role of FMEAs. The future state blueprint, incorporating the SCIO tool set capabilities is then devised in conjunction with enterprise goals, and an implementation plan is created and executed.