Need Tool Room Procedures 2

[jennybindy]

I need to write up procedures for a tool room. Do any of you have something already created that I can modify to my purpose? It's a tool room for screw machines.
Thanks.

Jenny B.

 

[Raulz1]

No I don't have anything to send except a few notes from my experience. A tool room is a lot like a lending library. Instead of books they check out tools. They are usually run by grouchy old guys( in a cage or room to prevent theft) that keep the drills sharp, the tools oiled to prevent rust and demand cleanlyness (if there is such a word) Each machinest is issued tags or chits with their number that they use to check out tools with. At the end of the day the grouch in the cage knows who has what tool out and hasn't checked it bach in yet, by the chit hanging where the tool should be. Hope this helps.
Raul

 

[knobhead]

Depends what you mean by a tool room too! Here, the tool room is where we manufacture the tools for our production process. The toolroom as described by Raulz is what we call the Stores. Can you clarify a little?

 

[jennybindy]

The tool room procedure is a plan to ensure everyone knows and follows proper procedure...not directly linked to any ISO certification at this time. The company uses older equipment, and is having problems capturing the knowldege of skilled operators. They take certain procedures for granted, and new employees either don't know the procedure, or forget it after the first time or two.

I agree, it needs to be simple, but do you think things like check lists can help standardize procedures for training/knowledge sharing?

Thanks for the comments.

 

[gbent]

As an old guy (not quite yet), why should I share a whole lot of my knowledge with someone who will either leave the company in two years, leave the trade, (either one because he thinks he is underpaid), or will replace me when the company puts me out to pasture early. Some of my most valuable experiences earned me a written warning for screwing up (and one a actual dismissal).
What is your company going to do for me to reward me for training these younger machinists? They are paid the same as I am, so they must know everything I do.

 

[knobhead]

..and then they wonder why manufacturing is in decline. 'course, you were BORN knowing all this stuff...

 

[MadMango]

Gbent, seems you have a few issues to deal with. I feel sorry for anyone that feels they have to hoard their knowledge in order to protect their position in a company. I think you need to find a better work environment that promotes training and mentorship programs. "Happy the Hare at morning for she is ignorant to the Hunter's waking thoughts."

 

[knobhead]

There was a poster all over our shop, which said 'What good is knowledge if you don't share it?'
Underneath, someone had scrawled:
'I'm not telling you.'

 

[jennybindy]

gbent, I've heard of places where employees think "hoarding" knowledge maintains their position with the company. Those companies are usually in trouble because of cultural issues like this. But, your point of "What's in it for me" is a valid one. Do you want to do the same thing for the next 25 years? If you don't share the knowledge, then you're going to be the only one who can do the job. What happens when you want to take vacation, or get sick? Do you expect work at the company to stop because "the only guy who knows how to do the job right isn't here today". It may ensure you employability short-term, but the company's quality and production will eventually suffer, which hurts everyone at the company.

What would motivate you to share your knowlege? Recognition, monetary rewards, time-off?

 

In my opinion gbent does not know much. Just wait until is company moves to Mexico where a bunch of people from the farm will start doing his job with acceptable quality.
The funnier part of this is that gbent will get a job in MacD to get money to buy what his old company used to manufacture.

 

[WRL]

I am in need of help in writing a simple magnetic Particle Inspection Procedure. Any help would be appreciated

 

[GMalamis]

Let's get back to the original question. I think that you are asking about a tool room, not a tool crib (the cage with the grumpy old guy...). So what you are really asking is how to write work instructions for the tool room personnel and this would be the same regardless of the department. The goal of these work instructions should be to detail and illustrate the proper procedure and steps to perform routine maintenance, create replacement parts or fixtures etc from start to finish. Things to include would come from the BOM, and routing (I am assuming there may be heat treating, hard facing, EDM etc., tooling might be sent out and PO's may need to be generated) for the tooling/fixture if available, if not, you will have to create them. Create a folder and file system to include the BOM, routing, blue prints, and work instructions that include digital pictures as well. Keep in mind that the work instructions should be written so that any tool room employee given this job could reach the same result as the guy that normally does it.

 

[ornerynorsk]

Paper, paper, everywhere, and not a damned bit of it does any good unless you have good people. Just to drop a little reality on all of you paper-mongers and over-educated "enlightened ones". The best results will be accomplished if it goes something like this. 1) Send a copy of the piece-part print, a work order for tooling, and the required completion date down to the tool-room. 2) Don't call the tool-room every day just to see how's it going! Easy . . . 2 steps, that's it! If you have a tool-room that requires a written procedure for every step of the job, you don't have a tool-room, you just have a room with tools in it. Trust your people, for crying out loud !!! If you want to make your procedure really fancy, so that you can have more than one piece of paper in it, add a recommended maintenence/sharpening interval, storage and retrieval procedure, sign-off, replacement life cycle, etc etc etc.

 

[knobhead]

I would agree with ornerynorsk on that one. The tool room is where the skilled people live. Giving skilled people step by step planning is insulting.

Give them the drawing, and they'll make it. And if they can't, they'll be smart enough to come and ask the right questions. (Which where I usually look blank, and can't answer them either.. )

What is a good idea though, especialy if you're in a big company, is some way of automating the sign off procedure. A simple way is a barcode or similar on teh works instruction which they zap when they've finished. Otherwise you will occasionally find yourself sitting around waiting for a job that was finished a fortnight ago, and is slowly going rusty waiting for you to go and get it. Excessive accuaracy is a sign of poor breeding. -Socrates.

 

[Hush]

ornerynorsk is correctin saying trust the people ... but. You still need to know how their doing things in case they're all struck by lightning on the same day.

Have them write the procedures. It can be is simple as - this is what we do if this happens. If you have to translate what they say to look nice or add something to comply with some standard make sure they're happy with what you've done to 'their' procedures and sign off on it.

 

[GMalamis]

This is still an open ended question. You either want a tool room procedure on how work orders are generated and who does what etc, and there is the work instructions aspect. The goal of the work instructions is to help train new people and to capture and document the knowledge and experience of the employees doing the job. People already doing the job do not need the work instructions, all they would need is the print. The work instructions are part of the training tools for new employees. Even in the same industry, procedures can vary greatly. Training a new employee with the work instructions cuts down on mistakes and time. This is why auto manufacturers not only spend millions of dollars training their mechanics and service people, they also write extensive service manuals so that they can work on all systems. To those who say trust your people and cut out the paperwork, you are selling yourselves short and losing the most valuble asset that you have, your people's knowledge and experience. Once that person is gone or retired your access to that knowledge is gone.

 

[ornerynorsk]

gmalamis, you brought up a good point about training. Has anyone else noticed the unfathomable increase in paperwork since the demise of the multi-year apprentice programs? Tech schools and written instructions are fine, but there is absolutely no substitute for experience, and maybe that's why us ornery old sob's in the toolroom see upper management as such a threat to the common-sense approach. Computers and CNC equipment run by fresh grads still cannot do the same level of work that we can, but try telling that to someone who has never gotten their hands dirty at work !!! I will go down with the ship on this one, in this day and age of Iso-this and TQM-that, people are really missing the point. You need quality people, from top to bottom, and the organization itself must be an entity that benefits from human variance, not trying to conform all of its workers to one master pattern. Paperwork is only a tool, people, not a dictum and certainly not the sole means to the intended end.

 

[smokehouse]

ornerynorsk, I have to throw in with you on this one..

Let's say for example we are going to make a form tool for a 6 spindle bar machine.
This is an advanced job for a tool maker. We could document the procedure all day long but here's a news flash:

NOONE without the experience will be able to make this..

Just one TINY part of this is the precision grinding. In grinding, your ears are nearly as important as your eyes.
Let's see anyone "document" that.......

Ok youngun/time-study guys.....flame away

 

[ornerynorsk]

I'll say "amen" to that smokehouse.

 

[steveh]

I notice this one is generating a lot of interest. Just have to throw in my own perspective. It was decided a while back to let the people in our tool crib (the guys who hand out tools) sharpen gun drills.
Of course, written procedures were posted, The paperwork is duly filled out for every batch of gundrills that goes thru the crib. On paper, this is fine system which uses otherwise under-occupied people to accomplish a necessary service.
The one little factor that is lacking is that our tool crib people have zero knowledge of cutting tool geometry or metal-working basics.
The problem is that our 56 gundrill spindles don't understand paperwork and procedure so they just won't go along with running improperly sharpened gundrills. Obviously, these spindles are going to need retraining to understand that within our plant the laws of physics no longer apply