I have a simple idea to add to this, I'll make the point by analogy. I listened to a book on tape one time. The book was by an author who wrote about investing, saving and other financial strategies. He looked at the habits of financially successful people and tried to find trends. OK OK, I'm getting to it. One trend that he found is that financially successful people don't spend too much time trying to budget and predict how much money they were going to spend. But they did keep good records of how much they spent, what they spent it for and where they spent it. This knowledge allows them to "budget" almost as second nature, they already know how much they spend and for what. Also, if they stay "in the black" they already have an idea of how much they can spend.
What's the point. A good "prediction" system and any efforts to "fix", "cost reduce" and/or speed up the compliance process needs to start with good record keeping. May I suggest a good old paper notebook. Every time I go into our compliance room here at the factory, or go with a product to the test lab, I am armed with this notebook. Everyday I use it, I put the date and project at the top of the page. I then use it to record all sorts of notes...pass/fail, troubleshooting, we tried this, we tried that... I keep this notebooks labelled in my office. I then refer to them in my "neat" word processed compliance reports. Keeping a lab notebook was one of the first ideas that they taught us in college laboratory courses; I thought it was a pain in the $%#@** back then. But, whenever anyone asks me how long it took us to test a product, how much time we spend troubleshooting (which is always followed by the question of how long it will take for the next one); I find these notebooks to be worth their weight in Gold. Of course, for you electronics lovers out there, a laptop, palm pilot... would possibly work. I don't use them because I find them restrictive. When I'm in the lab, I need to draw block diagrams, to make sketches, to take notes. I really haven't found a hardware/software combination in a laptop or palmtop that works as quickly or as well as good old "pencil CAD". Stay compliant guys Chris Maxwell | Design Engineer - Optical Division email chris.maxw...@nettest.com | dir +1 315 266 5128 | fax +1 315 797 8024 NetTest | 6 Rhoads Drive, Utica, NY 13502 | USA web www.nettest.com | tel +1 315 797 4449 | .. > -----Original Message----- > From: Ehler, Kyle [SMTP:keh...@lsil.com] > Sent: Monday, November 05, 2001 9:31 AM > To: wo...@sensormatic.com; 'EMC and Safety list' > Subject: RE: Metrics cost at 1991 > > Richard, et al > This sounds like a Six Sigma project. > Having just completed my 'green belt' training, I have been assigned a > project to complete my certification as a Six Sigma green (horn) belt. > This is a *huge* undertaking for me.. > > Naturally, the project dictated to me is to attempt an analysis of the > EMC compliance process used here. > This will be an attempt to apply structured analysis procedures in > efforts to better understand and apply changes in personnel and/or > test/scheduling procedures to shorten cycle time and perhaps reduce > costs. > > We seem to spend 15% of lab resources in actual compliance work and > 85% in troubleshooting to get compliant. > Accuracy in resource scheduling has proven to be as easy as nailing > jelly to a tree.. > > I saw your list and immediatly recognized its similarity to mine. > This work starts and ends with confounding metrics. > From your list I see that you have 'Defects Per Unit' (DPU), but > nothing about Opportunities For Error (OFE) that occurs with gaining > compliance for new products. I think this would be the key to > unraveling the mystery. > > I see that you apply DPU as EMC failures, but I was thinking of DPU as > failures in meeting schedule. Is this too weird? > > Any thoughts on how to calculate OFE on a new product that is bound to > be rife with opportunities due to the use of latest technology such as > for example, 2+ Gbps fibre channel and its accomodating -new- > mechanical packaging? > > For your engineering types, the concept of determining opportunities > for compliance failure may be alien to them. > It is for ours. > I am skeptical that these guys could tell me anything meaningful until > they get their training. -but I keep an open mind. > > On major item I picked up in my SS training was the myriad of ways the > metrics can be charted and considered. > > Best Regards, > > Kyle Ehler KCØIQE > <<mailto:kyle.eh...@lsil.com>> > Assistant Design Engineer > LSI Logic Storage Systems Div. > 3718 N. Rock Road > U.S.A. Wichita, Kansas 67226 > Ph. 316 636 8657 > Fax 316 636 8321 > > > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-emc-p...@majordomo.ieee.org > [<mailto:owner-emc-p...@majordomo.ieee.org>]On Behalf Of > wo...@sensormatic.com > Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2001 3:20 PM > To: emc-p...@majordomo.ieee.org > Subject: Metrics > > > > My management is asking each engineering group to devise and apply > metrics > to our department operations. I have struggled for a couple of years > to > devise meaningful metrics as applied to EMC and product safety > compliance > testing and certification , but with little success. Some ideas have > been: > > * % of received products that are found to be fully compliant > without > design changes > * elapsed test and certification time > * defects per unit (for example, number of fixes required to be > safety > compliant) > * hours of actual test time vs.standard test time > > What metrics are you using and how well are they working? > > Richard Woods > Sensormatic Electronics > ------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE EMC Society Product Safety Technical Committee emc-pstc discussion list. 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