Data processing: measuring – calibrating – or testing – Measurement system in a specific environment – Quality evaluation
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-19
2004-11-30
Barlow, John (Department: 2863)
Data processing: measuring, calibrating, or testing
Measurement system in a specific environment
Quality evaluation
Reexamination Certificate
active
06826497
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates generally to assembly processes and, more particularly, to a method for monitoring assembly plant production and quality.
BACKGROUND ART
In order to remain successful, any industry that produces consumer goods must constantly monitor production and improve the quality of their products. If the availability or quality of a product is lower than customer expectations, then the customer will find alternative producers of a similar, better quality product. Therefore, it is in the best interest of producers of consumer goods to monitor production while constantly striving to improve the quality of their products.
In the past, assembly plant production and quality was tracked manually. This resulted in not everyone having access to the data. Additionally, many production operations require the use of gloves, which makes the use of a pencil and paper very difficult. Also, many operations do not allow time for manually tracking production quantity and quality.
One example of this is the painting process in an assembly plant. Because of the sensitivity of the painting process to defects caused by contaminants, the operators are required to wear protective clothing, including gloves. Obviously, this makes manually tracking production quantity and quality difficult. Additionally, the presence of manual record keeping materials introduces contaminants into the painting process. This can result in an increase in repairs and the associated waste of solvent and paint to correct the defects. The increase of repairs results in higher costs and can have an impact on the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOC's) to the environment. Also, the manual process for tracking production quantity and quality is not easily accessible to all concerned individuals.
The disadvantages associated with conventional methods for tracking production quantity and quality have made it apparent that a new technique for monitoring assembly plant production and quality is needed. The new technique should be able to track production quantity and quality without requiring manual tracking procedures. Additionally, the production quantity and quality data should be easily accessible to all concerned individuals.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved and reliable means for monitoring assembly plant production and quality, particularly in the painting process for consumer products. Another object of the invention is to track production quantity and quality without requiring manual tracking procedures.
In accordance with the objects of this invention, a method for monitoring assembly plant production and quality is provided. In one aspect of the invention, a method for monitoring assembly plant production and quality, particularly relative to painting processes for vehicles, includes painting a plurality of vehicles, inspecting each vehicle for paint defects, and recording production quantity data and processing defect data for vehicles using a touch screen. The touch screen includes a computer-generated template of multiple views the vehicle, such that, the location of each paint defect can be recorded. The data is accessible through a network connection and is used to determine required production time and corrective actions for paint defect trends.
The present invention achieves an improved and reliable means for monitoring assembly plant production and quality. Also, the present invention is advantageous in that it makes production quantity and quality data easily accessible to all concerned individuals.
Additional advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the description that follows, and may be realized by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
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Barlow John
Ford Motor Company
Kelley David B.
Lau Tung
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