E-Archive

MFN Trainer Column

in Vol. 9 - July Issue - Year 2008
Shot Peening - An Important Part of the Business Process
Markus Halder

Markus Halder

This column is a regular feature and is written by one of our MFN trainers or the Editorial Office. Readers are invited to send comments or questions to info@mfn.li. For more information about the trainers, see our website www.mfn.li/trainers.

In the last few years Metal Finishing News has expanded. Everyone could observe MFN becoming a great platform for the line of business where one could place information about new surface technologies and present innovative products. It developed to an integration of specialists to exchange information and discuss questions in this area of expertise as well. For this opportunity I would like to thank MFN for the invitation to participate.

Nowadays, for an organization operating in the industrial sectors of aerospace, automotive or railway transportation industries it is nearly obligatory to be certified by an external auditing agency in addition to the customer’s audits. Thinking process orientation and the integration of the continuous improvement process is indispensable. The customer takes the centre stage, as required by the EN ISO 9001:2000. Although these requirements are not sufficient to meet the criteria of an aerospace environment an organization that declares conformance with the management model of this norm has to expose which organizational arrangements are appointed to ensure continual improvement through all business processes. It constantly has to improve the processes in the light of their efficiency, effectiveness and flexibility. The continuous improvement process was deduced from the Japanese management strategy “Kaizen” that was developed by Toyota in the 1950s (“kai”: change – “zen”: good). The employees should think about workflow and products in teamwork and find ways to make them better.

Business processes are subdivided into three main subprocesses: the management process, the operational process and the supporting process, which all are composed of several subprocesses itself. The management process governs the operation of a system including corporate governance and strategic management. The operational process constitutes the core business and creates the primary value stream like purchasing, manufacturing, marketing and sales. The supporting process aids and abets the operational process including accounting, recruitment, quality management and IT-support. Core processes are client-to-client processes that intend to express organization's main or essential activity and integrate all necessary subprocesses. They begin with a customer’s need and end with a customer’s need fulfilment. The shot peening process represents a part of the core process as well – whether implemented as wage work or executed in-house. The term “core process” has its origin in the process and quality management and is found in business studies as well.

The 6 M’s (illustrated by the cause-and effect diagram of Kaoru Ishikawa) Machine, Method, Materials, Maintenance, Man and Mother Nature (environment) are the influencing factors of a certain event. They eliminate a zero-defect production – not even enabled by a six sigma management with average defects of about 3.4 per million. The quality management offers a couple of standard tools for controlling the process and making sure the customer’s requirements are achieved. In case of shot peening sometimes it is nearly improbable to detect a manufacturing defect in production run as well - in spite of strictly fixed requirements and specifications. The quality management tool “Failure Mode and Effect Analysis” (FMEA) points out this fact. The chance of detecting a defect of a component part and its effect has to be appraised. Thus the customer audits the supplier carefully and tries to find out discrepancies in methods and applications.

Even though in the majority of cases the shot peening process accounts for a low value percentage for the value added chain - it is doubtlessly an important one. Imagining a component part of a public transportation vehicle is not failure save.

Best Regards
Markus Halder, markus@mfn.li

Author: Markus Halder