Hi, Barry, First thing you have to decide is the purpose of collecting the data. What do you want the data to show you? If it's only defect analysis data you want, you will have to have a defect recording system in place. There is a commonly used form type called a Production Incident Report or PIR. This form is filled in every time something occurs in production that doesn't conform to the build plan or right-first-time product build; things like component breakages, component failures, missing components, incorrectly assembled components, etc One section of the form is dedicated to recording the defect code, which is often subjectively chosen from the available codes by the person filling in the form, but the defect codes themselves are made up by QA or whoever is responsible for tracking defect trends. The number of codes can be added to, but it's inadvisable, as it will interfere with trend analysis to introduce new codes late on. Make sure you understand in advance the sort of problems you MIGHT experience i.e. all those that are possible, not just those that you think you're outfit is likely to encounter. Codes are are often in two parts - a primary cause and a seconday one. The primary cause might be a component breakage and a secondary cause might be because of improper handling procedure, or inadequate packing. Or, primary might be 'component failure' while the secondary causes might include inadequate static control, or it was supplied faulty, or it was fitted the wrong way round, or it was mishandled. I hope you're getting my drift - make up a list of as many primary causes as you can think of, and then make up a list of all the secondary causes that could cause or contribute to the primary cause. A component fitted the wrong way round (primary) could be caused by an incorrect drawing, or an incorrect planning/work instruction that was raised from the drawing, or operator error, or placement machine programme error. A primary cause can have numerous secondary causes. If you like, you can have tertiary causes as well, but the systems starts becoming unmanageable then. Make up codes for all the faults and publish them. Each problem should have a one or two character code, and the form should be designed so that it separates the primary code from the secondary. We use a four character fault code that starts with the project code (could be contract code, PO code, whatever defines the ultimate deliverable). The next character is the work area code where either the fault occurred or where the fault was discovered (Assembly, Test, Coating, etc.), and the final two characters of the code are the primary and secondary causes. The codes are fed into a database, along with the assembly information, serial number, component information, component reference etc., etc. that absolutely nails down what happened to what precisely, where, when and how. Then as the information accumulates, you can tell from the codes if there is a particularly problematic component, or a problem in a particular work area, or with a particular assembly from teh number of times the codes come up. Hope this gives you a start. There are a number of databases on the market for defect tracking and analysis. In a passed life, we used one called FRACAS (Fault Recording And Something Something Something), though in its user-friendliness, its acronym was more descriptive of its useability than what the acronym stood for. It does work well, though, with patience and understanding. Good Luck Pete Duncan Barry Gallegos <barryg@WESTERNELECTR To: [log in to unmask] ONICS.COM> cc: (bcc: DUNCAN Peter/Asst Prin Engr/ST Aero/ST Sent by: TechNet Group) <[log in to unmask]> Subject: [TN] Data Collections 05/04/01 09:21 PM Please respond to "TechNet E-Mail Forum."; Please respond to Barry Gallegos Good Day my Friends. Help!!! Am in the process of attempting to put together a data collection and charting system for my Electro Mechanical Assembly "EMA" division. I am not sure how to proceed with this. defect codes to use, how to collect, where to collect, and how to present. This is a low volume environment chassis build, anywhere from 1 chassis to larger runs. Any help would be so gratefully appreciated. Thank you in advance to any or all who might be able to be of assistance. Barry Gallegos Process Eng. Western Electronics 1550 S. 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