Manufacturing problems can lead to large costs of rework or can result in product becoming scrap. Immediate detection of problems is a key to increasing productivity and decreasing costs.
When problems are associated with surface contamination, an array of tests can be performed quickly in conjunction with the manufacturing process, avoiding the need to send samples to a lab and await results.
Manufacturing and assembly processes are becoming increasingly complex and multi-staged. Surface contamination at the beginning of assembly can wreak havoc dozens of steps down the line.
Source: Water Under The Bridge—In Process Monitoring, Part 2
