Once a process is optimized and judged acceptable, repeatability becomes the key. This is achieved by a combination of process manuals , process recipes , employee training , and by verification with a good reporting system .

Stranded Copper Conductor.

Process manuals are multi-page, drawing and text booklets and are written for the machine operators. Each production machine generally has its own a process manual and each manual is stored at the operators' workstation. There are some exceptions. Each of the manuals covers the basic issues universal to each production machine and to all of the products manufactured on it or to all of the like-of-kind groups of products manufactured on it. The items covered in the process manual include but are not limited to:

Controls and machine familiarization.
Machine emergencies.
How to set the machine up.
How to start the machine.
How to stop the machine.
How to clean the machine at shutdown.

Complex slave machines such as high-speed ring markers or gravimetric mixers may have their own process manuals at the same operators' workstation. All process manuals appropriate to the machine are kept at each machine and are generally included in the ISO 9000 program so that your customers are confident that your machine procedures are fully under control. All copies of the process manuals are then tightly managed by the ISO 9000 system.

Process manuals however do not guarantee repeatability by themselves but the addition of proper employee training programs, great reporting systems and effective process recipes do.


	Bare Copper Wire. (Note the Bad Wind on One Reel.)	Concentric Neutral Power Cable.

Process recipes replace the operators' "personal survival guide" which is also known as the back pocket black book. These recipes are specific to each product and to each production machine. They are also about one page in length. Typically, the items included in process recipes are much like the following:

Product description
Information Date
Actual product dimensions
Line speed
Rotation speed
Actual measured pitch (Length of lay)
Direction of pitch (Left or right pitch or lay)
Annealing current and voltage
Preheater settings and wire temperature
Drive gears and gearbox positions
Plastic blending settings
Barrel temperature profiles
Dry cure tube temperature profiles
Nitrogen pressure

Vacuum pressure
Steam temperature and pressure
Dielectric test settings (Sparkers)
Screw types
Screw cooling settings
Screen packs
Melt temperature
Melt pressure
Lay plate string-up diagrams
Binder direction, actual pitch and RPM
Binder closing die size
Die sizes and other tooling parameters
Gradient cooling temperature settings
Linear capstan pressure settings

Although they are generally appended to the process manual and thus the ISO 9000 program, process recipes can be kept in many different forms such as sheets in loose leaf books at the production machines, in memory in a PLC or on a CD-ROM in a computerized production machine. They can also be stored in a department supervisory computer or in an overall plant management and scheduling computer. The only fundamental requirements are that the recipes be easily and reliably accessed by the production machine operator and that they be securely backed up in the event of a serious system failure.

It is essential that all employees understand at least the basic definitions and manufacturing technology of an electrical wire and cable plant. They must also clearly understand the reasons why process manuals and recipes are indeed crucial to the company's good health and long term survival. The pictures below are PowerPoint^® slides taken from an actual Stewart-Hay Associates training seminar.

Stewart-Hay Associates promotes and teaches advanced reporting techniques using Microsoft PowerPoint^® or Lotus Freelance^® graphics software on your local area network or intranet. This provides instant understanding, instant updating, and dramatically reveals progress or trending on any particular issue or parameter. These slides contain the full back up data and perhaps for the very first time, combine the efforts of the process engineers, the product engineers, the plant or manufacturing engineers and the quality control department on an ongoing basis. The reporting technique can can also be extended to all other plant, division or head office departments such as sales, marketing, purchasing, human resources and operations.

We at Stewart-Hay Associates would be pleased to help you develop or rebuild your process engineering group, your process manuals and, your process recipe system or systems. We would also be pleased to present basic manufacturing training seminars to your staff and to set up advanced reporting systems for one or all of your departments. Please contact us to discuss your requirements in detail. All inquiries and transactions will be kept 100% confidential.

Once we are all satisfied that the processes are stable , capable and repeatable we are halfway home on our journey to having fully optimized productivity . The second or sometimes parallel step is know as total machine control and we have have placed a shortcut to those pages here.

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