5 S Methodology

5 S Methodology came from the Japanese management system. It enhances the working conditions. And the productivity at the work place.

This methodology asks for the workplace organization that is every thing is at its place. Organized and systematized working environment enhances productivity, and from work study point of view it ensures no fatigue or lesser fatigue.

The people at the work station are made accountable and responsible for maintaining the work place clean and organized. This empowers the people at work stations, and makes them feel the ownership of that particular workstation.

Kaizen

Again we have an effective methodology from the Japanese system of management.

Kaizen in English mean “improvements for the better”. It is a never ending process; it keeps asking questions for the improvement. It calls for continuous improvement. If you have achieved level one in your performance than what will it takes to reach to the next level, this is the underlying principle of the continuous improvement. The improvements can from any corner across the organization. So everybody on board the ship (organization), from the CEO to the worker can contribute in the process of improvement. And virtually all the processes / functions in an organization can ride on this wave of continuous improvement. It aims to eliminate waste.

There is always a room for improvement, and this is the underlying theme of Kaizen. In Japanese language, “kai” stands for “change” and “zen” stands for the “better”.

An Overview of ISO 9000 Standards

ISO 9000 Quality management system is defined by ISO (International Organization for Standardization). The series ISO 9000 includes – ISO 9000, ISO 9001, ISO 9004 and ISO 10011.

They (ISO 9000 standards), were originally written in 1987, and were further revised in 1994, 2000 and more recently in 2008, that’s why the standards are termed as ISO 9001:1994, ISO 9001:2000, ISO 9001:2008.

Initially ISO 9001:1994 were more focused on the product / service quality. With the revisions in 2000, the focus has shifted more on the process – by which the products are produced and the services are delivered. There has been a significant change in quality perception, it’s not the product that has to be controlled but it’s the process which has to be controlled. A good controlled process is bound to deliver a good quality service or product.

Project and Process

When some activity is an ongoing activity i.e., repetitive, then that activity is a process. We encounter processes in regular production run in an organization.

In a bearing manufacturing company, the heat treatment done to enhance the hardness and other properties like tempering and annealing is a process. It’s repeated again and again with every lot.
In a service provider organization like in a bank the processing of loans through a set of operations is a process.

In above two examples, the activities are repetitive in nature and cannot be considered as projects, but what if we were to set up a new heat treatment plant or line.

How A Bearing is Named ?

How a bearing is named?

Though it is very simple device supporting a rotating or sliding shaft, but its nomenclature is very intriguing. A bearing name usually contains initial 4 numbers. So what does each number convey? Each has its own value and they tell a lot about a particular bearing. (we are talking about the metric bearings here, so the dimensions are in mm). The first number tells us about the type of bearing. The second number denotes the cross-section/series. The third and fourth number taken together tells about the bore or inner diameter. Let’s take an example: