APL Cartons has developed a quality assurance system to the extent where all products produced in our facility undergo extensive attribute and statistical process control (SPC) variable testing. SPC trend analysis has become a key tool in APL’s day-to-day management of material, people and machines: The Infinity QS software is used to generate 6-Sigma control charts, X & R Bar charts, pareto charts, box plots, standard distribution charts, etc. With 6-Sigma knowledge as a base these tools can be used to analyse and evaluate process trends with proactive decision making.
The goal of this measurement is to quantify the quality of any machine or operator as possible defects per million opportunities. APL currently has a system in place where the quality inspectors audit the process (random sampling method) in order to document any attribute quality defects. The variable data checks are captured on the SPC system.
Traceability procedure (internal procedure only) Non-conformance Procedure:
By using the batch number on the bottom of any carton we are able to trace back to the batch of the boards that has been converted. The board batch records list the paper reel number. Traceability is an important protocol required by our export fruit pack houses that make up a major part of our client base. This is audited from time to time in order to make the process secure.