Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) ← Back to Blog What is PPE? PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) is considered to be any article of clothing or wearable equipment that shields and/or protects a person from injury. This includes reflective vests, hard hats, safety glasses, hazmat suits, and more than we can list. Accidents and mishaps are inevitable […]
Poka Yoke

Poka Yoke ← Back to Blog Poka yoke is a Japanese term that means “mistake-proofing” or “error-proofing.” It is a quality control method that aims to prevent mistakes or errors from occurring in the first place by designing processes and systems in a way that makes it difficult or impossible for mistakes to happen. The […]
Productivity Monitoring
Productivity Monitoring ← Back to Blog What is Productivity Monitoring? Knowing how productive your employees are is good. But being able to collect data and use it to optimize your production is nothing short of excellent. Productivity monitoring helps people track their goals and understand the inner workings of their operations while empowering workers through […]
Programmable Logic Controller (PLC)

Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) ← Back to Blog Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) are integral components of industrial hardware systems. Because they were designed to be used mostly by non-engineer workers, it takes just a little effort to understand how crucial PLCs are in application and the many advantages they bring to the shop floor. KEY […]
Quality Management System (QMS)

Quality Management System (QMS) ← Back to Blog What is a Quality Management System? A Quality Management System (QMS) is a set of business processes and procedures aimed at achieving a specific performance goal, meeting quality standards, and continuously improving operations. Most QMSs are created and administered by a regulatory body, such as the ISO […]
Redundancy

Redundancy ← Back to Blog A redundancy is a repetitive, unnecessary step in a process; in manufacturing, redundancies are deliberate fail-safe measures integrated into a production cycle for risk management and system control. KEY TAKEAWAYS Technique used for Total Quality Management (TQM) Purpose is to limit extent of potential equipment or operator failures Helpful when […]
Root Cause Analysis

Root Cause Analysis ← Back to Blog What is Root Cause Analysis? Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a method used to find the root cause of any malfunction, deficiency, or problem. It is most famously used in industries such as healthcare, science, and manufacturing/engineering but its principles can be used in any environment. As a […]
Rule Engine

Rule Engine ← Back to Blog What is a Rule Engine? A rule engine is a type of logic that enables manufacturing actions to be automated based on specific guidelines or pre-established “rules”. They are comprised of 2 key features: Defined conditions;Subsequent appropriate reactions.By looking at the current conditions, the rule engine will enact the […]
Six Sigma

Six Sigma is a management philosophy with the goal of reducing quality defects in production processes using a broad variety of statistical analysis “tools” and techniques. It is a robust methodology that borrows elements from other manufacturing methodologies, such as Lean, Agile Manufacturing, Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), and the relatively similar (but functionally distinct!) Lean Six Sigma, for a few examples
Smart Forms
Smart Forms ← Back to Blog What Are Smart Forms? Smart Forms enable companies to create interactive forms and checklists that integrate directly into your work instructions. To the rest of the world, Smart Forms are primarily a method of collecting data from workers on the shop floor. But to us here at VKS, Smart […]
