It's my often used term to describe what we do. At Nike an independant consultant randomly picked an order and challenged each department to come up with as many opportunites to make a mistake as they coulld think of. I forget the number but it was over 100. This fact is often ignored by upper management, buyers, and customers in general. Our facilites, no matter the size, are not assemby line cookie cutter operations.
Outsiders looking in rarely realize how easy it is for something to go wrong. All they know is that something did (when it happens) and are baffled that it happens. We all have examples and many simply have no excuse. They may have explanations however. Thats how we approach them.
I detest having to write people up. It's a morale killer. Of course it's sometimes necessary but we prefer to put a mistake under a microscope, insisting on everyone being honest with regards to their role in it. Then we take steps to ensure we have proper procedures in place, that they are being stictly adhered to, and that the employees are given the tools they need to prevent them from happening in the future.
No one operates in a zero defects operation. It is an unobtainable goal but is an honorable one. Heres an example of what we thought was a QC solution that we thought we had adddressed but ended up finding yet another weak point:
When I first returned here too many mistakes were getting missed. My immediate solution was that every order required two approvals before running the order. Sure enough; one day myself and the art dept both missed that the inks were in the wrong screens on a weird graphic where you really had to look hard to tell the difference. Of course the "upstairs people) were appaled and I had to suck it up. The next day this happened. These were easily constucted out of PVC and every dryer station has one. They cannot run the order until it is signed off and the folder is hanging. Prior to this they lay flat on the table therefore not in the line of anyones sight.
Will it happen again? Well something surely will sooner or later but we'll keep pluggin on in this fashion.
Cheers tp
