Tooling, used to produce customers' product, is made by GLE in many different configurations. we manufacture special wear parts, drill bushings, punches, dies and die inserts for forming, piercing, perforating, swaging, sealing, crimping and compacting. We produce die plates and die inserts for extruding, drawing and sizing. We provide special tools for burnishing, roll forming, grooving and broaching. We have manufactured locating pins, contact tips and pads, core pins, and many other
Quality Control
QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAM
Nature of Business
The nature of our business has defined the type of quality program which we have implemented, beginning with our inception as Great Lakes Gauge in 1961.
Great Lakes-Eglinton's production consists of machined parts, manufactured to customer print, involving hard materials — principally carbides, ceramics, hardened steel. It consists of carbide cylindrical gages and master setting discs and wear parts (tooling, components) specially made to customers' prints and specifications. GLE's production is single phase in nature; the tooling, gage, or component, when finished, is shipped to the customer. It is not used in subsequent operations or in another process in the plant. GLE's quality control system is designed to provide assurance that the finished tooling, gage, or component conforms to the customer's dimensional tolerances. specifications and schedule.
Product engineering, installation, and service functions are not performed as a normal part of our services. However, as a result of experience with these specialized materials gained over the years, GLE frequently, when asked, assists customer engineers to establish the type of carbide (grade) which is best for an application and helps to formulate a final design configuration which will perform best in the particular environment of use.
In-process procedures are carried out, even in GLE's type of single phase production, but they are designed to effect improvements in production efficiency and final quality — they are not required by customers' drawings or specifications.
Quality Control Program
We have had a quality control program in place for shop production work for many years. We have written, standing instructions on all manufacturing processes, including detailed procedures on in-process and final inspection for quality assurance.
In 1989, at the request of Westinghouse Electric Corporation quality people, we began work on a formal quality control program with the intent of conforming to Military Specifications MIL-I-45208A, MTL-STD-45662A, and M1L-Q-9858A as a minimum. As a part of that work, we produced a QC Manual, they reviewed it. and we made their suggested revisions. At that point, for some reason, their interest in formalizing our QC program waned. Then, on May 12, 1992. Westinghouse Electric Corporation recognized Great Lakes-Eglinton with its "1991 Supplier Recognition for Excellence" award. John Donovan, Manager of Purchasing, and William VV. Ward. Manager of Pellets and Fuel Rods, both of the Commercial Nuclear Fuel Division, made a formal presentation, at their request, to a gathering of all GLE employees. During the presentation Mr. Donovan explained how GLEs production performance had affected the Division. "Your pellet tooling (quality) encouraged us to eliminate our receiving inspection in 1991 and therefore reduced cycle time in procurement and our costs. The consistent high quality of that tooling helped our plant reach record first-time yields in fuel pelleting in 1991. Let me give you a few statistics to show the impact of our supply partnership in the generation of electric power. ...The nuclear power rods manufactured at our plant, with fuel rod pellets produced with tooling manufactured by Great Lakes personnel, produce the electric power required by 1 out of every 10 Americans."
We believe that sometime during the 1989/1991 period, Westinghouse decided that our demonstrated ability to produce a very difficult, highly precise punch assembly and die to the level of quality specified, made the formalized QC program efforts less important.
We fully meet the intent of MIL-STD45662A, which defines the requirements for a calibration system, mandatory for gage manufacturers, and forms the foundation for any QC system. A copy of GLE1004, Calibration Standards, Great Lakes-Eglinton's Quality Control Laboratory, is enclosed for your information. We also meet the intent of MIL-I-45208A and MIL-Q-9858A to the extent that they apply to the make-to-customer-print work which we perform.
We also meet the intent of 1SO-9002 and QS-9000 to the extent that they apply to our type of work, and cross-referenced matrices of both are included in GLE's QC Manual.
We are certified suppliers of parts to the customers' designs and gages, to their own specifications, for:
Saginaw Div.. General Motors Corp.; General Electric Company; Reynolds Metals Company; Westinghouse Electric Corp.; Robert Bosch Corp.; Eveready Battery Co.; Duracell, Inc.; Olin Corporation; EMCOR, Inc. a Johnson & Johnson company; and others.
