August 2023

Who Needs Albania?

Posted on Aug 29th, 2023 by Norm Howe

Deming says that management must drive out fear.  He does not talk much about how to do it.  Part of management’s job is to explain the company’s goals to the frontline workers.  If they are convinced, they will achieve greatness.  If not…, perhaps a different goal?

The Mere Act of Measurement…

Posted on Aug 12th, 2023 by Norm Howe

…can change the process you're measuring.  Of course, quantum physicists declare that the act of measurement always changes the measured.  In the world of quality management we’re not dealing with such small scales.  But the concept still applies.

When we initiate quality improvement projects in business, we need to ask the question, “Are the results we’re getting simply the outcome of increased management attention to the issue?”  The worry is that after the project has been embedded as a standard procedure we assume that the benefits will continue.