One of the earliest quotes I remember from a general manager: “If my manufacturing manager and quality manager weren’t at each other’s throats, then I would be concerned.” At the time, as a young graduate mechanical engineer acting a quality control manager for a small aerospace firm, I thought that this statement was in perfect keeping with the established tension that usually exists between manufacturing and quality assurance.
In the ensuing forty years, I've often been in that nether region between the demands and quotas in production and the checks and balances required in quality environments. Each time I've accepted the acknowledged rift and how they seem to be inherently contradictory.
Although there is much information on establishing a closer working relationship between manufacturing and quality, there is a tool available which I believe hasn't been tried that may have profound significance—if those in control have the gumption to use it. I don't consider it to be a silver bullet to end all manufacturing problems, but the ratio between the expenditure to implement versus the potential revenue from the improvements, proves it's in a category by itself.
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Comments
Quality Semantics - Name it what it is!
Like you I have spent the better part of 40 years in quality. I have always said - even before it was popular - that those that produce should be responsible and held accountable for what they do. The quality organization is a monitoring (for the sake of the customer) and measuring (for the sake of the company) organization. We don't build product!!!!! How is it that even today many organizations want to hold quality responsible for everything the report on that is bad? I very much like your idea of changing the name and will be tryining the concept out - I'll let you know how much resistance there is.
Thanks for the great article.
reply to Quality Semantics
Two problems with the moniker you assigned to the Quality Department:
1) You already dismissed the title of "manufacturing" with the previous renaming. There can be no "manufacturing feedback" since there is no longer a manufacturing department.
2) You have limited the scope of the quality department exclusively to the production function. What about the quality department's monitoring of sales, management, human resources, et al? Maybe a better title would be "enterprise feedback"??
They should have crucified me years ago
So, I have only been in the quality department only 15 years. So I admit that I do not know squat (whatever that means).
Very early on in my career, while only being a meer quality controler - I took hold of the MRB meetings. During these meetings (which were held with the ceo, engineering manager, and operations manager), I brought into the mrb resolving equation the "ex-factory factor". True, I was nieve and had NO real idea what I was doing, but as it happens - I was building my own quality philosophy. That was over 10 years ago now. Since then I have built on that philosophy. And yes - they should have crucified me!!!
Today, I not only look at the product and the processes but the whole supply chain.
I believe that,
" There is a person waking up today who is going to walk into a shop somewhere. If my product is not there(for whatever reason - such as there is a 2mm scratch instead of a 1mm scratch) - the potential customer will not buy that product - end of story - not really.
What begins with a decision at one point usually ends up at the same point.
So "calculative risk" enters into the equation.
I can always defend a customer's complaint.
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