sprague

1 Attention to customer requirements to your requirements- keeps us on the leading edge (1) of the quality revolution. We maintain total quality commitments(2) throughout our operations.

2 PRODUCT AND MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT The work in our research and development facilities is focused on new materials and designs. Our scientists and engineers are recognized for their experience in this technology. Sprague, a pioneer in the field of capacitors, has introduced many important advances over the years.

3 SUPPLIER PARTNERSHIPS We are continuously working with suppliers to assure a thorough understanding of our quality requirements and the use of statistical methods as a tool for process control. We expect our suppliers to be dedicated to the improvement of quality of our incoming materials, taking rigorous action to investigate and correct non conformance whenever required.

4 PROCESS CONTROL Sprague ships millions of capacitors each month for aerospace and defense electronics, for computers and communications as well as for a virtually unlimited range of high performance military, industrial and commercial equipment. We are dedicated to defect prevention in all aspects of design and manufacturing. Rigorous action is taken to investigate the root cause of non conformances and/or variation and to correct such situations. We perform a thorough analysis of critical process elements using statistical methods at key points. More and more process steps are being automated to assure consistency in manufacturing and conformance to design specifications.

5 TRAINING A disciplined procedures approach is an essential part of quality improvement program. This requires a commitment to provide all operators with the skills and tools necessary to produce quality at the source. Employees are trained in company philosophy, statistical process control, capability studies, application of procedures and equipment operation.

6 PARTS PER MILLION (PPM) PROGRAMS PPM performance, by product, is calculated from electrical performance data supplied by our final QA inspection. These data include all variations, whether minor or catastrophic, form internal standards that are stricter than those used by our customers. The result is that our customers measurement in PPM is always more favorable than our own measurement.

1 (to be) on the leading edge : (être à) la pointe de
2 commitment : engagement - to be committed to : s'engager à

1 Analyse the following difficulties
a. Verbs :
* (§1, sentence 1: Pick up the verb and its subject.
* (§ 2 and 4) Pick up the verbs and say whether they are passive or active.
* Recast in the active (§ 4) : 'process steps are being automated'.
b.
* § 3, sentence 1) : Pick up the two words co-ordinated by and. ( Be very precise.)
* (§4, sentence 1) : Pick up the adjectives of equipment. Note that when there are three adjectives, you usually find : adjective 1 + , (comma) + adjective 2 + and + adjective 3.
c. (§3, sentence 2) : Pick up a contracted adverb clause (= forme elliptique) and recast it with a full sentence.

2 Pick up the linkwords:
* § 4 : a linkword used to add a new idea
* § 3 and 4 : a linkword used to express aim. The same word is also found in § 1, 3 and 4 with other uses. What are they?
* § 6 : a link word expressing an alternative or a choice.

4 Word building.
Some verbs can be turned into nouns meaning 'the fact of …' by adding the suffix -MENT (e.g. to replace >> the fact of replacing = replacement).
Find four examples in parts 1 to 4.
How would you say: the fact of enlarging, of displacing, of moving, ?

5 Vocabulary.
a. Look at the text for equivalents of : 1 everywhere in - 2 workshop, factory - be concentrated on, be centered on - 3 complete, total - be committed to
b. Are the following words nouns or verbs ( conjugated or not)? ships - range - unlimited - defect - cause - design.

6 Answer the questions:
1 What does the company pay special attention to? As a result, what id the company's major preoccupation?
2 What is the essential purpose of the firm's research and development? Show that the firm has a good reputation. Show it is on the leading edge of technology.
3 Should only Sprague be concerned with quality control? Who else should? What should Sprague's suppliers do and use? How should Sprague's suppliers consider quality?
4 How large is Sprague's production? Which domains does it concern? What is the essential preoccupation of the firm? What measures are taken when there is a problem? What do they use statistical methods for? What objective is mentioned? How is this objective reached?
5 What is the main idea of the paragraph? What must the management give its operators?
6 How is PPM calculated? Where does this data come from?
Describe the chart (Fig. 1) as precisely as you can. Use : X,Y axis, a curve, to decrease regularly, to drop sharply, etc.
Look again at the title of the paragraph: which adjective ( faulty? or satisfactory?) could be inserted before the word 'parts'? Which phrase ( of parts produced? or of parts rejected?) could be inserted after the word 'millions'?
Look again at the chart (fig.1) and the paragraph : explain what you have understood about the 'part per million program'.

1 Passive
a. Turn the passive verbs into the active. (Supply a subject.)
* The work is focused on new material.
* Our scientists are recognized for their experience.
* Rigorous action is taken .
* Process steps are being automated.
* Employees are trained in company philosophy.
b. Turn into the passive.
* Sprague has introduced many advances.
* We expect our suppliers to be dedicated…
* Sprague ships millions of capacitors.
* We perform a thorough analysis.
* This requires a commitment to provide…
* Quality improves as we upgrade test instrumentation.

Compare:
a. It is necessary / important to improve quality.
b. It is necessary / important for the staff to improve quality.
In (a) if you simply say that something (here, to improve quality) is necessary ( important, useful, etc.). In (b) you say the same but you also say who is concerned by the necessary improvements. (In French : (a) il est nécéssaire d'améliorer…, (b) il est nécéssaire que le personnel améliore…).

Draw from the information of the table and make up sentences as in the examples above.

Use these adjectives

What is (necessary)

Who it is (necessary) for

it is / was / will be, etc..

necessary

useful

important

profitable

and other adjectives you can think of

have qualified staff

use statistical methods

improve the quality of incoming materials

correct non-conformance

perform analysis of critical processes

train operators

ensure maximum quality

pay attention to customers’ requirements

maintain total quality requirements

Sprague

our engineers and technicians

our suppliers

everyone in the firm

the management

3 Articles
a. Justify the use or the absence of articles in the following sentences: The work in our facilities is focused on Ø new components - Sprague, a pioneer in the field of Ø capacitors… - Ø quality improves as we upgrade…

b. Insert a/ an, the or Ø where appropriate. … compact discs pack … large amount of … information into … small surface, but to some researchers, they seem as primitive as ...reel-to-reel tapes (cassettes audio) . … Princeton University engineer has created ... CDs that can concentrate ….data 800 times more efficiently than … discs we are now using. He can make … CD (of) … size of a small coin that could store 5 hours of … films. (Adapted from CDs get small, Discover Magazine, 1998)

4 Now use document B
Use the following words and phrases to talk about the flowchart.
a. in case / if / provided + present, then + present / future. in case / if / provided + preterit, then + conditional.
e.g. If the test is satisfactory, (then) the product is metallised. If the test was not satisfactory, then the product would not be metallised / would be rejected.
b. before X is done / before doing X - after X is done / has been done, after doing X as soon as X is done / has been done
e.g. After / as soon as the plastic films are checked / have been checked, they are stored. After checking, the plastic films are stored.
c. vocabulary: to meet specifications / requirements - to fail to meet specifications / requirements - the next step is to (do) / consists in (do)ing - to carry out a test - to perform an analysis - to undergo an inspection.

6 Oral work.
a. In your school, are you informed about / trained into quality assurance? When you are engaged in an industrial project, is quality a major concern of yours or not ?
b. Read this text: In the years 1996-99, more than 150,000 cars by various manufacturers were recalled for various airbag problems…. BMW recalled 205,000 vehicles in the U.K. to fit new radiator caps. In a single year (1998), there were 107 voluntary recalls in the U.K. affecting lorries, buses, cars and motorbikes.
* What is a recall? Why are products (vehicles, in this text) recalled?
* Explain what the effect of breakdowns and faults can be both for the customer and the car manufacturer. Are recalls the right solution? Wouldn't total quality be preferable?

7 Written exercise
In your opinion, why do firms insist so much on total quality? (Write 120 /150 words.)