Question one for this week's discussion addresses if there should be a difference between specifications and control limits. If so, why? Also if they are different, how are they related? Summers says it best; "specifications can be considered the voice of the customer. Control limits are the voice of the process"(Summers, 2016, p. 237). Specifications are the hopes and dreams that the customer brings to the table for their supplier, but the control limits provide realistic expectations of variations. These two data sets are the basis for which operations and engineering will play tug awareness while developing a part and running production on those parts. They are different because manufacturing and process control do not happen inside a vacuum, and there will always be external forces at play. Essentially by targeting the customer's requirements, but giving the outside tolerances, the middle ground can be found. Repeatability is established, risks and errors are established, and the opportunity to bring reliability to the process is found.

After reading the following Make sure When responding, adopt the role of the product manager and point out any concerns you might have with the response from the perspective of customer satisfaction with the specification?

The customer provides a specification with the intent the supplier has a process that can produce it in that manner, so oftentimes, the manufacturer will have to show process capability and run-rate testing to the customer as part of the approval process. When the manufacturing manager mentioned "process capability", he was saying the line could produce the materials at the minimum spec from the customer, but we are reviewing the process activities inside a run chart showing the upper and lower control limits, the process will scream where the inefficiencies and bottlenecks in the process are. It can drive improvements where the parts are manufactured better, more in spec, but also create a constant process output that makes the customer happy.

Manufacturing operations can meet the customer specifications given the presence of natural variation by including a range of tolerances on either side of the customer specification. Instead of a manufacturer or production tool having to hit the exact mm width on the tang of a part, material thickness, or the percentage of bend on a stamped tool, there will be a range of the given unit of measure that will allow some breathing room in the production area.

The only concern I have when it comes to customer satisfaction with the spec is that the spec is the gold standard for manufacturing the products. If it does not meet the spec with the tolerances, then it is not something we want to send to the customers. Tolerances are there to be the helpers, but outside of the tolerances, there cannot be any wiggle room. Those parts must either be scrapped or reworked if possible.