Fundamental elements of any defect elimination program

We tend to burrow more than most managerial disciplines for some reason. We often get so buried into our methodologies that we cannot see the world around us.

When we implement defect elimination the rooms explode with heated debate over techniques, styles, semantical terminology arguments and so on. All very valid, and often debated by people with more grasp of it than I have.. but it tends to miss the point.

Most, if not all, RCA approaches are designed and honed by people who have been there and done it. They are pretty good, let's face it. And most will probably deliver different paths to a similar result.

All well and good.

The real heated issue, the one that is often forgotten, is that of implementation. How to you set up your organization so that you are able to rapidly find, analyse, approve and implement the results?

First, set up a screen. A production accounting system, capable of tracking the lost production opportunities and reporting on their dollar value.

Second, act on it - do the analysis. (Maintenance first, resist the urge to automatic redesign, etc)

Third, implement it. Increasingly efficient and rigorous implementation pathways. (Ops, Design, Maint, Procurement/Supply)

The first of these elements. Setting up a screening process, or processes, is possibly the most vital. It will decide whether your initiative is proactive, and dealing with issues before they become chronic, or reactive and waiting for the next ambulance to whizz past.

The goal is simple. Set daily production targets. record reasons for variance, and then quantify them in $/Ton sales or gross profit terms. (Whatever you prefer)

Act every day on every incident and trend them weekly to see what is happening over the medium term. Biggest number wins in terms of targeting resources, and the work needs to be well publicized when completed.