Ceptara

The corrective action process is arguably the most important component of a quality assurance program. Without an effective corrective action program problems will continuously repeat themselves, continuous improvement is impossible, and it is unlikely that any of the other quality system elements will work effectively. Like virtually every other management program, success of the corrective action process is directly related to management commitment.

The corrective action process is arguably the most important component of a quality assurance program. Without an effective corrective action program, problems will continuously repeat themselves, continuous improvement is impossible, and it is unlikely that any of the other quality system elements will work effectively. As for virtually every other management program, success of the corrective action process is directly related to management commitment. Nevertheless, even in those organizations where management works hard on the corrective action program, the results are frequently either ineffective or counterproductive. A major cause of an ineffective corrective action program is failure to consider the effects of variation.

There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. Whether this statement is properly attributed to Mark Twain, the English Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, or to someone else, one thing we know for sure is that statistics are often used to sway public opinion. Such is, unfortunately the case for statistics associated with compact fluorescent lights (CFL).

Summary

A recently published [survey] by the Josephson Institute raises some pretty shocking indicators of our future leaders. The institute surveyed 29,670 randomly selected high school students in the United States. Almost all of those surveyed thought it was important to be an honest and trustworthy person (98%). However, when we look at demonstrated character, 64% said they cheated on a test, 30% said they stole something from a store, and 23% said they had stolen something from a parent or relative. Even 1 out of 4 respondents (26%) said they didn't complete the anonymous survey honestly. We are going to have a real crisis of character in our businesses that can lead to significant business failure if we don't focus on this issue, so what can we do?

Summary

• Quality Systems of the past are not keeping up with today's information paradigms
• Wikis have solved some issues with flexibility but can still suffer from aging information
• Internet knowledge is vast and accessible, but the quality of the information can be questionable
• Most of our information is static
• Our systems need to evolve and include considerations for personalization, predictability, federation, and controlability.

SUMMARY

• Businesses are required to be as efficient as they can be.
• People are an integral part of any needed improvements.
• Process improvement is a systematic and deliberate process focused on doing the work in the most effective and efficient way.
• Business value is achieved by focusing on the production system and the results

In support of the need to develop high performing folks - we've released our Personal Excellence workshop.

Our test classes have been very well received. Some comments:

"I really enjoyed how you condensed the two books down into a workable system." "I was impressed by the diagrams you used to connect goals, projects, and tasks and their relationships"

"The methods discussed can double my productivity, I'm not one to pass that up."

Article Summary

• Any successful team effort requires the individuals to be highly motivated and self managing.
• People can develop their motivation and self-management skills if they focus on their foundation, work organization, and action execution.
• The Be More Effective workshop can be deployed to help people develop those skills.

I will be delivering a talk at the next AmCon show in Bellevue Washington on February 19 or 20, 2008. I've given this talk a number of times, so please stop by and say hello if you've found the topics interesting and/or useful.

During a recent NWQF (Northwest Quality Forum) meeting, the team members discussed how to market quality. There were some very interesting discussions. The list below attempts to capture some of the key ideas. In no particular order -