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Case study of quality issues in product development,
production, packing & transportation (II)

Case two: Quality issues in the development, production, packing and transportation of aftermarket brake discs

(Continued from the last issue)

Issue #2： The pallets or the shrink wraps are not strong enough leading to box damage in loading and unloading

Case analysis: In our experience and observations, we have noticed many cases where the external boxes or productsare damaged because of pallet tilting and collapsing due to issues in brake disc loading and transportation. The primary reasons are as follows:

A、 The main reasons of pallet early damages are due to inferior panel materials, panels too thin or the blocks are too small. The panels are usually made of plywood, about 18mm thick. The typical pallet sizes are 800*800, 900*900, 1000*1000, and 1100*1100. The 9 pallet blocks are typically 90*90*180. When choosing pallets for brake disc loading, we should use pallets whose sizes match the area of either four tiling boxes of brake discs or four tiling plus 2 standing upright. If the pallet blocks are reduced to 90*90*90 or the number of blocks becomes 6 in order to reduce the cost of the pallets, it is likely to result in insufficient pallet strength leading to cargo tipping and collapsing.

B、 The weight of the brake discs on pallet is unevenly distributed so that the force center of the pallet is deviated and the pallet is prone to tilt when moved by forklifts; The thickness, layer and strength applied in shrink wrapping the pallet do not meet the standards, so that the palletized goods become loose; Pallets of different sizes are used in the same container, so they are not close with each other when placed inside the container, and the gaps between them lead to collapse when vehicles tilt during transportation.

C、 When the pallets are being loaded or unloaded from the containers or moved around for consolidation, sometimes the forklift operators do not completely lift the whole pallet, but rather lifting half of the pallet blocks up and leaving half of the pallet blocks bearing the whole weight, and then start pushing the pallet inside or pulling out. These types of operations, having much to do with the skills and lack of responsibility of the forklift operators, are usually the primary reasons for pallet block falling off or cargo tipping and collapse.

(To be continued)

By Felix SS YUAN

Water Pump

Vehicle water pumps are used to generate the circular flow of the engine coolant, so that the engine is cooled evenly and heat dissipates in coolant circulation through the radiator.

Vehicle engine manufacturers mostly use centrifugal water pumps for their engine systems. The main components of the water pumps include housing, pulley, shaft, bearing, impeller and seal.

Primary failure modes:
1. The engine sends high temperature alert while the radiator and thermostat work properly;
2. Water leak;
3. Water pump housing or impeller damaged;
4. The shaft broken;
5. The bearing stuck and damaged.

Key quality control of the finished-products:
1. The water pump housing has no damage or crack;
2. The engine connection side is smooth and has no burr;
3. The impeller has no damage and rotates smoothly;
4. The pulley is flat and has no damage.

By Carlos WJ LIN

FMEA

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is another Quality Core Tools for the automotive industry.Failure modes refer to the ways in which a process can fail. Effects describe the ways that these failures can lead to waste, defects or harmful outcomes.

FMEA is a structured approach to discovering all potential failures in a design, a manufacturing or assembly process, or a product or service. The purpose of the FMEA is to take actions to eliminate or reduce failures, starting with the highest-priority ones.

The two most popular types of FMEAs are Process (PFMEA) and Design (DFMEA). DFMEA reviews the possibility of product malfunctions, reduced product life, and safety and regulatory concerns. PFMEA examines failure that impacts product quality, reduced reliability of the process, customer dissatisfaction, and safety or environmental hazards.

?The 13th of September in 2019 is the public holiday of the Mid-Autumn Festival in China.

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, is also one of the most important traditional holidays in China. A day for harvest celebration and family reunion, it falls on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese calendar, which is usually either in late September or early October.

Traditionally, on Mid-Autumn Day, Chinese family members and friends will get together to admire the bright mid-autumn moon and eat moon cakes together.

Notable industry events in the next 3 months: