Replying to LO24326 --
Nancy Kristiansen asked, Does anyone have practical experience in
transforming an organization's approach to measuring performance that
aligns the two metrics, quality and quantity?
You bet I have but first I teach the managers the new paradigms.
Our business and engineering schools taught that there was an optimum
level of defects as a result of work and that it was not worth while to
try to get better.
The Japanese under the tutelage of Deming and a few others learned that
best quality, least cost and happiest employee occur at the same point.
That point is when the process works exactly right. Deming also told us to
use SPC to find that point and keep the process working there.
Further there seems to be no end to the cost reductions possible. Improve
the way the process works and that will reduce cost and improve quality at
the same time. Quality is a great indicator of how well a process works,
as is elapsed time in process.
I use SPC to demonstrate that improving quality lowers cost.
It is not until managers stop running so hard to deliver product and start
asking why is it so hard to get product out the door that they learn make
the process work right. Many companies, possibly most, work hard at
getting fast they never realize that first it must work right then fast
will come. The reverse will only result in making work progressively
harder.
Management does not usually understand that people are only capable of
working at their own pace and cannot work faster or slower for prolonged
periods. They continually try to beat up on people to make them work
faster.
I have helped managers learn this lesson many times. When they get it
right we increase productivity by 300%. Once I sent a group of hourly
people to see a truly well run factory. They came back with the comment,
"They sure don't work very hard". That was true yet they produced 2 to 3
times as much. Work is easy when the process works right. A simple truth
not heard by managers.
Gene
Eugene Taurman
interLinx
http://www.execpc.com/~ilx
>It appears that I have once again stumbled on an age-old dilemma (the
>tortoise and the hare) within yet another organization.
--"Eugene Taurman" <ilx@execpc.com>
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