New Gate Technologies Newsletter—February 2012

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The Keys to Successful Support Documentation

Many manufacturers work in rapid development cycles that push the limits of delivery timelines for quality products. Increased demand adds pressure on the teams that create and manage products and the supporting user documentation. Team members must stay in frequent communication with one another about development timelines and manufacturing details in order to maintain a product's usability, serviceability, and its capacity to meet its intended purpose. How can a company best manage inevitable product variances during rapid development cycles while maintaining quality in product documentation?

We recommend beginning each project with a documented Project Plan, which identifies and documents a product's goals. Once the requirements are established, engineering and user documentation should begin simultaneously. Writing a product user manual during the design phase helps engineering and manufacturing teams consider every aspect about a product before it moves into production. This means only the best ideas are implemented in what results in a user-centered design.

Creating top-quality product documentation means tapping the right resources and engaging people who are involved in every stage of design and production. The author of our user manuals is part of the product development team, which means he has a comprehensive understanding of the product goals and customer needs. Because he is in regular contact with the manufacturing team, he can revise and update a manual as product improvements and other changes are implemented. Along the same lines, many of our assembly technicians are trained in CAD software. They can make documentation changes concurrently with the assembly process, instead of waiting until the product is finished. This ensures that the documentation is accurate, thorough, and delivered to the customer when the product is shipped.

Properly handling variations as they arise in product design is critical in writing support documentation during rapid product development. Identifying product goals when a project begins and having the right staff involved in the writing process saves time, increases accuracy, and ensures that manuals are delivered along with the product at the time of shipment.

The Big Advantage of Small Companies (If They Know the Secret)

When someone at a small company lists the reasons why they love their job, they usually mention things like the people they work with, interesting day-to-day challenges, and knowing that their efforts make a difference. But is there a secret that makes one small company hugely successful and another a terrible failure? Could this secret even be an advantage over large companies? We think so. It's a factor that increases efficiency, reduces mistakes, and raises employee satisfaction. So what's the big secret? Clear and consistent communication.

Good communication requires training and organization and is critical for success at companies of any size. Small companies simply have an advantage with fewer employees and a shorter communication loop. For manufacturing companies, each employee is a specialist in his or her field and can speak directly with others to quickly brainstorm product or service improvements. Face-to-face conversations and spontaneous mini-meetings throughout the design and manufacturing phases are essential for efficient and creative problem solving.

When new designs hit the manufacturing floor, small companies have another advantage because the engineer who is responsible for a design is available to observe a product's construction and even assist with assembly. As any engineer worth his pencil (or CAD file) will tell you, hands-on assembly of one's own design is an invaluable tool for developing improvements and establishing best practices for successive generations of products.

Unlike the communication vacuum that can exist in large companies, it is eye-opening to spend workdays surrounded by people who speak directly with each other and take responsibility for their actions. Whether your company is large or small, direct communication should be part of your culture. It helps guarantee that your customers are getting the exact product they need.

Traceability Made Easy

How are you tracking your parts? One person looking for a label? A few cameras checking select parts? Increasingly we're seeing OEMs require sophisticated part tracking that can locate, verify, and read barcodes, labels, and face codes. Can your current system track parts in a reliable, repeatable way? Can you prove it?

We've talked with many manufacturers who are at their wit's end, trying to comply with OEM-mandated tracking specifications. There are several significant challenges in tracking: each part may have multiple labels from different suppliers, part sizes vary and need proper orientation, failed parts can interrupt the line, and re-introduction can cause data duplication. Because of these challenges, most production lines have limited tracking solutions, pieced together with one or two cameras which are only able to inspect a few parts. Sure, certain cameras can read barcodes but only when those barcodes are in the exact same place on every part. If the barcode is misplaced, or if the part isn't positioned properly, the camera will miss the barcode, the line will be disrupted, and the part's traceability will be lost. These solutions are expensive and ineffective. No single off-the-shelf system has been able to efficiently track and store data for each part while maintaining production rates. That is, until now.

We are pleased to announce the newest addition to the New Gate Technologies CATPRO lineup: the Mark Verification (MV) inspection center. Built using our industry-tested mechanics, vision technology, and lighting control, the MV system is is the only off-the-shelf solution specifically designed to locate, read, and verify barcodes, face codes, and labels on filters and catalysts. The systemfeatures our advanced software, which is flexible enough to fit any plant and will adapt to varying part rates. This powerful software also manages failed parts and can program recipes for printers and labelers. Does your line have varying part sizes? Not to worry. The MV inspection center can adjust to inspect different part sizes and because it's automated, it communicates with the rest of your line to keep parts moving. Learn more about the CATPRO Mark Verification inspection center on our website (click the Mark Verify tab) or contact us to deploy the most advanced and reliable tracking solution on your line.