I remember the introduction of early cruise control in cars. It was fantastic. It allowed the driver to set their speed without having to hold the accelerator pedal down with their foot. The only problem was, when you went up a hill, the car slowed down. When you went down a hill, the car accellerated. It wasn’t until the process included a response back from the transmission, telling the system if the cruise control was meeting the desired speed, that automatic cruise controls became reliable. The process improved after the feedback loop identified the problems and the necessary changed were incorporated.
Now let’s relate this to your truss plant. Most fabricators have customer feedback on their trusses (if they listen). It’s called backcharges. Not a very efficient process, but, If you want to stay in business, you pay attention. Kind of like waiting for the police to give you a speeding ticket and then adjusting your speed. In the truss plant, we can forgo the tickets and fines by introducing a Quality Assurance Program. The program will identify the problems and areas that need to be addressed in order to meet your design requirements.
Look at your system. But let’s dig deeper. Do you have a feedback loop to the building process?
A feedback control system is a control system which uses the concept of an open loop system as its forward path but has one or more return loops or paths between its output and input.
In a truss plant, there are two essential loops that help you run a better process:
- An inspection, without a return element to training, does not allow the process to improve.
- Adding a customer feedback element will incorporate advice and help ensure additional process improvements.
Both of these processes need to be documented, quantified, evaluated, and shared on a regular basis. This will ensure a satisfied customer as well as reduce financial and legal risk.
So what do you use for your feedback reports? The photo shows an example of QA feedback in a report generated by a QA inspector. This custom, client-made report is shared by managers, owners, supervisors, and workers to provide correction and to make sure everybody is on the same sheet of music.
An alternative to designing a custom system, however, is using the SBCA QC program which provides similar benefits at your fingertips. The SBCA In-Plant Wood Truss QC program helps manufacturers monitor the quality of trusses they manufacture and provides the plant with a data management system.
Regardless of the system your plant uses, remember that the program works only when the inspection information is shared with the plant personnel. The feedback loop needs to reach everyone doing their jobs for the process to be responsive, productive, and efficient!