Olympic Steel – Bettendorf, IA: Matt Berglund and Jacob Klauer

One of the parts the Bettendorf, IA division produces can easily be made backwards during the machining operation because proper part hole locations are difficult to distinguish (only 3mm difference from side to side). Matt Berglund, Machine Operator, worked with Jacob Klauer, Engineer, to find out if the parts could be etched at the laser …

One of the parts the Bettendorf, IA division produces can easily be made backwards during the machining operation because proper part hole locations are difficult to distinguish (only 3mm difference from side to side). Matt Berglund, Machine Operator, worked with Jacob Klauer, Engineer, to find out if the parts could be etched at the laser step to give the VMC Operators a visual indicator that shows correct orientation. They came up with etches that would show proper part orientation and would be removed when machining the holes. This allowed them to put the change in place immediately without customer review or approval, and eliminate potential processing errors.

Lesson Learned:

When mistakes are made while you’re doing your very best to avoid mistakes, it’s easy to get frustrated. That’s why error proofing is an important tool – it makes it nearly impossible to make an error, or if you’re about to make an error, it’ll help you identify the problem in enough time to correct it.