Does your manufacturing business use SQDC (Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost) boards to prioritize critical aspects of running your plants? Have you considered digitizing them?
Historically these would be whiteboards and depend on someone physically updating the information. However, you can tie into real-time information by converting the whiteboards to digital SQDC boards and ensuring everyone is looking at the most up-to-date data and reporting. Using the same green and red colored markers as the traditional board, a digital SQDC board enables the viewer to quickly identify an issue, its countermeasure, and the person responsible.
Interactive SQDC Boards
You can take the digital SQDC board one step further with a touchscreen. Making your SQDC board interactive allows managers and teams to drill down into specific metrics when necessary. For example, during a daily huddle, a team can look at the details behind a safety grade on a particular day or drill into a quality score. This makes information easily accessible and improves processes and decision-making. In addition, information can be customized to reflect the location, department, or team using the interactive SQDC board.
Benefits of a digital SQDC board
Improves Efficiency
Access to relevant real-time information is critical for any business, particularly manufacturers. Gemba walks combined with digital SQDC boards ensure management and workers are always aware of successes, failures, and potential issues. Waiting for weekly, monthly, or quarterly reports to make adjustments is eliminated and replaced with real-time decisions and changes. Perhaps a target or criteria is too easy; an alteration can be made to make the target more challenging and improve overall performance. In a lean manufacturing environment, continuous improvement is key - put it into action with a digital SQDC board.
Improves Accountability
A real-time visual of what works and doesn't holds individuals, teams, and the company accountable for its targets. Seeing a daily guide of red areas ensures actions are taken before a small problem becomes a huge issue. Locating a digital SQDC board in a common area allows teams insight into how other teams are doing and can foster some friendly competitiveness. Additionally, friendly competition can encourage teams to consider process improvements and innovations. Lastly, the real-time view of key criteria being successfully met provides a sense of accomplishment and makes employees feel appreciated. It is a great motivator!
Customization
Although safety, quality, delivery, and cost should always be the priorities, you can easily add another section for reporting and reviewing during the daily huddles. Each team can add its own optional reporting/reviewing category to suit its meeting needs. Add suggestions or a team goals category. Whatever the requirements, taking your SQDC boards digital will allow you to customize your boards easily.
Metrics
Common metrics to incorporate into your digital include:
Safety - safety violations, injuries, missed work due to injuries
Quality - defects, process yield, number of non-conformities
Deliver - volume plan/actual, lead time, on-time delivery
Cost - defects, warranty claims, waste/scrap
Digitizing your SQDC board enables your organization to leverage real-time information to enhance decision making and improve efficiency and accountability.
