Defects are not because of the People but The System! (Deming)

Most of the time, a defect in a process is caused (as we say in Tool # 2 The Pareto Principle), by a defective system, not by a person. Sometimes the defect lays on the Training System that has not helped the person understand the process in order to prevent the mistaken fill out of a form, insufficient information, confusing directions, etc.

Deficiencies in Systems go undetected because some experienced people know of the gaps and can easily waive them. Unfortunately when the operation is assigned to a new person, there is no formal training and the operation becomes a copy of a copy of another copy, meaning that at some point the current procedure may be far from the original design and purpose.

If you ask why that operation is being done that way,  quite frequently the answer will be: “because that is the way we’ve always done it”. Perhaps someone has dared to ask if the process could be improved because it makes no sense, and the “innovator” will be told that it is not his-her job to change the procedure. So things keep going the same or worse.

Quality "Control"

To this purpose the remedy has traditionally been almost as bad as the illness, companies have established “Supervision” positions. Just as the outdated "Quality Control" that plagued the manufacturing operations for many years in the past Century, having someone else verify your work is offensive and ineffective. That is bringing into the process some third person who “inspects” the work and either approves or rejects but many times the rejection is not clearly explained, so people are prone to make the same mistakes over and over… any examples?

Establish Quality Assurance Instead!

That is when a new concept came along. It is called Quality Assurance. This is achieved not through inspections from other people, but the self awareness of each individual as to what are the qualityy standards their work must abide by.

Lean Office Kaizen

In order to embrace a Lean Office Kaizen environment it is necessary to acknowledge these issues and create that level of accountability in each individual. We need to start by improving multidirectional communication among all levels in the organization. This way we will be giving people the correct support, trust, and empowerment that will make them accountable and then Not Need any “Supervisor” to check their work.

We know how hard this is to believe, but when we put it into practice it is like a miracle! Of course it is a matter of people development, and that is why Leadership is considered our Tool # 1.