This Course Project is titled "Analysis of the CONFORMAT Quality Management System"; and as it is to be supposed, it was carried out at the Conformación Matanzas Noel Fernández Company; it belongs to the GIM Industrial Mechanical Group of the Ministry of SIME.
The objectives with which this project was carried out were the following:
- Analysis of the company's QMS. Determination and identification of the most important QMS process. Define, within the most important process, which is the fundamental product. Analyze and identify the operations that incur the most rejections within the cylinder manufacturing process.
For this, different techniques were used, including:
- Cause-Effect Diagram Paretto Diagram OTIDA Diagram
After having achieved the objectives set, the following conclusions were reached:
- The main product of CONFORMAT, in recent years has been and is the Repaired Cylinder for LPG of 45 Kg of capacity. In the manufacturing process of the repaired cylinder for LPG of 45 Kg, the productive operations with the highest rate of defectiveness incurred are analyzed; in order to take measures capable of reducing rejections. The Marketing Department of the company establishes, on a permanent basis, effective communication with its fixed customers; as well as carrying out studies and research with the aim of winning other market segments that currently have unsatisfied demands or needs.
Title: Analysis of the CONFORMAT Quality Management System.
INTRODUCTION.
This work was carried out at the COMPANY OF CONFORMATION OF MATANZAS ” Noel Fernández, better known by CONFORMAT, located in Covadonga # 10: Playa, Matanzas. Cuba. This entity was created by resolution No: 202/77 with the fundamental objective of producing and commercializing, in a wholesale manner and in both currencies, pressure vessels and their components, articles for domestic and industrial use from the formation of metals for both the national market as for export. In addition, to provide maintenance and repair services for pressure vessels and offer industrial and machining maintenance services.
The objective of this study is to show how the CONFORMAT Quality Management System is structured and works , prepared according to the requirements of ISO 9001: 00. This system , implemented by the company under study , defines its scope in Manufacturing; Repair and Maintenance of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Cylinders up to 45 kg, Tanks for Portable Pressure Fire Extinguishers from 1 to 9 kg and Bird Feeders.
Also, a Diagnosis of one of the Key Processes of the system is made; analyzing its fundamental clients, its product portfolio and choosing from this the main product and valuing it through the three Quality Stages.
Chapter I.
Theoretical Considerations
The adoption of a quality management system is a strategic decision of each organization. The design and implementation of a quality management system in an organization are influenced by different needs, particular objectives, the products supplied, the processes used and the size and structure of the organization, etc.
International Standard ISO 9001: 2000 can be used by internal and external parties, including certification bodies, to assess the organization's ability to meet the customer's, regulatory and organization's own requirements. In the development of this International Standard, the principles of quality management set forth in ISO 9000 and ISO 9004 have been taken into account.
This International Standard promotes the adoption of a process-based approach when developing, implementing and improving the effectiveness of a quality management system, to increase customer satisfaction by meeting its requirements.
Model of a process-based quality management system (taken from ISO 9000: 2000)
For an organization to function effectively, it has to identify and manage numerous related activities. An activity that uses resources, and that is managed in order to allow input elements to transform into results, can be considered as a process. Often the result of one process is directly the input to the next process.
The ISO 9000: 2000 section 3.4.1 defines a «Process» as:
«Set of mutually related or interacting activities, which transform input elements into results.
The input elements for one process are generally results of other processes. An organization's processes are generally planned and implemented under controlled conditions to add value.
The application of a process system within the organization, together with the identification and interactions of these processes, as well as their management, can be called a "process-based approach". An advantage of this approach is the continuous control it provides over the links between individual processes within the process system, as well as over their combination and interaction.
Such an approach, when used within a quality management system, emphasizes the importance of:
a) understanding and meeting the requirements, b) the need to consider the processes in terms that add value, c) obtaining results of the performance and effectiveness of the process, and
d) continuous improvement of processes based on objective measurements.
The " Plan-Do-Check-Act " cycle was initially developed in the 1920s by Walter Shewhart, and was later popularized by W. Edwards Deming. For this reason it is frequently known as «Deming Cycle «. There is extensive literature on the PHVA cycle in numerous languages, and users of the ISO 9000: 2000 family of Standards are invited to refer to it to further understand the concept.
The PHVA concept is something that is present in all areas of our professional and personal life, and it is continuously used, both formally and informally, consciously or subconsciously, in everything we do. Every activity, no matter how simple or complex it is, is part of this endless cycle
Maintenance and continuous improvement of process capacity can be achieved by applying the PHVA concept at all levels within the organization. This applies equally to high-level strategic processes, such as planning of quality management systems or management review, and to simple operational activities carried out as part of the product realization processes.
The Note in section 0.2 of the ISO 9001: 2000 Standard explains that the PHVA cycle applies to processes as follows:
«Plan»: establish the objectives and processes necessary to achieve results in accordance with the client's requirements and the organization's policies;
"Do": implement the processes;
"Verify": Track and measure processes and products against product policies, objectives and requirements, and report results.
"Act": take actions to continually improve process performance.
The relationship of the Processes of a system with the PHVA Principle is better understood through a Process Map
The processes of a QMS, according to the ISO 9001: 2000 standard, are classified into three groups:
OPERATIONS (Keys): They have been subject to measurement and control. They have a direct impact on the quality of the product or service.
SUPPORT: They do not directly influence quality, they have enormous potential to improve productivity, since they have always been the object of less direct attention.
STRATEGIC: They require the participation of the management, for its definition of goals and concrete tasks
Practical Considerations
The present work was carried out in the COMPANY OF CONFORMATION OF SLAUGHTERHOOD ” Noel Fernández, better known by CONFORMAT created with the fundamental objective of producing and marketing, in a wholesale manner and in both currencies, pressure vessels and their components, articles for domestic use and industrial from metal shaping both for the national market and for export. In addition, to provide maintenance and repair services for pressure vessels and offer industrial and machining maintenance services.
CONFORMAT FUNCTIONAL CHART
CONFORMAT has identified the following processes as those necessary for the Quality Management System implemented:
CONFORMAT has identified the following processes as those necessary for the Quality Management System implemented:
The interaction of the QMS processes is shown in the following Process Map, which facilitates their planning and changes.
NOTE: All processes interact with process P02 System Documentation
CONFORMAT has established, documented, implemented and maintains a Quality Management System. It also has all the elements that allow it to continually improve its efficiency as established in the Reference Standard. Evidence of this are:
- It controls and determines the interaction of its processes, as shown by the Process Map. Through the SGC documents, the necessary criteria and methods are determined that ensure that both the operation and the control of the processes are effective. It is established in each document of Process Management, for each specific process, the identification of necessary resources, as well as information to support operations and monitor their processes. In its P01 management process, it defines the actions for the measurement and control of the processes. actions to achieve planned objectives and continuous improvement, according to process P01, as well as identify processes related to continuous improvement.
The defined Quality Policy is established in a separate document, expressing the commitment to comply with the requirements of the selected Standard and its continuous improvement. This Quality Policy is disclosed, known and understood by all workers, and its review is guaranteed for its constant improvement.
The CONFORMAT Management, based on the general guidelines of the SIME Organization, has established its Quality Objectives for the operation of the QMS, including those relating to continuous improvement, which are in accordance with the Quality Policy. These objectives are periodically reviewed, with a view to facilitating continuous improvement, remaining in document P01-9 from which, and depending on their particular characteristics, the Action Plan is defined to complete them.
The Director of CONFORMAT has appointed the Director of Engineering and Quality as Representative for the Management, who, regardless of his duties, has the responsibility and authority to:
- guarantee that the necessary processes of the Quality Management System are established, applied and maintained, inform senior management about the performance of the Quality Management System and improvement needs, ensure compliance with customer requirements at all levels of the Company.
The CONFORMAT Management ensures that the strategic planning of the Quality System is carried out with the necessary resources to achieve the General and Particular Quality Objectives at each level, in accordance with the documents that demonstrate the management of each process, in the table that The activities and information on the QMS processes are described below.
From the operating processes of CONFORMAT we will analyze the one related to the Manufacture of Cylinders for LPG. This process was selected based on its importance in the company's indicators, such as Sales in MLC and Income. The weight of the final products of this process in the CONFORMAT macroeconomics is evidenced through the following Table and Diagrams:
| Operational processes | Sales at MLC (MP) | Income (MP) | ||||
| 2006 | 2007 | H / October 2008 | 2006 | 2007 | H / October 2008 | |
| Cylinder Manufacturing | 2490.5 | 2443.8 | 2251.2 | 1875.6 | 1746.9 | 1625.7 |
| Fire Extinguisher Manufacturing | 695.1 | 752.8 | 845.3 | 386.4 | 655.2 | 789.6 |
| Total | 3185.6 | 3196.6 | 3096.5 | 2262.0 | 2402.1 | 2415.3 |
The fundamental clients of this process are the following:
- CUPET of the 14 provinces and the special municipality Isla de la Juventud. Cuban Gas Company (ECG), a company from Havana City. ELF GAS Cuba, a company from Santiago de Cuba. Comercializadora FERROMAR company, is in charge of marketing our products in outside the country. (Exports) LPG Cylinder Repair Companies in the country, among them are:
- METALGAS company from the city of Cárdenas. Marcel Bravo company from Ciego de Ávila. ALUMEC company from the city of Manzanillo, Granma.
Of the clients mentioned above, the most important group is the provincial CUPET, this is demonstrated through the following Table and Diagram; which inform the participation quota that each client has in the total sales of the company
| customers | Total Sales (MP) | |||||
| 2006 | % participation | 2007 | % participation | H / October 2008 | % participation | |
| CUPET Provincials | 2095.63 | 47.3 | 2443.8 | 47.32 | 2551.2 | 49.2 |
| FERROMAR | 1001.3 | 22.6 | 1265.39 | 24.5 | 1312.36 | 25.3 |
| Repair Companies | 549.4 | 12.4 | 754.1 | 14.6 | 804.02 | 15.5 |
| ECG | 522.8 | 11.8 | 485.5 | 9.4 | 378.7 | 7.3 |
| ELF GAS CUBA | 261.4 | 5.9 | 210.73 | 4.09 | 140.05 | 2.7 |
| Total | 4430.53 | 100 | 5159.52 | 100 | 5186.33 | 100 |
As can be seen, the most important product for CONFORMAT is the 45 kg LPG Cylinder, since the sales volumes registered over several years confirm this. In addition, the economic weight that this product represents for the company has a social impact; In other words, CUPET companies in all provinces need this container to be able to market liquefied petroleum gas to the population and to state entities that require it.
Taking all of the above into account, we chose the 45 kg capacity LPG cylinder product to analyze its production process.
In the CONFORMAT Cylinder Factory there is a group of workers that make up the Quality Committee, which meets to analyze in detail the problems that most affect them, such as reducing rejection rates in some operations, in order to comply with Quality a production of 420 45 kg bottles in two shifts with a production value of 8.27 MCUC
An example of the actions of this Quality Committee is the fact that in the month of March of this year the behavior of Quality, in some operations of vital importance in the technological flow, there were problems, specifically these operations were 4:
- Inlay Flight Cut Blink Welding
Through the following Table and Bar Graph we relate the number of defects that occurred in this month:
| (c) Technological Process | Rejected pieces |
| Inlay | 4 |
| Flight Court | 3 |
| Eyelid | 5 |
| Welding | 17 |
As can be seen in the bar graph, welding was the process with the highest defect rate, therefore 4 of the 5 welding operations that make up the manufacture of this bottle were analyzed.
The manufacture of the bottles includes the following types of welding:
- From the Equatorial Bushing From the base ring From the nursery
The welding methods used in this case we have in the first two are electric welding under submerged arc with flux and the rest electric welding with CO2.
In March, the 17 pieces rejected by welding were distributed as follows:
| Technological process | Rejected pieces | Losses in USD |
| Bushing welding | two | 6.22 |
| Equatorial welding | 9 | 55.89 |
| Base Ring Welding | 5 | 35.55 |
| Guardera Welding | one | 8.0 |
Through the following Paretto diagram, losses in CUC are reflected, which constitutes the fundamental cause in the activity of the Quality Committee since it must be aimed at solving those quality problems that most affect the company economically.
| Technological process | Losses in CUC by Operation | Accumulated CUC losses |
| Equatorial welding | 55.89 | 55.89 |
| Base Ring Welding | 35.55 | 91.44 |
| Guardera Welding | 8 | 99.44 |
| Bushing welding | 6.22 | 105.66 |
Higher failure costs are involved in equatorial welding.
With the experience of workers and members of the Quality Committee, a brainstorm was made, drawing up the following Cause-Effect diagram:
Article II CAUSE-EFFECT DIAGRAM
Each one of these causes was submitted to analysis, preparing a plan of measures by the quality committee in which the actions to be developed to reduce these are defined.
- Corrective actions to determine the deficiencies detected after the brainstorming and the Cause-Effect Diagram.
1-Keep updated the work procedure according to ISO 9000 where all the specifications of the raw material for the manufacture of Welded Steel Bottles are collected.
3- The workers will be guaranteed the necessary means of protection.
4-Repair all the Lamps to guarantee the lighting in the Factory.
5-Maintain in all work stations, the Instructions, Procedure and Technology as appropriate.
6-Guarantee the Ventilation in the Welding jobs fundamentally.
7-. Deliver Courses, Videos, Brochures to the Factory Welders in coordination with the University of Matanzas and the UTP.
8-.Prepare weekly a report of the defectiveness of the Workshop, mainly in the Welding process specifically for each welder
9-.Guarantee the drying of the flux before producing as established.
This post-production product is followed up by specialists from the company's Marketing Department; It should be understood that studies and research are carried out to verify the acceptance that these cylinders receive in the market.
The Marketing Department assesses the satisfaction of its external customers through Surveys, Endorsements, Regular Meetings with the customer (SIME-CUPET) (SEISA-CONFORMAT), Customer Visits to our production processes. In addition, International Fairs and Events are used to contact clients, especially those from outside the country.
It should be added that the information received is used in the development and improvement of existing products, as an example we can mention that in the last period improvements have been made to the 45 kg LPG Cylinder regarding its storage and bottle identification..
CONCLUSIONS.
After having carried out this study at the CONFORMAT Company Noel Fernández; The following conclusions were reached:
- The company CONFORMAT Noel Fernández has certified its Quality Management System, by the National Standardization Office (ONN) according to the NC-ISO 9001: 2001 standard.CONFORMAT has identified, of the fundamental processes, which is what constitutes the business principal; that is, the most stable and considerable source of income. The main product of CONFORMAT, in recent years has been and is the 45 Kg LPG Cylinder. In the manufacturing process of the 45 KG LPG Cylinder, the productive operations with the highest defectiveness rate incurred; in order to take measures capable of reducing rejections. The Marketing Department of the company establishes, on a permanent basis, effective communication with its fixed customers;as well as carrying out studies and research with the aim of winning other market segments that currently have their demands or needs unsatisfied. CONFORMAT offers after-sales services to the vast majority of its productions; understood, in the case of LPG cylinders the Retimbrado and Repair service.
RECOMMENDATIONS.
In light of the above conclusions, we suggest the following:
- CONFORMAT must maintain the certification of its Quality Management System, including or gradually making the improvements or modifications that this entails. Work to improve and perfect the manufacturing process for LPG cylinders, which constitutes the main business of the company. Give a differentiated attention to the rest, to the main product of CONFORMAT: Cylinder for LPG of 45 Kg of capacity; that is, to give a permanent follow-up, using Marketing techniques, to prolong the life cycle of this product in the market. Maintain a daily analysis of the productive operations with the highest defective rate in the manufacturing process of the repaired cylinder for LPG of 45 Kg, in order to take measures that are capable of reducing rejections and making the entity more efficient.Strengthen communication with the company's fixed customers; as well as continuing to carry out studies and investigations with help to decide the expansion to other market segments that currently have their demands or needs unsatisfied. Continue to provide post-sale services to LPG cylinders (Retimbrado and Repair service), achieving in them Every day more, superior quality, efficiency and effectiveness.
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