Foundry Process Improvement

 

"Very good class and instructors. Will recommend to all individuals who want to enhance their problem solving skills." 

Overview

Participants will receive basic root cause analysis training, which can serve as a refresher, a preparatory course for the American Society for Quality (ASQ) Six Sigma Green Belt Certification program, or as a follow-up to any quality certification training. Metalcasting facilities often struggle with problem solving and have a need for training with a focus on metalcasting issues. At its core, this course provides personnel with disciplined problem-solving techniques, and emphasizes tools to better understand process data and performance using unique examples and case studies drawn from metalcasting facility settings.

Discussion on the first day will include problem solving approaches, problem statement development, team and project management, process thinking, problem characterization, and examine types of data. The second day will focus on collecting and analyzing data, tools for analyzing process variation, process capability, and testing the root cause(s). The third day will focus on developing solutions, countermeasures and methods for sustaining improvement, and conclude with a capstone problem-solving exercise that allows students to demonstrate what they have learned. Participants will also have an opportunity to bring specific problems and/or process improvement challenges to class for discussion and analysis.

Participants will obtain a higher level of knowledge about problem solving and process improvement practices used in established metalcasting facilities. They will be armed with the knowledge to begin working through process-based problems and understand ways to solve issues that may plague their organization. This course also provides an opportunity for hands-on practice using metalcasting-specific examples.

Learning outcomes

Class participants will learn to:

  • Describe structured problem-solving approaches.
  • Develop effective problem statements.
  • Characterize problems to develop possible root causes.
  • Recognize various methods for collecting and analyzing data.
  • Explain why process stability is required for improvement.
  • Identify process sampling strategies for determining root cause.
  • Determine process improvement solutions and countermeasures.
  • Implement corrective action to sustain improvement.

Course Length

2.0 days

CEU Units

1.40 CEU

Course outline

Module 1: Introduction
Module 2: Overview of Structured Problem Solving

•    Structured Problem Solving for Metalcasting Facilities
•    Problem Solving Basics
•    Effective Problem Definition
•    Managing Customer Expectations

Module 3: Teams, Project Management, and Process Thinking

•    The Project Team
•    Process Thinking
•    Understanding Process Variation

Module 4: Driving Toward Root Cause

•    Root Causes
•    Tools for Identifying Possible Root Causes

Module 5: The Nature of Data

•    Types of Data Used In Metalcasting Facilities
•    Distributions
•    Using Statistics to Understand Your Data

Module 6: Problem Solving Exercise

•    Problem Solving Group Activity

Module 7: Collecting and Analyzing Data

•    Measurement Defined
•    Handling Data

Module 8: Analyzing Process Variation and Examining Process Capability

•    Is the Problem Due to an Out-of-Control Process?
•    Stability
•    Is the Process Capable of Consistently Meeting Customer Requirements?

Module 9: Testing Root Cause

•    Root Cause

Module 10: Developing and Evaluating Solutions and Countermeasures

•    Developing Solutions
•    Evaluating Solutions
•    Sustaining the Improvement
•    Long-Term Process Monitoring

Module 11: Problem Solving Exercise

•    Problem Solving Group Activity

Module 12: Conclusion