Facilities: Quality


At Dieline we take quality extremely seriously and are always looking to improve our service and processes by working in partnership with our clients. Our internal process of continual improvement and auditing ensures that we remain in line with the very latest equipment, practices and legislation.

Quality Policy Statement Dieline aims to satisfy customer requirements, totally and consistently. To achieve this aim we have adopted a policy to establish, maintain and develop an effective Quality Management System based on ISO 9001:2000. It is our aim to continually improve our systems and performance by establishing and reviewing measurable objectives set by top management on an ongoing basis.

As part of Rykel Ltd., Dieline received ISO 9001:2000 accreditation in February 2003.

Responsibility for Quality

All of our staff are committed to providing our customers with their parts and assemblies right first time and on time. Our workers are responsible for their own quality. They are supported in their mission by our up to date quality and inspection department who oversee procedures and undertake inspection.

Quality Review & Actions

At the same time, operations, materials and marketing managers are all involved in the quality process. We hold monthly quality meetings in which key performance indicators are discussed. These include:

• Non-Conformance Reports: Including root cause analysis and corrective action plans
• Delivery Performance
• Supplier Performance: Including ratings on deliveries and quality.
• Internal Efficiencies: Machine Utilisation and Production
• Customer Satisfaction

Results of continual improvement meetings and health and safety are also discussed and actions arranged to fulfil the suggested improvements.

Continual Tooling Calibration

All of our CNC machines are regularly monitored using Renishaw ball barring equipment, and histories are kept on every CNC machine. As well as verifying our machining capabilities, the data is also used to highlight potential machine problems and aid our Planned Preventative Maintenance Schedule.

Lean Manufacturing

We are striving towards leaner manufacturing as part of our continuous improvement, taking on board principles such as 5S which includes good housekeeping, processes, and waste reduction. This is increasing our efficiency further.

Statistical Process Control

This method is available on larger batch sizes as required, in order to check that parts are remaining within tolerances. As with most statistical techniques, the results are less meaningful on smaller batches. However, used correctly, this is a useful way of ensuring our customers' parts are correct.

Inspection Equipment

Dieline has a full range of equipment and gauges, kept in a temperature-controlled environment. They include

• a computer-controlled Coordinate Measuring Machine UKAS calibrated to 5 microns with a bed size of 700x500x400mm and running Mitutoyu GeoWin software
• plug, thread and ring gauges
• various micrometers, vernier calipers and height gauges
• a fully-calibrated shadowgraph for precision measurement of our smallest machined parts and assemblies