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Quality control pillar 90-day model area plan

A quality control pillar model area plan is a 90-day plan for proving, on one area of the plant, that defects can be traced to the machine and process conditions that cause them and stopped there, before the method spreads to other areas. The pillar is also called quality maintenance in TPM. The team ranks the defect modes, builds a QA matrix of where each defect is made and caught, analyses the top defect modes, restores basic conditions, checks each countermeasure before closing it, sets the conditions for zero defects and keeps them with a QM matrix of checks. This template has the 13-week plan as a Gantt chart in three phases with the owner, deliverable and done-when of each activity, a scoring table to choose the model area from loss data, the team, a KPI board, the day-90 gate, and the expansion plan for months 4 to 12 in three waves, with a worked example.

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Page 1 of the quality control pillar 90-day model area plan: a 13-week Gantt chart in three phases with the owner, deliverable and done-when of each activity, from the defect data to the day-90 gate.
13-week Gantt planQA matrix to QM matrixModel area scoringTeam rolesKPI boardDay-90 gateExpansion wavesWorked example

When to use it

When to use a quality control pillar 90-day plan

  • When the same defects keep coming back after every corrective action and the plant wants to fix them at the conditions that cause them.
  • When a plant is starting the quality pillar and wants to prove the QA matrix and QM matrix on one area before rolling them out.
  • When a customer complaint or a scrap spike points at one line, cell or machine group.
  • When leaders want a quality plan they can review every week: who does what, by when, and what done looks like.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Choose the model area from loss data

    Score up to three candidate areas (five in Excel) on loss data, visibility, team willingness and repeatability, from 1 to 3. Loss data here means scrap, rework and customer complaints by area and defect mode. Pick the highest total; on a tie, the higher loss data score wins.

  2. 2

    Name the team and write day 1

    Sponsor, pillar lead, the quality engineer, a process engineer and a maintenance technician, the area supervisor and operators. In Excel, day 1 and the status date set the dates and status of every activity.

  3. 3

    Set the baseline and the day-90 targets

    Defects a week, first pass yield, customer complaints, the share of top defect modes with a confirmed cause and the share of settings in the QM matrix.

  4. 4

    Run the 13 weeks and update the plan every week

    Move a bar if your area needs it, write the week each activity really finished, and add one actual per KPI each week. Late activities turn red in the Excel version.

  5. 5

    Pass the day-90 gate

    The sponsor and pillar lead check the six gate items with evidence. If one is not met, fix it before any other area starts.

  6. 6

    Plan the expansion waves

    Wave 1 goes to the lines with the same process or machine type, with the model area quality engineer and operators running the first QA matrix in each. Each new area runs its own 13 weeks against its own baseline.

The 90-day plan

Week by week: from the QA matrix to the QM matrix

The standard plan printed on page 1 and in the Excel version. Days 1 to 30 are weeks 1 to 4, days 31 to 60 weeks 5 to 9 and days 61 to 90 weeks 10 to 13. Move the weeks to fit your area.

  • 1

    Activity
    Choose the model area and form the team (Setup)
    Owner
    Pillar lead
    Deliverable
    Team list; area chosen with the selection table
    Done when
    Team named, sponsor agreed, first meeting held
  • 1 to 3

    Activity
    Collect defect data and rank the defect modes (Data)
    Owner
    Quality engineer
    Deliverable
    Defects by mode, internal and customer, with a Pareto
    Done when
    Top defect modes ranked and the baseline set
  • 2 to 4

    Activity
    Build the QA matrix (QA matrix)
    Owner
    Quality engineer
    Deliverable
    Defect modes against stations: where each is made and where it is caught
    Done when
    Every defect mode in the period is on the matrix with a class
  • 3 to 5

    Activity
    Check and contain at the source (QA matrix)
    Owner
    Area supervisor
    Deliverable
    What each station checks; containment for defects that escape
    Done when
    No top defect mode reaches the customer while the work goes on
  • 4 to 7

    Activity
    Defect mode analysis on the top defect modes (Analysis)
    Owner
    Model area team
    Deliverable
    One sheet per mode: phenomenon, 4M causes, why-why, conditions
    Done when
    Each top mode has a cause confirmed by a test or data
  • 5 to 8

    Activity
    Restore basic conditions on the machines (Conditions)
    Owner
    Maintenance technician
    Deliverable
    Worn parts, tooling and settings restored, with the AM and PM teams
    Done when
    Machines meet their basic conditions
  • 6 to 9

    Activity
    Countermeasures, checked before closing (Countermeasures)
    Owner
    Process engineer
    Deliverable
    Countermeasure per cause and a robustness check of each
    Done when
    Defect mode does not come back over the agreed check period
  • 8 to 10

    Activity
    Set the conditions for zero defects (Conditions)
    Owner
    Process engineer
    Deliverable
    For each mode: the machine and process settings and their limits
    Done when
    Every top mode has its settings and limits written down
  • 9 to 11

    Activity
    Build the QM matrix (QM matrix)
    Owner
    Quality engineer
    Deliverable
    Each setting with its standard, how it is checked, how often and by whom
    Done when
    Every setting is in an operator check or a PM task
  • 10 to 12

    Activity
    Train the checks into standard work (Standards)
    Owner
    Area supervisor
    Deliverable
    One point lessons and updated standard work at each station
    Done when
    Operators do the new checks without help
  • 11 to 13

    Activity
    Update the QA matrix and check the trend (QA matrix)
    Owner
    Quality engineer
    Deliverable
    QA matrix with new data; defect trend against baseline
    Done when
    Matrix reflects the new checks and classes
  • 13

    Activity
    Day-90 review and decision to expand (Gate)
    Owner
    Sponsor
    Deliverable
    Day-90 gate sheet, KPIs against baseline, lessons
    Done when
    Gate signed by the sponsor and the pillar lead

What's on the gates

The day-90 gate and the wave gate for the quality control pillar

The day-90 gate decides whether the model area is ready to be copied; the wave gate is checked for each new area before the next wave starts. Both are on page 3 of the PDF and on the Excel version's Day-90 gate and Expansion sheets.

Day-90 gate

All met before the first expansion wave starts

  1. 1Every top defect mode has a confirmed cause and a countermeasure that held
  2. 2The QA matrix is up to date and no top defect mode reaches the customer
  3. 3Every setting that prevents a top defect mode is in the QM matrix with a check and an owner
  4. 4Operators do the new checks as part of standard work
  5. 5The KPI board has 13 weeks of data against the baseline
  6. 6The matrices, analyses and lessons are written up so another team can copy them

Wave gate

For each new area, before the next wave starts

  1. 7The area passed the same day-90 gate as the model area
  2. 8Its KPIs are measured against its own baseline, not the model area's
  3. 9The QA and QM matrices and lessons were copied and adapted, and the copy is recorded
  4. 10Coaches for the next wave are named and have run a session with the pillar lead watching
  5. 11The model area was audited again and still holds its standard

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example: a plastic injection molding plant (illustrative, with made-up numbers; the same as page 4 of the PDF and the Excel example sheets). Not a benchmark.

  • Model area choice, loss data, visibility, team willingness and repeatability scored 1 to 3: Molding cell 4 scored 11, Assembly line 1 scored 9 and Paint line scored 7. Molding cell 4 had the most scrap (short shots and flash), the team asked to work on it, and the same press and tool types run in four other cells.
  • Defects at the model area: baseline 60 a week, day-90 target 20 a week, week 13 actual 26 a week, 85% of the gap closed.
  • First pass yield: baseline 92%, day-90 target 98%, week 13 actual 97%, 83% of the gap closed.
  • Customer complaints from the area: baseline 4, day-90 target 0, week 13 actual 1, 75% of the gap closed.
  • Top defect modes with a confirmed cause: baseline 0%, day-90 target 100%, week 13 actual 100%, 100% of the gap closed.
  • Settings covered by the QM matrix: baseline 0%, day-90 target 100%, week 13 actual 100%, 100% of the gap closed.

The team passed the day-90 gate in week 13. Wave 1 (months 4 to 6) went to Molding cells 2, 3 and 5, wave 2 (months 7 to 9) to Assembly lines 1 and 2, and wave 3 (months 10 to 12) to Paint line, incoming inspection, with a model area team member coaching each wave 1 area.

Common mistakes

  • Starting with every defect at once

    Rank the defect modes and work on the top few. A plan that chases every defect in the first 90 days finishes none of them.

  • Closing a countermeasure the day it is fitted

    Check that the defect mode stays away over an agreed period, and that the fix will hold when people, material or settings change, before it is closed.

  • Finding the cause and not the condition

    A root cause such as a worn guide or a drifting temperature needs a setting, a limit and a check, or it comes back. That is what the QM matrix is for.

  • Leaving the checks with the quality team

    Each setting in the QM matrix needs an owner on the floor: an operator check or a maintenance task, written into standard work.

  • Spreading before the gate

    Copying matrices to new lines before the model area shows the defects stay down spreads paperwork, not results. Hold the gate, then expand in waves.

Download the template

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Run this template in LeanSuite

In LeanSuite the QA Matrix pulls internal and customer defect data into one place, gives each defect an AA, A, B or C priority from where it was caught, how severe it is, what it costs and how often it recurs, and turns a top defect into a Kaizen or CAPA project in one click.

FAQ

Quality control pillar 90-day model area plan: common questions

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