My Team is Trained in GD&T, But where is my ROI?

This statement is a typical example and something I hear from my customers and OEM’s that I have worked with over the years.

The thought is that if they can have their engineers, designers, and quality specialists all trained in GD&T, they should be able to assert faster product development and improved first-time quality (FTQ).

The problem is that most GD&T classes deal with a basic premise, teaching the language of GD&T, and may include how to establish the appropriate tolerance and where/how to apply it. You may also get some understanding of how to perform a tolerance stack. These aspects of GD&T are essential basic knowledge that every engineer must understand to design a robust system. But the dimensional robustness goes beyond the system we are releasing.

What’s missing most of the time in GD&T classes? Systematic functionality. The course you attend may consider the functionality at the root dynamic. But that’s where it probably will end.

The systemic functionality that must read across to the downstream supporting network responsible for manufacturing and quality must be cognizant of the GD&T and every functional demand.

Those teaching GD&T rarely have an intimate understanding of your commodity, how it functions, how it’s processed and manufactured. Your team members must understand these functional requirements before the basic GD&T knowledge can become of value.

I’ve been asked by many customers to “teach” GD&T to their engineering groups. I explain I don’t “teach” GD&T in the formal sense, as the value they are looking for is not in GD&T but rather what, where, and why you need it and who must have a voice in it as well as utilize it.

I do instruct and mentor teams to ensure they will functionally utilize GD&T at every part of the value stream. And when executed precisely, will deliver results.

A commitment to mentoring is imperative, as you will never be sure the content of the training provided is reaching the students and is applied appropriately throughout your organization, providing the value you are missing.

My approach is to educate myself on your commodity, from the design through manufacturing, validation, and assembly. Working within your organization and acting as a team member, I can best provide guidance that will stick with your team members much longer than a few hours in a class environment.

I will plot a Red Thread of quality, filling in the grey or missing segments with a logical and clear, concise direction.

This approach is how I bring value to my customers. And my customers will realize their ROI.

It’s not rocket science and pretty much common sense. You would be amazed at how few organizations truly understand how to find the value they have been striving to achieve.

If I’ve piqued your interest and interested in this approach, please reach out, and let’s start the ball rolling in the correct direction.