Quality & Efficiency in Government...Really??

In his latest blog posted in May, ASQ CEO Paul Borawski shares his thoughts on "The Government/Quality Puzzle". It is a puzzle in deed. As a lean six sigma practitioner, I have always thought of governments in general as being full of waste, errors and inefficiencies. I used to tell people that if government actually allows improvements to happen, we would be out of debt by now! Why is it so difficult then? Well, there are plenty of reasons. Check out this article posted on Industry Week website in 2011. http://www.industryweek.com/articles/can_lean_six_sigma_reduce_government_waste_25623.aspx?SectionID=3
ASQ conducted a survey and "Survey respondents identified the biggest obstacle to implementing Lean Six Sigma in U.S. government is the very structure of the U.S. federal government, which they say can be a barrier to comprehensive evaluation." It also goes on to say that obstacles such as "conflicting strategies, goals, and priorities", "a lack of familiarity with Lean Six Sigma" and "ongoing political partisanship" hurt the advancement of performance improvement in government. When someone new comes into office, he/she may put a stop on years of effort because they have the power to do so. Unfortunately, politics and personal interests may get in the way. The following article by Thomas Pyzdek is a great example of successful improvement efforts by current office and the discouraging plans of the incoming executive. I guess the good news is that there was some success to reduce waste even though it wouldn't last long.  http://www.sixsigmatraining.org/news-blog/despite-success-lean-six-sigma-ending-in-erie-county.html Thinking back a few years, I remember the discussions that took place in my six sigma black belt class. There were a few candidates sent from government agencies and their stories were similar to the above. Challenges facing quality and performance improvement exist in almost all industries, but they are more pressing in government. We read about ad hoc improvement projects, awarded agencies, successful efforts that are encouraging at times, but in order for the government to embrace quality and performance improvement, there must be a commitment to long-term transformation. Do you think it is possible?

Job Satisfaction in Quality

ASQ CEO Paul Borawski asks the question on April's blog: "Are quality professionals happy on the job?" I have asked this question to myself many times while working as a quality engineer, later as a continuous improvement leader and now as a lean/six sigma black belt. I must say that my happiness increased as my knowledge and skills developed further, but it also depended upon the organization I worked in and its management. At times, it was a roller coaster ride. If an organization does not appreciate quality much and asks quality dept to fix all of their problems, employees may find themselves in a difficult position that creates a lot of stress and frustration. On the other hand, in organizations with embedded quality culture and systems, employees seem to be more satisfied and happy because their role is well-understood and valued within the organization and they can be more proactive rather than being reactive all the time. Quality professionals who are involved in all stages of product development as well as continuous improvement projects are most likely to enjoy what they do and be more satisfied with their contribution. I'm personally going through this stage. In the early years of my career in quality, I was much more stressed because of the feeling like the only person who is willing to solve the problems and no one seemed to care as much as I did. Management was supportive when it comes to training and certification, but they lacked in establishing an effective strategy for quality. There was no vision or a good structure that eventually led to the collapse of the quality organization. I needed a change. When I made the transition to continuous improvement, I noticed the difference. I had the opportunity to focus on improvement initiatives and lead teams to make a difference. The vision was clear and the structure was good. I had excellent mentors who stood by me and coached me along the way. As I became more experienced, I looked for opportunities where I know quality and continuous improvement are valued. Thankfully, I still feel the same way about my current position. So, here is my view on happiness on the job. Working with a group of people who share the same views on quality and an organization that embraces continuous improvement are must-haves for job satisfaction in quality.

Thoughts on "selling" quality

ASQ CEO Paul Borawski writes in March's blog: "How do you "sell" quality?" This is a great question and I wish I had a simple answer for it. As a professional in quality and performance improvement, like many of you, I do my best to promote quality and coach organizations in building a quality culture. Were my efforts successful at all times? Not necessarily. For instance, when there is a quality issue with products or service, everyone seems to agree and loudly say that "we need to do a better job", "quality must be our no.1 priority", and so on. After the meeting is adjourned, people are back to their business and usual ways. In the end, not much has changed and problems reoccur. I have often witnessed situations like this and I always asked myself why organizations "do not always do what they say they do". If quality is not built into an organization's culture, one or two people in quality department who are trying to make a difference will not be enough. Top management must commit to quality and build a culture where there is accountability, motivation and strong understanding of expectations. It may take years for an organization to reach the summit. There should be more emphasis on hiring senior executives who understands quality along with an excellent track record. Managers and employees should be encouraged to exceed expectations by providing incentives and on-going training. Performance scorecards should tie into this so that quality is not only perceived as quality department's job. Most importantly, organization's vision, mission and values must represent the commitment to quality and operational excellence. I believe and hope that this commitment will be much more necessary for companies to survive in a highly competitive global market. Today's buyers have the option to compare products and services online. They are not only looking at the price, but also for brands and names that are known to have excellent quality. Ratings and customer reviews influence buyers' decisions. So, who will be the winner here? The one that sells high quality at low prices..

Thoughts on Lean..

When I watched the video "Toast" for the first time, I realized that the way my house is set to function is exactly that, "Lean at Home". Toaster next to the fridge, bread by the toaster, washing dishes while waiting on the toaster, etc.. People sometimes think that lean principles are out of this world, but many of us already follow them at home. I enjoy watching HGTV and always appreciate how they organize cluttered spaces. Designers are thinking lean while creating a more organized and eye-pleasing rooms. I'm sure many of you do the same. While there is so much lean surrounding us in many ways, why is it such a challenge to implement it in office or shop floor? Doesn't it seem like common sense? Well, common sense is not as common. If it was, everything would makes sense to everyone the same way. This becomes much more difficult when a group of people from various backgrounds and experience are assigned to come up with improvements. People have different ideas on organizing a workspace, for example. As a lean leader, how do you get people to agree on improvement ideas when you are assigned to get the job done and make a difference in a short period of time? I see lean leaders/facilitators/implementers like designers on HGTV. A designer must listen to the client, learn about the current state and client's desires/requirements in order to develop the future state. This is similar to what lean leaders do. Learn about the current state/process by conversing with process experts. On the day of the lean event, the leader who is already familiar with the current state has most likely formulated some ideas to improve the process. During brainstorming sessions, the leader/facilitator asks a lot of questions to team members and directs everyone to think about lean principles while developing ideas. The goal is to reach the future state by getting the team involved and making sure that the team own those ideas. Surely, a lot of back and forth and tweaking happens after that, but eventually, the leader's job is to reach the goals as well as satisfy the team similar to what a designer would have to do in order to please the client. As a lean leader myself, I strongly believe in initiating valuable discussions among team members during an event and ask questions in a way that the right answers will eventually come out of team members. I prefer them saying it rather than me enforcing it on them. By doing so, people eventually agree on what makes sense, that is, lean thinking...

Theory of Constraints for Healthcare Improvement

Understanding the system and identifying the weakest link to focus improvement efforts is a sensible approach for healthcare improvement. If anyone has any experience in this methodology in healthcare, feel free to reply to this blog and share your experience.
Here is a link that caught my interest today.
http://www.dbrmfg.co.nz/Healthcare.htm

ASQ Influential Voices - Raising interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)

ASQ CEO Paul Borawski writes in February's blog: "How can we, those who understand, use, and love science and technology, pass it along? For those outside of the U.S., how is STEM taught and encouraged in your country?". When I was in elementary school, math and science were not my favorite subjects. I had a hard time understanding the logic. I have always been a top student throughout my school years, but something had to happen to change my views on math and science in order to keep it that way. My parents did a great job in encouraging me and my sister to do well in school without enforcing it on us. My father graduated from the top rated technical university in Turkey so he definitely loved math and science. He is one of those people who can hold hundreds of phone numbers in his memory for years! In 6th grade, I was challenged even more in math class as it was getting harder to comprehend. I was feeling upset about this so I approached my parents for some help. My father said to me, "If you give me an hour of your time, I guarantee you will get it", and that's exactly what happened.  That "one hour" changed everything for me. I was also lucky to have great math teachers in later years. My father's love and passion for math and science led the way for me to become an engineer and I thank him for that. His teachings were simple and easy to understand. There is no benefit in complicating math in early stages of education. If children get the basics right, everything else will make more sense.

I had the opportunity to attend senior year in high school in the U.S. and I witnessed the challenge students were facing in math and science. I asked myself why there is a lack of interest. Again, the answer that I found was that students were missing the basics. What I decided to do was to help students and start tutoring on basics. I pretty much continued to do this throughout my college years. Remembering the past, one of my friends ended up getting A's in college algebra after a couple math sessions. I strongly believe that if teachers can simplify math for students, there will be more interest. Also, showing students the magic of math surrounding our lives, will encourage them to pass it along to their classmates. If a student is good in math and science, why not ask him/her to volunteer in tutoring other students? That way, passion and knowledge is shared and students' confidence elevates.

University of North Texas, where I graduated as an engineer, hosted a great program called DC BEST during my undergrad years. Students from different schools in the area compete against each other by showing off their creations "robots". You won't believe the level of teamwork, excitement, passion and creativity coming out of these young students. As their website states, " Engineers and other technical professionals from local industries serve as team mentors who advise and guide students through the design and construction of their machines". http://robotevents.com/robot-competitions/best/ Isn't it a great way of encouraging younger generations in math and science and preparing them to become the next superstars of engineering and technology?

The future of STEM is promising. As parents, teachers, mentors and professionals, we can do better in developing technical skills among younger generations by focusing on the basics and keeping it fun!

The effectiveness of pre- and post-decision analysis while making major organizational changes. This is a great case study that can benefit all improvement professionals. The importance of stakeholder involvement for or against the change and validating the results by quantitative metrics is emphasized.

http://asq.org/quality-management/2011/09/quality-management/quality-measures-in-organizational-change.pdf