sfwork logo

Quality Management with SF Inside

Quality Management with SF Inside

At the SOLWorld Conference in 2008, Jenny Clarke discussed the work of the sfwork Quality Forum. Here's a summary of how they added SF to Quality tools. 

Deming's 14 Principles

 

Deming

SF

Create constancy of purpose towards improvement

Change is happening all the time.
Improvement in the direction of Future Perfect.
Agile reaction.

Adopt the new philosophy

You can start anywhere and engage the organisation
during the process.

Cease dependence on inspection

Customer consciousness throughout.
Building Quality all the way through.

Move towards a single supplier for any one item

Partnership with customers & suppliers.

Improve constantly & reduce variation

Use variation (positive differences).
Variation can lead to innovation.

Institute training on the job

Provide an environment where people want to learn.
Learning & working are inextricably linked.

Institute leadership (as opposed to supervision)

Modelling the way – leaders do it first and last.

Drive out fear

Everyone participates and innovation is encouraged.

Break down barriers between departments

Collaboration and contribution.

Eliminate slogans

Leader as host: given the tools, people will do the best they can.

Eliminate Management by Objectives

Develop your own 'best practice' and target the process
that delivers best for the customer.

Remove barriers to pride of workmanship

Allow personal signatures, sensible flexibility and link results with people.

Institute education & self-improvement

Institute education & self-improvement.

Transformation is everyone's job

Transformation is everyone's job –
you can't not be involved.

 

Root Cause Analysis

(Ishikawa Fishbone)

"By repeatedly asking the question 'Why?', you can peel away the layers of symptoms which can lead to the root cause of a problem. Very often the ostensible reason for a problem will lead you to another question. Although this technique is called '5 Whys', you may find that you will need to ask the question fewer or more times than 5 before you find the issue related to a problem." (6 Sigma web site)

Example

Customers are unhappy because they are being shipped products that don't meet their specifications.

Fishbone
(Why?)

Wishbone

Because manufacturing built the products to a different specification to the one that the salesman and customer agreed.

What exactly do customers want? Ask again!

Because the salesman tries to expedite delivery by calling the
head of manufacturing directly. The spec is miscommunicated
or written down wrongly.

What exactly does the salesman want?

The salesman calls head of manufacturing instead of following procedures in order to save time when Sales Director is out of the office.

Who has the best record in this area?
What helps him to convey information accurately?
How does he know that the information has been understood?

The Sales Director's approval is required by the procedure.
(This non-value added activity can be eliminated from procedure.)

What procedures will facilitate accurate information transfer?

 

Force Field Analysis

(Kurt Lewin)

Typically, the following steps are taken:

  • Describe the current situation
  • Describe the desired situation
  • Identify where the current situation will go if no action is taken
  • List all the forces driving change towards the desired direction
  • List all the forces resisting change towards the desired direction
  • Discuss & interrogate all of the forces: are they valid? Can they be changed? Which are the critical ones?
  • Allocate a strength score to each of the forces
  • Chart the forces by listing driving forces on the left and restraining forces on the right, in order of strength
  • Determine whether change is viable and progress can occur
  • Discuss ways of increasing strength of driving forces and decreasing strength of restraining forces
  • Bear in mind that doing item 10 may create new forces

Force Field Analysis with SF inside

  • Describe what is working well in the current situation
  • Describe the desired situation
  • Identify where the current situation will go if no action is taken
  • List all the forces driving change towards the desired direction
  • List all the forces resisting change towards the desired direction
  • Discuss & interrogate all of the forces: are they valid? Can they be changed? Which are the critical ones?
  • Allocate a strength score to each of the forces
  • Chart the forces by listing driving forces on the left and restraining forces on the right, in order of strength
  • Determine whether change is viable and progress can occur
  • Discuss ways of increasing strength of driving forces and decreasing strength of restraining forces
  • Bear in mind that doing item 10 may create new forces
  • List all the resources driving change towards the desired direction.
  • Based on this, take small steps in the desired direction.

Handout at the SOLWorld Conference, Cologne 2008.
Produced by Jenny Clarke with Trevor Durnford & Marlon Heilbrunn.