How Whitmer Industries Approaches Quality During Our Growth Phase
As Whitmer Industries continues to grow, one recent decision demonstrates where quality fits into that growth: our first major hire was in the quality department.
In August, we welcomed Tim Bridge as our Quality Manager. While adding capacity is important as a company like ours grows, we knew that expanding our ability to produce parts also meant expanding our ability to inspect and verify those parts.
Bridging Quality into the Manufacturing Process
Tim brings a unique combination of experience to Whitmer Industries. Before joining the company, he worked as a quality inspector, quality engineer, CNC programmer, and machinist. He also spent time as a Haas salesperson, which is actually how we first got to know him. When Tim eventually left Haas, we stayed in touch. So when the opportunity arose to bring someone with his experience into our growing Pittsburgh machine shop, the fit made sense.
His machinist background has been particularly valuable. A quality professional with knowledge of custom parts machining has a deep understanding of why features might be out of tolerance and can work directly with the production team to determine how to correct them. That creates a much more collaborative and efficient relationship between quality and manufacturing, which is especially important when working on complex, tight-tolerance components where the details can have a significant impact on the final application.
Unlocking the Full Potential of Our Inspection Tools
Whitmer already had a CMM before Tim joined the company. We used it to inspect certain features, but it wasn’t our primary inspection tool.
That has changed. Tim has been able to get significantly more out of our CMM, including developing full inspection programs for entire parts. This has made the CMM a much more central part of our inspection process.
And the benefits extend beyond first inspection alone. Once a CMM program has been developed for a part, subsequent orders and sampling inspections can be completed much more efficiently. We’re able to reduce the time associated with follow-up inspection while simultaneously increasing the depth and consistency of our inspection.
Detailed Inspection Reports Give Customers More Visibility
Inspection doesn’t end when we determine that a part is within tolerance. Our customers receive detailed documentation designed to give them a clear understanding of the results. For example, we provide inspection reports that identify the dimensions and features being inspected and how the results correspond to the dimensions on the customer’s drawing.
Dimensional tags on the report align with the corresponding tags in the inspection data, making it easier for customers to understand exactly what they’re looking at. We can also identify features that may be approaching the edge of a tolerance, not just whether a dimension technically passed or failed.
That level of visibility matters because our customers rely on Whitmer Industries to provide confidence that their parts are precisely what they’re looking for.
Full Traceability, When Sharing Information Isn’t Optional
At Whitmer, inspection equipment is tagged, tracked, and logged. Our measurement systems are maintained with traceability back to NIST standards, and inspection equipment used for individual features can be documented on the customer report. That information is also maintained within our ERP system.
Our goal is to maintain a clear chain of information from the part to the measurement equipment and the resulting inspection data.
Supporting Critical Industries with Top-Notch Quality Systems
Whitmer Industries supports customers across aerospace, defense, robotics, medical, industrial, transportation, and other demanding applications. Each industry has its own requirements, but they all require parts that meet their predetermined requirements.
For applications where failure isn’t an option, that expectation becomes even more important. That’s why our quality system encompasses more than a certification or piece of inspection equipment. It’s made up of the talented people, proven-out processes, advanced technology systems, and rigorous documentation standards that define our business.
As we continue growing to meet customer demand, we will continue looking for high-quality people like Tim and investing in technology and processes that allow them to do their best work. We encourage you to stay up-to-date on our future advancements, and if you have a specific project in mind, request a quote to get started!