To achieve product excellence, we really need to focus on comprehensive approach to solving them at the root causes level.
We cannot achieve product excellence, if we only focus on symptoms of quality issues. To maintain & improve quality of product need to focus on root causes of quality issues. Grasp the quality of products, we must fundamentally grasp it, and treat the symptoms even more fundamentally:
Many manufacturing units are pay attention to quality work, why can’t they always achieve results?
The reason is simple: treat the symptoms, not the root causes.
In reality, we all know the importance of grasping the quality of production, and some production lines have indeed made greater efforts to maintain it. But nine times out of ten, the practice is to treat the symptoms, but not the root causes.
What problem with us?
- Some manufacturing units are highlight “escrow with fines”, that is, after the quality of the product fails. Usually, they rise penalty to responsible persons or fire a hundred of peoples from job with hope to play a deterrent role.
- Some businesses one-sidedly believe that grasping the quality of products is only a matter for the manufacturing department. If there is a quality issues in the product. The responsibility can only be held accountable to the personnel of the manufacturing department. Facts have proved that such an understanding is biased and cannot fundamentally solve the problem.
To maintain the quality of products. We must fundamentally grasp it, and need to treat the symptoms even more fundamentally:
So, what to do? What are the fundamental steps for it?
Establish a quality responsibility system for Identify Root causes
In the final analysis, the quality problem is a strategic issue related to the life and death of the business. For business to survive for a long time, the quality of the product is reliable and guaranteed, which is the most basic premise.
Many businesses are very strange, shouting about quality work every day. But once they encounter the conflict between the quality of the product and the cost reduction, or the conflict with the delivery deadline. They always sacrifice the quality of the product, to ensure cost reduction and on-time delivery.
The result, of course, is that the company’s quality work has become a decoration. The result is not done. It also invisibly tells employees that quality work revolves around profits, in order to be profitable, products can cut corners, can be sloppy operations, quality work is dispensable.
The leader of the business must adhere to the principle of “quality first”, and let all employees have a sense of total quality management through words and deeds. Because the attitude of business management cadres towards a job usually depends on the attitude of the number one to it.
Similarly, the attitude of ordinary employees depends on the attitude of their own leaders. If the number one of the initiatives is only enthusiastic about quality work. Then the company’s employees will know it and perfunctory responsibility.
Therefore, in order to maintain the quality work, business must inject quality awareness into the bones of the number one and the entire management team. If there is a quality problem with the product. The top level must first be punished and the responsibility should be pursued from top to bottom, so that the quality work can be implemented.
Formulate strict quality management standards
The key is to see how much effort and investment the business is willing to spend. From the perspective of operation, it is impossible for businesses to highlight the quality of products regardless of cost. Which has a degree problem, that is, what standards to adhere to.
The quality management standards of companies should be high and not low, and should be strict and not loose. That is, the quality standards of company should be higher than the standards stipulated by the state and the industry.
Because the quality work of the company, after the standard is set, must go through multiple levels of transmission. First the high-level, then the quality department, then procurement, research and development, manufacturing and other departments, and then down is the production workshop, team, production line workers, according to the law of decreasing transmission efficiency. If the initial standard is not high, after experiencing layers of decline. The final achievement may be a very low standard, and various low standards overlap together, it will lead to quality accidents.
What to do?
At present, most advanced company have adopted the quality management system. Including management responsibilities, resource management, product realization, measurement analysis and improvement four parts. It is based on the eight principles of quality management based on the establishment of a scientific system, global application.
The quality management system is actually a quality management specification, and each manufacturing unit also needs to formulate corresponding measures according to its own situation.
From product development, process design to raw material procurement, from the first process to product off the line. As well from packing to transportation, each link must formulate detailed and controllable quality management standards and implement quality management responsibility system.
At the same time, it is necessary to clarify who should be responsible for which production step. What standards the product needs to meet, as well as who will check and who will score the performance, and implement the concept of quality management into all aspects of production.
It is necessary not only to stipulate “how to do it”, but also to specify “who will do it”, what kind of consequences it will bear if it is not done well.
Strengthen the process control of quality management
Many manufacturing units usually do not pay attention to the control in the quality management processes.
- Such as the training of quality knowledge for employees,
- The control of raw material procurement.
- Control of technology research and development.
The management of manufacturing sites Instead, he is keen to use fines for escrow and “settle accounts” with the relevant responsible persons after quality accidents. Which actually outweighs the losses.
Businesses should first grasp every link of the manufacturing process. Especially to prevent problems before they occur. If you wait until the product quality is wrong to take remedial measures. It will not only pay additional costs, but also seriously damage the image of the business, and scare away potential markets and consumers.
Strengthen the process control of quality management, not only to strengthen quality control in the manufacturing process of products. But to extend this to the upstream and downstream links of manufacturing.
For example, control of raw material procurement, technology research and development, logistics, after-sales services and other links. Practice shows that the cause of product quality issues is caused by the manufacturing linkage only accounts for a small proportion, mainly due to technical research and development failure, raw materials are not qualified. Strengthening the control of technology research and development and the procurement of raw materials is the key link to strengthen quality management control.
Quality First
Companies adopting a new technology must carefully conduct “scientific trials” on drug development on product quality. Take home appliances, electromagnetic compatibility, acoustic index testing, high temperature, high humidity, freezing, drop and other environmental reliability tests must not be less.
Before a product is officially put on the market, the initial trial production and internal staff trial, followed by a small batch of tracking test sales and then a larger regional market launch. These steps cannot be arbitrarily deleted, this rigid “dogma” is the iron principle to eliminate product quality accidents.
A business with lofty ideals and goals must have special quality engineers to help upstream suppliers to train, diagnose, improve and innovate, and the progress of suppliers helps to improve the quality of raw materials.
In the procurement process, we must adhere to the principle of “quality first, price second”. If a product has 100 parts, as long as one fails, the product is a complete failure.
Strengthen the execution of quality management
Quality management involves a wide range of areas, and in order to implement it. In addition to the attention of leaders, strict standards, and severe punishments, all cadres and employees also need to consciously maintain and implement it.
In a sense, a business is an executive team. The team level of the business mainly reflects the competitiveness of the team. The execution of this team is decomposed into the individual is execution.
What does good execution mean?
In short, “act wholeheartedly and immediately”. If you can’t do this, there can be no good execution, and the enterprise cannot have good execution, and it is not a good team.
Naturally, relying on such a team to grasp quality work, the effect will not be discussed.
In addition, it is necessary to advocate the style of quality supervision. Each downstream link employee is the quality supervisor of the upstream link, and timely feedback on quality problems to prevent unqualified products from flowing into the next production link.
Facts have proved that the key factor restricting the improvement of product quality and root causes analysis is often not insufficient systems, but lack of supervision.