Archive for quality
Is it an insult to say that it’s documented?
Posted by: | CommentsLindsay Jackson Nichols discussed the business benefits of ISO Certification and how it can be used in conjunction with continuous improvement in the Business901 podcast, Can there be a marriage between ISO and Lean? Lindsay is the CEO of MOCG, a management consulting firm specializing in implementing process improvement and ISO based management systems. This is a transcription of the podcast with added content. An excerpt from the transcription:
Joe: That’s one of the big resistances to Lean is the perception that you are standardizing all the work and making robots out of everyone. But standard work is kind of what you’re saying that ISO is all about. It’s making work standard. I mean, being explicit in what it is. And that’s not a bad thing because if there is a deviation from it, you would raise the flag, or in the Lean terms, someone would pull an Andon cord.
Lindsay: Exactly. You find me one new employee joining an organization that will ever complain that there is something in documented form that tells them how they should be performing something. They cry out for it. But how many times do you hear people say "Oh yeah, it’s baptism by fire here." Nobody likes to be in that situation. I mean I’ve been through it myself; it’s disconcerting. People want to be productive; they want to get up and running fast. What you tend to hear from the more seasoned people is "Oh, but it’s so unique, what we do. There’s no way you could possibly standardize it." Of course that’s complete nonsense. There are certain things, obviously, every order is different. The flavor of what a customer wants versus the next one, absolutely.
Related Information:
MOCGISO You Tube Videos
Agreeing on Standards in a Lean Enterprise
Is Standard Work needed in Sales and Marketing?
Where is the path in Continuous Improvement for Sales and Marketing?
Why does sales and marketing operate to a different quality standard?
Can there be a marriage between ISO and Lean?
Posted by: | CommentsOn the Business901 podcast, Lindsay Jackson Nichols discussed the business benefits of ISO Certification and how it can be used in conjunction with continuous improvement. Lindsay is the CEO of MOCG, a management consulting firm specializing in implementing process improvement and ISO based management systems. 
When you first think about, you may think that Quality Management and a continuous improvement methodology like Lean are one in the same. You may also think that they are willing partners. Many disagree with that thought. My thoughts are that I find the ISO standards as a way to involve people from all departments to ask them how you do things. As a result, procedures and documentation are created to evaluate the current method of doing things (the first step in standard work) against the requirements of a standard (ISO). As a result, you develop performance gaps for continuous improvement. Others believe that this would hinder the development and flexibility of standard work documents and prefer that they are divorced from each other.
I probed this question with Lindsay and on a Lean Blog Post on Standard Work. The answer I believe to be correct is that ISO 9001 should not be the continuous improvement strategy just that it should be one metric by which continuous improvement is measured. However, I still believe using ISO as a standard to start the process of developing standard work is not a bad place to start.
About LJ Nichols: Lindsay’s career has been entirely devoted to management consulting, working with Grant Thornton LLP ‐ the fifth largest accounting and management consulting firm in the nation, assisting them develop a ‘center of excellence’ for their quality, environment and regulatory practice, and P‐E International plc/P‐E Handley Walker the largest management consulting firm in Europe, where she was integral in establishing their ISO presence in the US.
Related Information:
MOCGISO You Tube Videos
Agreeing on Standards in a Lean Enterprise
Is Standard Work needed in Sales and Marketing?
Where is the path in Continuous Improvement for Sales and Marketing?
Why does sales and marketing operate to a different quality standard?
Business Improvement thru Quality, the Juran Way
Posted by: | CommentsI had the pleasure of discussing the mission and expertise of the Juran Institute, Inc. with their CEO, Joe DeFeo. The Institute provides research and pragmatic solutions to enable organizations from any industry to learn the tools and techniques for managing quality and performance excellence. As a result of this discussion, I think you will take away some different views on the subject of quality and how they apply to your organization. This is not quality for the sake of quality. This is quality for the sake of business improvement. 
The Juran’s Quality Handbook: The Complete Guide to Performance Excellence 6/e
P.S. What do you talk about before a podcast begins? I left some beginning remarks in place. However, I have to correct a statement that was made, WKRP was in Cincinnati.
Upcoming Events: Juran is conducting blended Lean Six Sigma workshops for Green Belt and Black Belt certification beginning in April 2011. The workshops begin with required online independent study of e-learning modules. The estimated 24 hours of independent study must be completed by the start of the onsite, instructor-led portion of the workshop. The onsite workshop training, held in Southbury, Connecticut, will expand upon the topics covered in the e-learning modules. Training will be interactive with group case study exercises, problem analysis and statistics practice. Here is a list of all the workshops Juran currently has scheduled for 2011:
- Lean Six Sigma Blended Green Belt – (Beginning April 4, 2011)
- Lean Six Sigma Blended Black Belt – (Beginning April 4, 2011)
- Lean Six Sigma Upgrade to Black Belt – (Beginning May 2, 2011)
To register, or for more information, please call 800-338-7726, or email Tina@juran.com.
Related Information:
Juran Institute Website
ASQ Columbus Spring Conference will host Marketing with Lean
Need to grow by innovation, consider the little i versus the big I.
Integrating Value Networks
Understand Scrum, Understand Implementing PDCA
Why does sales and marketing operate to a different quality standard?
