The Problem: Rapistan Corp. had a new contract with the U.S. Postal Service to construct sorting machines. Some metal parts of the machine were cut with an oxygen assisted laser. The problem was that the cut edges formed a surface which prevented the adhesion of powder coat paint with the desired quality; some paint could be chipped from the surface with a fingernail. The postal service would not accept such products.
The Solution: The director of quality worked with Mr. Bryant to design a statistical quality study to pinpoint this problem. This involved meeting with various engineers, suppliers, and line workers to discover the factors and variables of the manufacturing of the parts. Mr. Bryant employed a Taguchii design of experiment to find the most important factors affecting the problem.
The Result: Using the findings of the scientific experiment as well as a new chemical process from a supplier, Rapistan saved their multi-million dollar contract. Rapistan continues to provide quality sorting machines using the techniques discovered by Mr. Bryant.
