Real-Life Communication
A process control analyst has to keep up on trends in the industry.
"There
is so much information you need to know that I'm constantly updating my filing
cabinets and looking for more space," says process analyst Chris Fancy. "You
need to be able to describe products properly, which means you have to know
everything about that product."
You are planning to improve a part
of the main milling line so that it produces better quality boards from the
available material. Before you launch into computer programming, you head
to the factory floor to do some research. You want to see the quality of boards
that are currently being produced.
A production worker brings you some
random samples of boards just put through the machine. In this stack, there
are 4 different grades of lumber. You want to be able to determine how many
of the boards are:
- select merchantable boards
- construction boards
- utility boards
- economy boards
The data will help you develop a system for ensuring
that the maximum number of boards are top-quality select merchantable boards.
These
are the qualifications for each board type. If a qualification is not listed,
that means it is unacceptable for the category. For example: splits aren't
listed under select merchantable boards because none are allowed.
Select
Merchantable Boards
- Seasoning checks: may have any number of medium checks, none through
- Pitch pockets: not limited in number. Should be well distributed and not
open through
- Skips: 20 percent of any face
- Star-checked knots: may be accepted, if tight
- Pinholes: limited to 30 per square foot
- Knots not firmly fixed: Up to one-half inch, and only two per 12 feet
Construction Boards
- Pitch streaks: limited to 50 percent of the area
- Pitch pockets: not limited in number, but should be well distributed
- Skips: 20 percent of face and edges and in occasional pieces
- Pinholes: not limited
- Holes: same size as knots on select merchantable or smaller
Utility Boards
- Seasoning checks: not limited
- Unsound wood: spots one-and-a-half inches wide
- Pitch pockets: not limited to size or number
- Pinholes: not limited
- White specks: any amount of firm
Economy Boards
- Knots: approximately three-quarters of face width in size, as long as
board won't break under handling
- Unsound wood: large spots or streaks
- Splits: any number up to one-third of the length
What are the grades of the following pieces of lumber?
Board
One
- small, not firmly fixed knots
- a few well-distributed pinholes
- some medium-sized seasoning checks
- half of board is covered with pitch streaks
Board Two
- a few seasonal checks but none through
- a small number of pitch streaks
- a small number of pinholes
- a few white specks
Board Three
- few pinholes
- few pitch pockets
- medium-sized split