Hello there, it is Friday and today I will be going through Deming's point three on my way to finishing up all 14. The order of this exercise has been somewhat different, and I think this is good. Anybody with half a brain can count and type, it's a little harder to line things up based on how they fit rather than just "in order". Of course, we could consider they may have been intended to be in order...uh oh. Enjoy!
Stop Using Mass Inspection
The goal of leadership is facilitate system output to be in control. Mass inspection of production implies you have done exactly zero percent of the work. Mass inspection wastes time and is not a method to introduce quality. Quality must be put into product first at design and second in the removal of process variations which introduce defects. Mass inspection addresses neither need.
Quality first in design. We hear this lots in modern manufacturing. Leadership must ensure time and care is given to development activities to promote manufacturability and quality. Products with simple assembly result in fewer defects, less variation. Simple to build can translate into simple to service. Obviously, not everything can be simple, the goal is to remove needless complexity wherever possible.
Process controls are next. Consistent, repeatable, and understood process will produce fewer variations of output. Management is responsible to ensure process controls are in place to monitor outputs and correct unacceptable performance. The keys to this point are a multitude of efforts. Good training, a feedback loop for process improvements, leadership presence, and an investment in the workforce.
This point is not implying inspection is not required. The idea here is your inspection should be tailored to your needs based on preventative steps you have taken prior to. You should be using statistical controls for sampling based on the risk profile of your product and level of control (of variation) you need the system to maintain. In some cases this means large samples, in some cases small. The point is, you are not using your last inspection as a crutch to avoid investments upstream. Those investments would, in short order, pay you rather than the expense you are eating from mass inspection.
Start. Somewhere. & Mass Inspection
Start. Somewhere. is going to point you at upstream process improvements. It will guide you to finding ways to prevent defects ahead of time. I no way will my program suggest you do exhaustive last step quality control actions. finding problems inside a production line is a more proactive and effective way to reduce output problems than QC checks will ever be. In some cases you may not remove an inspection step, you might move it. I have a success story in the works about moving an inspection step and the effects it had on downstream variation. Let's not ignore the time you will save too. You never get time back, don't waste it.
If you'd like to explore ways to improve your systems, reach out. Smash the Start button up top or use the link on the bottom to schedule a free consultation. Despite Start. Somewhere. growing up in manufacturing, it plays well in most industries. What are you waiting for?
