MEDA Can Also Help You With...

8 Disciplines of Analysis
The 8-D analysis process focuses on in-depth problem solving. Incorporating the Pass Through Characteristics (PTC) analysis with the 8-D analysis, will facilitate problem solving initiatives to determine effective and efficient solutions. MEDA’s team of quality experts and trainers can review the problems your manufacturing process is facing and employ 8-D and/or PTC analyses to ensure in-depth solutions are found.
Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP)
APQP is a controlled process used to identify customer requirements in an effort to satisfy these requirements with the new product being introduced. MEDA has devised a comprehensive APQP reporting system and evidence requirements. We can provide you with the tools to get your APQP process underway or we can manage your system for you to ensure a seamless new product launch.
Breakthrough Technology and Strategies
MEDA’s engineering staff will locate the latest equipment or system technologies to fit your application through high level research methods so that you can advance your company with the latest products to gain efficiency, quality and safety. Once the products are found, MEDA will help to secure pricing (to fit your budget), and coordinate timing, delivery and installation. Manufacturing technology and processing strategies are constantly expanding and improving. New machine technologies or process strategies can help increase run-at-rate production, high quality output, constant machine monitoring and capability, safety and ergonomic improvements. MEDA works in conjunction with many leading machine designers and builders; we can suggest any one of their breakthrough technological machine advancements for applications in your area. We also have a team of process engineers whose in-dept knowledge can provide you with the latest in lean manufacturing, quality, ergonomics, and error proofing strategies.
Continuous Improvement
Continuous Improvement, often known as Kaizen, is essentially a small step-by-step incremental improvement strategy. It is based upon a belief that continual improvement can be brought about by a never-ending series of small changes. MEDA knows that even in the face of enormous innovative improvement strategies, there will always be the need and opportunity to supplement such strategies and initiatives with continual small step changes. Our MEDA experts will help your company improve its processes in a manner which fosters a whole workplace process-oriented thinking movement so that you continue with innovative leaps and breakthroughs.
Control Planning
Control planning is a quality tool used in developing controls against unfavourable outcomes in manufacturing. Planning what steps to take if a specific failure becomes apparent is a major way to control and contain warranty issues. MEDA has prepared these plans with customer engineering and quality personnel; we also specialize in the training and development of both FMEA and control plan analysis.
Defining the Process
Material planning and logistics must be clearly defined for on-time delivery. MEDA will determine shortest route, material packaging density versus hourly/daily requirements and packaging design. Let MEDA review your current process or suggest a new method of getting your material safely and on time to the processing site.
Documentation Summary
Many documents are generated when launching a new program. From planning, timing, and capability reports, to quality documents, preventive maintenance packages and required spare parts, MEDA will manage or coordinate each section of the program so that documentation is completed in full detail, satisfactorily, and on time.
Equipment Capability Failure Mode and Effects Analysis & Control Plans
Once installation and start-up of the equipment is established, the equipment must be run to prove that it is capable of manufacturing quality products. Many guidelines and requirements set by the quality department must be followed and specifications met. MEDA will ensure all data is recorded, organized, and presented to your quality team. We will also make suggestions to increase the capability of the equipment, if necessary. All processes and equipment must be analyzed to identify potential future failures. Controlling these failures and implementing preventions and detections to their causes is a very effective way of reducing the number of potential defective parts. Some failures cannot be completely removed, nor can some of their causes. MEDA’s process and quality teams have vast experience in aiding the customer with identifying and controlling these failures. We can also suggest plans to ensure control over the defective parts and how to manage the situations that may arise.
Equipment Installation
Planning shipping, delivery and installation of new equipment is a large task; a role that requires maintenance and installation experience. Installation planning meshes with project timing in a crucial way. Let MEDA’s engineers and managers provide you with detailed scopes of work, taken from on-site visits and installation experience. Our team will ensure all pre-work is completed and equipment is installed within the allotted project timing. We will work closely with your maintenance and supplier support teams to ensure successful start-up of the equipment.
Equipment Procurement and Readiness
From concept drawings to build, MEDA will aid in ensuring the best possible equipment design to fit the application you are looking for. Additionally, MEDA will supervise trial runs to ensure quality of the equipment, maintainability, and safety.
Equipment Serviceability and Maintainability
To keep repair time to a minimum, equipment serviceability must be largely regarded with new machine design. Let MEDA Limited oversee the design of new equipment purchases to ensure regular maintenance locations are kept safe and easy to access. We can also review your current equipment and make suggestions on how to increase the serviceability of those machines with high MTTR.
Ergonomics
MEDA will perform an ergonomic analysis of your workplace to include station content, material location, and unnecessary movements. We also specialize in recommending hand movement reduction tooling to eliminate redundant material handling and time savings.
Error Proof Reading
Through error prevention and failure detection, MEDA will ensure proper part manufacturing, reduced error related costs, and the reduction of failure investigative time. Using initiatives such as FMEA, Control Plans, and PTC, our team will identify potential risks before manufacturing begins. MEDA’s team of experts will help develop product design and process methods prior to production.
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
MEDA will analyze potential failures and the resulting influence on final product(s) in all aspects of manufacturing. Recognizing the causes of these failures and implementing preventions and detections is not always cut and dry. There may be underlying factors that can influence certain prevention or detection methods. MEDA will recommend error proofing upgrades to reduce the risk priority numbers to a safe level.
Failure Reporting, Analysis and Correction Action System (FRACAS)
In order to keep equipment reliably working in its most efficient way, reporting and tracking failures must be ongoing. The data must be analyzed to ensure that the proper corrective actions are implemented when needed. MEDA will implement a new system or organize and coordinate your current situation to help you stay on track with equipment failures. We will ensure that corrective actions are suggested and implemented.
Feasibility and Cost Studies
MEDA offers feasibility studies to support new product design or product upgrades for part manufacturability and quality. We also provide cost study services to determine production cost viability. Upon approval for both feasibility and cost, we will support production trials to ensure actual manufacturability and quality through initiatives such as Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) and Production Part Approval Process (PPAP). MEDA’s diverse manufacturing experience offers full study services to support your manufacturing needs or we can provide training so that your team can conduct these studies in-house.
Inventory Part Aquisition
MEDA understands the importance of spare parts for the most common failure components on each machine. To reduce downtime it is necessary to acquire and have available these products when you need them. MEDA will help you identify which parts are necessary to keep on hand by establishing component classification and will either support your team or manage the process of acquisition so that your levels of inventory meet potential replacement risk at a cost effective inventory level.
Inventory Part Tracking
Every new piece of equipment has a start-up curve. Some parts will need to be changed out prior to full production and thus it is important to identify and have on hand these parts that are critical to the launch and program timing. MEDA has extensive history and experience with pre-launch and start-up part procurement. We will work with your spare part suppliers and maintenance team for proper identification of the needed parts to ensure availability.
Manufacturing Process Development and Engineering
Each product requires a different process. Commonality among product manufacturing is a key objective. MEDA’s team of process designers have developed and re-engineered many processes, from the ground up or have implemented a new product into the same process. We specialize in common product complexity prevention and error proofing; this is either done on your line or, in advance with the design engineering team.
Material Handling Equipment
There are many types of storage units and material presentation equipment. Let MEDA review your process, storage layout, and processing site to suggest the best equipment to use.
Material Tracking Technology & Containment
Product and batch lot labelling is an excellent way to tag and capture part quality and history. Many systems are available to read different types of labels. Our team has vast knowledge on the types of labelling and software packages that can fit your application. Our electrical engineers can program such software to ensure that the necessary quality information is captured and tracked. Let our liaison team work with your suppliers to maximize label output information. We can make part traceability an easy reality for your manufacturing site.
Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF)
MTBF is a time study resulting in how often a machine will go down during a typical shift, day, or week of production. This study helps to determine where the bottlenecks exist in your system. MEDA will help you locate the machines and/or operations that will cause the most downtime and assist with corrective actions so that your productivity improves.
Mean Time To Repair (MTTR)
MTTR is a time study showing how long it takes to repair a machine. Reviewing the length of time it takes to repair a machine encompasses: the analysis of the problem; calling the maintenance department; and the maintenance department obtaining the necessary repair tools and parts. MEDA’s expert staff will perform a MTTR study and suggest necessary improvements to expedite the real-time repair of the equipment.
Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
How effective your equipment is depends on its available and performed uptime. Determining the availability and performance of your equipment consists of reviewing the time studies noted earlier, minus expected equipment downtime, along with determining factors such as; machine failures / faults, speed rates and quality losses. Once these constraints are identified, the focus of your efforts can be concentrated here to increase equipment effectiveness. MEDA will analyze these losses and provide resolution ideas. We can also implement any upgrades needed to your equipment that may have already been identified.
Packaging Design
MEDA’s engineering team can help design a product package to your requirements. Give us the product dimensions, cleanliness specification, preferred density requirements and we will develop a concept for review with you and your team.
Pass Through Characteristics (PTC)
A somewhat new quality initiative in industry, “Pass Through Characteristics” are rapidly gaining popularity because they work. Identifying a PTC in your manufacturing process can help determine the root cause of the outstanding issues you are facing. Identifying a PTC can help eliminate warranty costs and prove a successful tool when having to provide 8-D information to your customer. MEDA has an experienced group of personnel that can help identify the PTCs in your process or can provide training to your quality department and engineers on how to identify a PTC. Contact us today for a more thorough presentation of our capabilities.
Pre-launch Assessments
Pre-launch assessments are vital to the success of any product launch. The assessment includes aspects of product planning, process control, inspection/testing, equipment acquisition, training, and product/process validation. MEDA has a team of launch experts that will conduct an internal assessment to ensure a high level launch outcome.
Preventative Maintenance (PM)
Preventive maintenance is conducted to keep equipment working and / or to extend the life of the equipment. MEDA will consult and assist your company to meet the primary goal of maintenance that will help you avoid or mitigate the consequences of equipment failure. We work with you to construct a preventative maintenance plan to prevent equipment failure before it occurs so that your productivity remains robust and predictable.
Production Part Approval Process (PPAP)
All new production parts need to be approved for fit and function. They have to be tried and tested throughout the manufacturing process to ensure quality end results. MEDA will manage your feasibility and test trials as well as gather the necessary data and supplier documents to ensure that optimal new parts are acquired.
Production Part Control
Organizing different levels of parts, coordinating their shipment, sorting, and arranging them in their storage area is an ongoing task from the beginning of the program through to launch. MEDA can help by managing or coordinating these efforts or by being a liaison between supplier and client. We can take product issues back to the supplier and ensure timely execution of product enhancements.
Reliability and Maintainability (R&M)
R&M is an efficiency study of production equipment. MEDA’s experts analyse different aspects of machinery to help determine where equipment may require changes or upgrading to maximize output. To support this effort we conduct studies such as: Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF); Mean Time To Repair (MTTR); Equipment Serviceability / Maintainability); Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE); Preventative Maintenance (PM); Failure Mode & Effects Analysis (FMEA); Inventory Part Availability; and Failure Reporting; Analysis; and Corrective Action Systems (FRACAS).
Safety
Reducing workstation risk can lead to reduced downtime, increased operator safety, and better ergonomic working conditions. MEDA’s engineering experts will assist you with a Pre-Start Review (PSR) to confirm the safety of the user and coordinate, manage, and implement optimal safety measures.
Six Sigma Process Analyses
Six Sigma analyses are used to identify reasons for defects or downtime in your manufacturing process. Once MEDA analyses these defects, improvement methods can be implemented. The outcome of these improvements will advance overall quality and operational performance. MEDA will conduct the Six Sigma Analyses and provide both feedback and recommendations required to improve quality and reduce downtime.
Storage Requirements
MEDA’s team of mechanical and process engineers can review your material handling process and suggest the proper storage requirements and potential layout design improvements. Taken into consideration are factors such as: temperature; weight and usage; room layout design; and priorities based on easy access.
Supplier and In-House Logistics
Shipment of material products from the supplier location to the manufacturing site will need to be coordinated effectively to ensure quality and on-time deliveries. The handling process will determine in-house logistics and tracking these products and their location/use is dependent on the types of systems your facility has in place. MEDA’s team of logistics experts can work with your receiving and storage departments to ensure that all material traceability and storage are successfully coordinated; we can suggest methods of tracking or implement a tracking system to maintain real-time inventory levels.
Supplier Quality Assurance (SQA) & Supplier Technical Assistance (STA)
To ensure your quality output is meeting its requirements, MEDA will help assist the supplier by identifying where their quality objectives or initiatives are lacking so as to meet their customers quality requirements. MEDA will recommend process improvements to increase supplier quality outcome, assist the supplier in implementing recommendations and develop testing and verification methods to ensure the quality objectives are met.
Time Management
Project timing and equipment delivery/installation is always a major contributor to a successful outcome. The team at MEDA will track, manage and keep your projects on time, so that you meet equipment delivery and installation targets. We can either create a specific timing plan tracking document for your project or manage any current documents your team is already using.
Tread Act
In the fall of 2000, the US government had established the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act, a law established to protect motorists from future recalls due to defective products. This act states that each company in the automotive industry must submit documented reports of how quality and defects are being monitored and contained. MEDA will assist your organization to ensure compliance with the TREAD Act. We have implemented many process controls, technology upgrades, and software that can help you achieve the requirements set out by the TREAD ACT.