Analysis Paralysis

When things go awry with quality and defects keep shipping to the customer, it seems human nature for management to put in stop gap check points to inspect for quality.  Management wants data collection inspections and reaction to the data, adding layers to the processes, requiring more work from others who are suppose to monitor the process and build in quality.

I cannot help but ask why do we keep analyzing numbers?  Why do we try to FIND trends?  Why do we grow this monster add on process of inspecting quality into the product?

I believe this type of response from management is waste at the extreme.  In a manufacturing environment I believe these questions need to be asked:

1. Is the process running normal?  Are we following our standardized work?
2. Is the equipment functioning properly?  Are we keeping interruptions to the process at a minimum?
3. Is the material being presented correctly so the correct part is being applied?  Is the incoming material meeting specified quality?

Quality is built into the product / service / information by the people who touch it – the operators.  Tools need to be in place for the operators to build quality.  The above questions are tools needed to build a quality manufactured product.  Perhaps You can contribute base questions for service and information.

Without the above as a foundation, “noise” will take place within the process.  After all, it is the process that has failed.  Not the people.  This “noise” takes the work force away, distracts, causes confusion when building quality.  “Noise” can be a lot of things: unplanned equipment outages, material shortages, wrong material presentation, poor quality material, unsafe work conditions, not following 5S (a place for everything and everything in its place), not following a repeat process.  I hope you have enough examples to grasp what I mean by “noise”.

So, instead of management asking “is our process in control”, and if not getting it back in control; instead of asking “did we follow standardized work”, and if not do so; instead of asking “has the equipment been running properly”, and if not get it back up to running standards, . . . (you get the point) . . . management wants to see more data and to react to the data.  From the data they take some sort of corrective action measure, get more data, make more corrections, to the point the labor force is now paralyzed from building in quality.  Analysis Paralysis!

How about we just put the process back to normal?  (Of course I am presuming you had a normal process that was producing quality to begin with.)