Case Studies - Quality - PBA Heat Treatment

Excelerate to Quality

Development of a System to Improve Operational Performance Through Increased Process Control and Monitoring at PBA Heat Treatment.

Improved control within the business
Reduced response times
Immediate financial reward

PBA Heat Treatment Ltd (PBA) were able to integrate new, flexible process controls into their manufacturing processes with grant support of around £15,000 through the Accelerate programme. The project led to the development of new systems to maximise overall process efficiency: optimising flexibility and responsiveness with the need for rigorous process planning and quality control.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) can be highly responsive to opportunities, but often lack the critical mass to create and manage change effectively. Continuously identifying opportunities for improvement in areas, setting up and operating data collection systems and analysing those data for improvements requires focus and concentration. Those that have the skill and dedication to drive the change cycle through will receive their rewards in excellent performance and World Class competitiveness.

PBA offer a range of heat treatment services focused primarily upon the automotive sector. Services, including brazing and bright annealing, are offered on contract to customer parts that enter both domestic and export markets. PBA is a family owned company committed to growth, continuous improvement and best practice.

PBA Heat Treatments Ltd are facing the same business drivers as other automotive sector companies. Top down pressure from OEM companies in quality management is pushing the company towards QS 9000. This new quality management standard requires the measurement of company level data including process parameters. In the contract heat treatment, key process parameters include temperature and application time.

PBA saw an opportunity to re-engineer their business process when ageing computerised systems failed Millennium date change tests. A project was conceived at PBA to address opportunities for improvements in quality. A number of areas within the operation including some critical customer interfaces could be included in the wide ranging changes to business processes. The procedures for energy control, monitoring of work in progress, dispatch logistics and invoicing could be integrated within a singe system. This system should be computerised and linked back to the account in order to optimise operational performance.

Main project objectives

To produce a business process specification for a system to integrate information flows within the business

To develop new process planning and control procedures as required
To review and assess company level data and to produce recommendations concerning business process control.
To assess the availability of products in the market against the business specification.
To develop the initial structure including hard and software as required to produce the elements of a new integrated management system.
To eliminate business risks arising from Millennium date change issues and produce improved systems.

Finance and implementation

Overall project costs amounting to over £30,000 were offset by £15,000 of grant through the Accelerate Programme. Pro Enviro were contracted-in to provide flexible analytical skills and management support for the project. Pro Enviro, an established consultancy specialising in industrial manufacturing and environmental management, mainly focused on:

Reviewing existing systems and providing integration
Supporting the development of a manufacturing business strategy
Producing a functional specification and assessing appropriate computer systems.
Implementation and monitoring of the new system.
The success of the entire project was reliant upon the successful working partnership between Pro Enviro and the senior management and skilled employees of PBA.

Outcome

The project was monitored by measuring the reduction in total response time from enquiry to production. Other performance measures included customer rejects and defect analysis records. These allowed non-conformance with client specifications to be identified and rectified as appropriate.

The project undertaken at PBA highlights the opportunities for improvement throughout the company. Areas as diverse as process control and culture can be improved to yield operational excellence. PBA have developed an effective automated management system to achieve this.