{"id":36198,"date":"2024-03-29T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-29T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lean.org\/?p=36198"},"modified":"2024-03-28T10:22:56","modified_gmt":"2024-03-28T14:22:56","slug":"design-brief-whatever-happened-to-quality-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lean.org\/the-lean-post\/articles\/design-brief-whatever-happened-to-quality-first\/","title":{"rendered":"Whatever Happened to Quality First: Rethinking Product Development in the Wake of Recalls and Catastrophic Failures"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Be among the first to get the latest insights from LEI\u2019s Lean Product and Process Development<\/a> (LPPD) thought leaders and practitioners. This article was delivered to subscribers of <\/em><\/em>The Design Brief<\/a>, LEI\u2019s newsletter devoted to improving organizations\u2019 innovation capability.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This month\u2019s Design<\/em> Brief<\/em> is a challenge to improve your new product and process quality. I realize that this may not be a particularly popular topic right now. Many would rather talk about breakthrough innovation or shipping minimally acceptable products. But the news is full of stories about serious quality issues in nearly every industry. Boeing, Ford, Tesla, and many other companies continually struggle with quality spills and recalls for which some even publicly blame their customers<\/a> and others, predictably, revert to the \u201c5 who\u2019s\u201d blame protocol<\/a>. Frankly, this discussion is long overdue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those who are part of the lean community understand that basic quality is meeting or exceeding customer expectations and is foundational to a lean enterprise. We also know that the cost of re-work and returns can be enormous. Worse is the hit your reputation takes. Some organizations never recover. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But even the most seasoned lean practitioner can get distracted by the \u201cnew\u201d and ephemeral. (There is a whole lot of snake oil out there.)  But many of these practices lead to lazy thinking and sloppy work that can infect your entire organization. We can\u2019t afford to lose sight of the basics of delivering actual customer value. As Akihiko Saito, executive vice president of Toyota, wrote in the foreword to Toyota Styled Mizenbushi Method (<\/em>Tokyo: <\/em>JUSE Press Ltd., 2002)<\/em>,<\/em> \u201cWhile our company\u2019s method of production such as the \u2019Toyota Production System\u2019 and \u2018Toyota Way\u2019 has caught the industry\u2019s attention, I feel strongly there is a need to reform and return to the basics when we first started in the automotive business of thoroughly emphasizing that \u2018quality comes first\u2019 and \u2018the customer comes first.\u2019\u201d <\/em>A valuable reminder for us all to keep our eye on the ball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The place to solve quality issues is in development<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The place to start a \u201cquality first\u201d and \u201ccustomer first\u201d mentality is not on the shop floor \u2013 it\u2019s in development. Development has much more leverage than any place else in the organization \u2013 not only on the efficacy of the product for the ultimate customer but for everyone along the value stream. Development can make it easy for people to execute their jobs correctly or nearly impossible. Lean Product and Process Development (LPPD) principles, practices, and tools are powerful enablers of high-quality, reliable products and processes. Improving your design practices, design reviews, quality operating system, testing, knowledge capture and reuse through LPPD methods are quite effective in improving quality. But your people will determine your ultimate success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The heart of the matter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consistently high-quality products come from organizations that relentlessly focus on their customer. That starts with leadership. Leaders get the culture they demonstrate and tolerate \u2013 and that is especially true for quality. And I believe that many leaders are flat out failing their organizations regarding quality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good leaders demonstrate quality as a priority. They provide the time, resources, quality operating infrastructure, training, and decision-making that enables their people to deliver. They lead by example and embody the customer-first mindset. They roll up their sleeves, know their stuff, and do the little things well \u2013 demonstrating the required discipline and attention to detail \u2013 every day. Poor leaders try to get away with a sincere-sounding press release and a feel-good speaker at a management off-site. It doesn\u2019t work. Such leaders are failing their organizations and customers. Consider how millions of car customers must feel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t wait for your own quality crisis to act. Once a major spill has occurred, it can be nearly impossible to dig out from under. Just ask leadership at Boeing or Ford. Start now, and start in development, focusing on your customer to improve the quality of your products and processes. Start your own return to basics as suggested by Saito, \u201c<\/em>There is a need to reform and return to the basics when we first started in the automotive business of thoroughly emphasizing that \u2018quality comes first\u2019 and \u2018the customer comes first.\u2019\u201d  Your customers will certainly thank you, and you will be amazed at the positive changes to your organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this month\u2019s <\/strong>Design Brief<\/em><\/strong>  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n