Project Plan: Improving Quality Control

Current Process
In the manufacture of its Twinkie product, Hostess currently has in place a fairly simple quality control measure (QCM): before wrapping, a sample Twinkie from each batch is pulled. The product is weighed, the volume of filling is visually inspected, and an actual taste test is performed. If the product tested passes these QCMs, the batch is then sent on to be wrapped and packaged.
The problem with the current QCMs is that they occur at the very end of the manufacturing process; therefore, if the individual product tested does not pass, an entire batch of Twinkies must be rejected. It is either discarded or, since Hostess closed its outlets in 2012, sent to Big Lots to be sold at a 40% discount (Feran 2014). Further, the production line itself must be shut down while the machine that malfunctioned is recalibrated. This results in a significant loss of daily production and profits.

Suggested Improvements
As of the end of 2014, Hostess Brands produced 500 million Twinkies a year—1,000 Twinkies a minute—in its Emporia, KS location (“About” 2015). A fairly simple improvement in the process design can eliminate performance and reduce defects to at most. The suggested changes in when and how QCMs are performed will bring waste down to at most a tray of product and reduce downtime on the production line. The first change to the QCM is to divide into two parts. The first QCM will occur after mixing the ingredients and before the dough is poured into trays for baking. Here, a small sample of raw dough will be pulled and placed in a new state-of-the-art Dough Analyzer, which will evaluate the dough meets the specification of ingredients in proper proportion. If the sample is not acceptable, the mixing machine can be recalibrated, or ingredients can be modified. In this way, an entire batch of dough is not