Screening Criteria for LED Light Manufacturers
There are different methods for effective manufacturer screening. As a third-party quality inspection company with 10 years’ experience in the LED lighting industry, BackMorning has developed a new method, which is comparatively simple, effective, and low-cost for finding LED light factories that can offer good quality stably in the long run.
Quite surely you already know quality is one of the top priorities in the LED lighting industry. Meanwhile, verifying quality management is one of the most important things to do at the initial stage of cooperation between the buyers and manufacturers. The most common practice is to verify a manufacturer by pre-production audits, ISO certification, etc.
When it comes to quality management systems and methods, if you check Wikipedia, you will be able to find a list of 17 methods for quality improvement – ISO, QFD, Kaizen, TQM, etc. Each one has advantages of its own and disadvantages as well. None is perfect and ideal for all applications.
Unquestionably, these tools and methods are very helpful for LED light manufacturers to provide better products and services. However, there is a cost behind everything. If you use such quality tools and systems for screening manufacturers, the costs will be too high and the procedures will be too complicated. It’s like you don’t need a Ferrari to run at 60 KMs per hour.
Therefore, BackMorning decided to develop a comparatively simple, effective, and low-cost method based on the analysis method 5M1E (Manpower, Machine, Material, Method, Measurement, Environment). And we decide to select some LED light manufacturers – who also take quality as one of their priorities – to recommend on our website.
Definition of 5M1E Analysis Method
1. Manpower
Everything regarding manufacturing procedures is done by people. Even automatic machines and production lines are operated by workers. We have to say, people are the first of all factors that contribute to product quality.
Meanwhile, different people have different positions and authority in the factories. Generally, the people of the top management decides lay the foundation for the overall quality of a factory.
Therefore, BackMorning doesn’t consider checking all the people at the initial screening stage. We focus on the most important people of a manufacturing company – the top management.
2. Machine
Workers need machines to make products, no matter manual or automatic. They can’t make anything without machines. Especially, some machines are indispensable, and they will determine the overall quality of a manufacturer.
Therefore, when we screen LED light manufacturers, one important thing to check is what machines or instruments they have.
3. Material
Materials for products are like foods for meals. You can’t make a good burger with rotten beef. Moreover, the quality of materials is not reversible. You will never be able to achieve the best quality, if the materials already have quality issues due to improper storage.
Therefore, it’s essential to check what materials a manufacturer chooses, and how they store the materials. Quality comes from the process. It’s important to pick a factory that assures a good beginning for the quality of their LED lights.
4. Method
You have to do the right thing in the right way, in order to achieve the goal that you want. Even if a manufacturer has good materials, and well-made machines, the finished products won’t be good if you don’t use them properly.
Therefore, we need to check the methods in practice to estimate whether a manufacturer can offer good quality stably in the long run.
5. Measurement
The quality of light is a combination of a few fundamental parameters. You will never know whether the quality of a LED light is good or bad, unless you measure it against some kind of standard. After you obtain some critical numbers, you can compare the results to see whether the quality is good.
Therefore, we have to take the measurement step into our consideration. Always preferable to work with a manufacturer who will measure their products, and tell you the performance of their products with some numbers, rather than only describe them with adjectives.
6. Environment
The manufacturing environment influences both the workers and the products. A factory doesn’t need to have a fancy environment, but at least not lower than the bottom line – neat and clean. Under such conditions, the performance of both workers and products will not be compromised by negative factors – like dirt, dust or extra moist, etc.
Therefore, BackMorning will check the manufacturing environment to evaluate a manufacturer. Make sure the quality won’t have negative impacts due to environmental contamination.