Interested Parties and Internet AdsWho are your online customers, and what do they really want?
Thu, 09/25/2014 - 14:48
Provision 4.2 of ISO 9001:2015 cites “Needs and Expectations of Interested Parties.” Interested parties include not only obvious stakeholders (customers, suppliers, employees, and owners), but also anybody who is affected, or perceives himself as…Lean Toilets and LEEDFinding the waste that’s hidden in plain sight
Tue, 08/26/2014 - 11:00
Can something as simple as a toilet support LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)? We take this basic sanitation device for granted, and while it makes the obvious wastes disappear very cleanly, another form of waste hides in plain…Stranded Passengers and the Moment of TruthWould you buy your customers pizza?
Thu, 08/07/2014 - 10:18
Quality Digest’s readers are quite familiar with the deficiencies of the U.S. airline industry, whether through articles in the media, personal experience, or both. Relatively minor issues involve inefficient boarding processes, fees for the first…GM’s Elephant on the Shop FloorWe must acknowledge the problem to solve it
Mon, 06/23/2014 - 16:18
The phrase “elephant in the living room” refers to a major problem that everybody knows is there, but nobody wants to acknowledge. Acknowledging and defining the problem is, of course, the first part of any closed-loop corrective action process. “…Pay Attention to International CulturesCountry to country, attitudes are not the same
Tue, 05/27/2014 - 16:20
The Golden Rule “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” may have applied in biblical times when the “others” lived in your village and shared your values and attitudes. Someone halfway around the world might not, on the other hand, want…Just in Time Supports Inherently Safer Technology<em>In situ</em> generation of hazardous chemicals is safer and leaner than storage
Tue, 04/15/2014 - 17:56
In their article “Deconstructing Inherently Safe Technology,” authors Glenn Hess and Jeff Johnson warn of the risks that result from high inventories of hazardous chemicals, and cite four approaches to inherently safer technology (IST): 1. Minimize…Car Dealers: Government-Mandated <em>Muda</em> Any activity that doesn’t deliver value to the customer is, by definition, waste
Wed, 03/26/2014 - 10:46
Car dealers’ successful efforts to ban the sale of Tesla Motors cars in several states reinforces the growing belief that the Internet has turned dealers into nonvalue-adding parasites. This is something I said more than 20 years ago in The Way of…Raise Wages With Lean Manufacturing, Not LegislationReturn to business basics, and everyone will prosper
Wed, 02/19/2014 - 15:23
President Obama’s State of the Union address called for an increase in the federally mandated minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour. $7.25 an hour, or even $10.10 an hour, is an appallingly low wage for anybody in a modern industrialized…The Only Bad Publicity Is Poor QualityBeware the many faces of fascination
Mon, 01/06/2014 - 18:35
The adage that the only bad publicity is no publicity may apply to celebrities, but this article will show how the wrong kind of fascination can be enormously destructive to businesses that actually deliver products or services.
My last column, “…Propaganda, Fascination, and QualityIt takes only 10% of a group to influence the other 90%
Wed, 12/11/2013 - 12:49
Colonel Paul Linebarger, one of the world’s foremost authorities on psychological warfare, had this to say about propaganda: “Propaganda consists of the planned use of any form of communication designed to affect the minds, emotions, and action of a…