The Challenge
Cochlear was looking for a quality-control solution that builds quality into production processes rather than testing failures out. Cochlear needed a system to increase efficiency with real-time data analysis to help them move past the paper-based reporting system they had previously relied on.
Cochlear’s primary objectives were to:
- Decrease build variability
- Reduce reliance on manual systems and paper-based records
- Proactively manage machine performance
The Solution
To achieve their process improvement goals, Cochlear decided to implement a modern, state-of-the-art Statistical Process Control (SPC) system: InfinityQS® ProFicient™ software.
ProFicient gives Cochlear automated real-time visual analysis of quality data. Rather than working through paper-based reports at the end of the day, quality managers are now free to focus on executing quality improvement.
Cochlear implemented a full-scale project, and is impressed that ProFicient’s scalability gives them the ability to further expand the software’s capability as the company grows.
- When deviations are detected, immediate action can be taken to ensure high manufacturing standards are met.
- Robust reporting capabilities allow quality managers to analyze production quality in real time.
- Flexible analysis tools allow for endless real-time combinations of quality data, viewable in 300 different chart types.
The Results
ProFicient now helps Cochlear ensure that every unit is produced to the same exacting standard. The minute that ProFicient detects deviation, shop-floor operators take immediate and prudent action to keep manufacturing processes up to Cochlear’s high standards. They are able to ensure that Cochlear produces the highest quality Implantable Hearing Devices because processes are fine-tuned before valuable time and materials go into producing goods that will have to be scrapped.
With ProFicient, Cochlear’s quality managers can now review historical quality records and analyze Assignable Cause Codes and Corrective Action Codes — all in real time.
The million-way analysis gives Cochlear the unique capacity to retrieve information from a database with limitless queries, creating an infinite amount of real-time combinations of quality data in 300 different types of charts.
With these capabilities, Cochlear has been able to apply ProFicient’s Pareto Analysis and Multi-Part Pareto Analysis tools to help drive down build variability.