At a meeting yesterday in our DC, I heard strong interest in establishing a system of quality inspection checkpoints so that we can better understand where quality defects occur. I was pleased and yet a bit surprised: quality control is classic give-and-take. Yeah, it’s great to have it, but it requires real effort to make it happen. It also takes a huge leap of faith to believe that the extra steps you are taking up-front will result in a productivity savings down the road. Typically, we all become so involved in what we have to accomplish right now that it’s hard to believe it’s worthwhile to produce somewhat fewer transactions so that we can spend more time making sure that each transaction is of good quality.
It comes down to what we value: quantity or quality? Is this a case of win/lose (checkmate), or is it possible to achieve both? What would a work environment look like in which we did achieve both?
Friday, April 18, 2008
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This is a problem people - meaning me, for one - seem to have sometimes in 'real' life as well as at work. When I have to take time to learn a new process, my brain freezes up, it really, really wants to just go on doing, the same way it's been doing it because it worked so well the last time. It's always an effort to convince myself that perhaps, just maybe, I might complete the task, whatever it is, a little more efficiently and with better success rates if I take the time now to learn a new way to do it. Loading and learning new software comes to mind...
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