Solving moisture contaminated damper oil control problem using TQM approach

Oil leakage problem from customer is the highest defects happened in a shock absorber manufacturer in Malaysia. Product rejection from four consecutive months in a specific year has been mounting up to 469 pieces. Prior to the investigation, rusty part was found to be the root-cause of the problems. Rust particle has found its way to the top seal mounting area, which turns out damaging the seal and causes leakage. Rust will form when part of the metal transformed chemically which the process is known as metal oxidation. Metal part or surface is oxidized by oxygen when they are heated in the presence of air moisture or water. Final by-product from the metal oxidation process is called rust. Investigation was done using TQM method to find the root-cause that causes shock absorber cylinder to rust internally. The main objective is that this method serves a purpose as guidance to pilot all focus and effort towards an effective counter-measure. Additional to that, all plans, problem solving and solutions is well documented and all problems are taken care in statistical approach.