3 tips to avoid rework in production
Ulrich Schumacher | 16. October 2019
Are you doing it right? An order must be shipped urgently. During the final inspection of the manufactured product for functionality and quality, however, it is determined that the function is not flawless. Before the product goes to the customer, it must be reworked to ensure that it is fully functional. This leads to delays and the due date of the customer order is at risk of being breached. Do you know this scenario?
Rework is one of the worst forms of wastage. During the time in which rework is carried out, no added value is created. According to DIN EN ISO 8402, 1995-08, Item 4.19, the term rework means all measures carried out on a defective product to enable it to meet the specified requirements.
If work that has already been calculated has to be corrected, costs arise. The more advanced the work is, the more expensive it becomes. This contradicts the value creation model. Rework is 100% pure wastage and must be eliminated.
Example: The construction drawing is faulty
Option 1: The errors in the design drawing are immediately apparent. The rework is done quickly.
Option 2: The error is only detected in the assembly phase of the order. This results in higher costs due to work that is done twice. In addition, this results in longer lead times, postponements of deadlines and/or blocking of production areas that are needed for further ongoing orders.
The risk of rework is particularly high on machines which are assembled from many different components. Here, standardised work processes must be created to prevent rework.
How can rework in production be avoided?
These 3 tips will help you:
1. Tip: Analyse processes that often lead to rework. The 5 W questions can be used for this purpose.
2. Tip: With the help of the Ishikawa diagram, the causes of a problem can be assigned to the main influencing variables such as machine, man, material, method in order to solve it.
3. Tip: The FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) helps to prioritise the remedial action. Potential problems are listed and evaluated according to probability of occurrence, significance for the customer and difficulty in implementing the remedial action.
Example: Ishikawa diagram
Avoid rework – with igus®
We at igus® also deal with this problem and are constantly working on new possibilities to avoid rework. As a manufacturer and harnesser of energy supply modules, we have created the necessary standards for this. With readychain® you receive the entire system from one source.
igus® can look back on decades of experience in project planning and assembly of readychain® systems and harnessed cables. Thanks to the ready-to-install readychain® solutions, you minimise potential rework, as you purchase the product as a complete system. In addition, each cable is tested and approved by one of our test facilities. For more information, visit the readychain® and readycable® pages.
