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Answer: The Customer!

(1) What does the customer want? >> Use current requirements, marketing surveys, quality function deployment, and other tools

(2) What is the customer getting now? >>  Conduct a detailed assessment, collect complaint data, returns figures, consumer reports, etc.

(3) Identify gaps between (1) and (2) above

(4) Group and prioritize gaps. Use Pareto analysis, if needed.

(5) Start PDCA’s (cycles of plan-do-check-act) to identify root causes and implement solutions for each or a group of prioritized issues.

(5) Re-do Pareto Analysis and go to the next prioritized issue.

(6) make it a routine (kata)

Everyone knows that becoming Lean is a gradual ongoing process. Some gains, particularly those involving value stream maps, may have a significant impact on reducing lead time and associated costs. However, other gains, such as applying the 5-S system, contribute to the overall success but in smaller increments.

Gradual ongoing gains may also be realized from applying Lean concepts in quality management systems (QMS). From experience, many organizations have implementation problems and are heavy on documentation for reasons such as:

• The belief that all tasks require work instructions or procedures
• One person owns the QMS. As a result he or she is free to introduce additional items (procedures, forms, frequency of events) without real evaluation of the impact on leanness
• The QMS has redundant and/or more-frequent-than-needed tasks. This includes the circulation for signature on an updated document or over-documenting a simple step
• Copies of documents where they are NOT needed
• Change of the QMS guard which  means adding more documents. Usually, it is easier to add than eliminate documents thinking that all existing documents are needed (or they would not be there in the first place!!)
• Just in case mentality: thinking that having more would likely impress the external auditor

How do these examples affect leanness?

 I am sure that there are many examples and questions about this issue.  A Lean QMS group on LinkedIn was started to share ideas and experiences. Please join as it is open for all!

I am always amazed with all the acronyms, abbreviations, and buzz words used in the world of quality. There are always new twists on how we should manage for quality. I just started reading an article in Quality Progress (June 2009) that mentions a new method for Six Sigma called 6TOC (pronounced “six tock”). This method combines Lean Six Sigma with theory of constraints. Who knows what’s next on the Quality menu.

Moreover, debates are going on over which method or system should be implemented; ISO 9001, Baldrige criteria, TQM concepts, Lean, Six Sigma, and now may be 6TOC. Another debate might be which comes first, Lean or Six Sigma, ISO 9001 or TQM, among others.

This blog is about simplifying the concepts of management for quality. I know that many quality professionals like the sounds of the quality lingo. I also know that packaging quality concepts differently, particularly when combined with software, is attractive and makes one wants to buy and quickly implement the contents, as seen in the demo.

My proposition for this blog is build a case for simplicity. In the process, I am hoping that we deal with questions like:

• Who cares about the acronyms?
• Do we have to implement a known method to feel good about ourselves?
• What are the first few things we should make sure we have?
• How do we measure performance for excellence?
• Who comes first, the employee or the customer?
• Do we need interim goals? If so, how are they set?
• Can we use PDCA instead of DMAIC and get the same results?

To start off, let’s say you were asked to help Company X achieve performance excellence, what would you do first?