Original Date: 09/20/2004
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

Forest City Gear evolved from having little document and shop floor control processes to documented, controlled, and tracked processes throughout the shop from receipt of an order to a completed invoice. The company also maintains material control from receipt to shipment of finished gears.

In 1992, Forest City Gear (FCG) used hand-written cards as shop travelers and had little document and shop floor control processes. In 1994, the company implemented the DOS version of JobBOSS and brought some control to the shop floor. In 1996 and 1997, the company began documenting its processes as ISO 9000 was implemented and certification was received (1999). In 2002, the Windows version of JobBOSS was implemented, and FCG’s shop floor control processes became more defined and disciplined.

FCG has 30 Quality Record Documents that include the controlled document index. There are 70 documents in the controlled document index, which include quality management reports, training records, work instructions, quality record forms, blueprints, and additional documents for operation and control of processes. Hard copy and electronic media are both controlled, and the JobBOSS data is backed-up nightly. Since 2002, the company has been storing its inspection data on CDs.

All aspects of FCG’s business operations are now controlled by a record or document, from the time of an initial quote to the final invoice, and all document changes are processed in accordance with the company’s ISO manual.

For more information see the Point of Contact for this survey.