Hi all
I need some advice.
I am having a new director who recently joined our company - and the first KPI that he want our Mfg waste target to be at Zero. No make-up or re-issue material if there is any defect found in process.
I am stuck with this target "Zero" waste KPI.
Perhaps I am too inexperienced to argue.
Is it possible to set the waste target "Zero" in Mfg ?
I have to come out with a realistic plan & I have no clue how to bring down the waste to zero.
And worst, this has become my performance KPI.
Hope some expert can help.

Thanks.

Hi all
I need some advice.
I am having a new director who recently joined our company - and the first KPI that he want our Mfg waste target to be at Zero. No make-up or re-issue material if there is any defect found in process.
I am stuck with this target "Zero" waste KPI.
Perhaps I am too inexperienced to argue.
Is it possible to set the waste target "Zero" in Mfg ?
I have to come out with a realistic plan & I have no clue how to bring down the waste to zero.
And worst, this has become my performance KPI.
Hope some expert can help.

Thanks.

May be he is in the "Dream World" - remind him that we stay on Earth. ;)

As always, I agree with Qualityalways. :D
I have yet to see an outfit where zero waste (I interpret that as no defects/faults) is realistic. It is realistic to reduce faults and thereby waste but how to do it is an individual call from company to company... In this, as in all other matters, it is crucial to get top management to commit to the project in public. Try not to accept it as a KPI for you specifically, try to get it to be a company KPI, and try to get a percentage reduction instead, i.e. 10% reduction per year or so. :bigwave:

It's better to reach for the stars and not quite reach them than to just reach for the top of the next fence and end up taking the easy path in life.

Well goallout, it is possible to have a zero defect goal. Achieving it is something else.

Crosby's "Quality is Free" is a good book. However, I'm told it's somewhat misunderstood because it's entirely possible to spend too much on improving quality.

Case in point is the Department of Defense initiative that is talked about in Zero Defects lore. The missiles did end up with almost no defects, but I understand there was a good deal of inspection and rework.

Now I don't want to deny your director his dreams, but let's bring them into context, shall we? He can strive for zero defects, but he won't get them tomorrow, or the next day. I do not know what stands in your way, but I do know that trying to change too many things at once can render negative effects.

In this thread there is a quality cost calculator, plus a link to a thread that has my own calculator. You might consider using them to plan some incremental changes toward a zero defect goal (whether or not you ever get to zero defects is almost besides the point, which is improvement) and presenting your plans to Mr. Director. Alternatively you can show how costly the efforts to achieve zero defects would be, and/or how long it would take to recoup ROI. http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=9226&highlight=Quality+cost+calculator

In cases of unreasonable expectations I sometimes find it helpful to give the person a choice or two. Since he's the Director he gets the chance to view data in order to make a good decision. I hope he does!

Hi Goallout,

I gathered from some previous posts that you are in the printing industry. Depending on the internal standards or requirements you set for yourself, it's quite possible to achieve zero defects - but at a cost!

Some of the common problems faced such as misalignment of overlapping colours and/or paging, mistakes in layout, wordings, pictures etc, layout mismatch etc. can be solved by several methods:

Technology - new machines, computerised systems, intelligent systems etc

Validation (actually checking) - at critical stages and with frequent (tighter inspection)

Proof-reading (also a form of checking) - by more people because experience shows that nobody can do a 100% job and going through another round by the same person will not 'catch' certain mistakes..

All these boils down to one thing - cost. If you are experience enough, just let him have a list of items/equipment to upgrade and the associated cost and let him make the decision. And don't forget that new and sophisticated equipment need equally sophisticated operators.

Right now in my country, there are also many small printers using 10-20 year old technologies. Do they have a choice? No! because at the lower end of the market, margin is thin. They can only work their guts out, hoping to accumulate enough money for newer technologies so that they can move out of that market segment. Many in this segment embraced ISO 9001 as a tool to enhance their competitiveness.

Hi all

First, many thanks to all those who reply me.
- For Qualityalways, I like when u stated it is almost a "dreamworld".
- For Gert Soresen, - we have that in Company KPI, but it is also my dept KPI measurement for my performance. That's something I can't get over. Is almost mission impossible !
- For Jennifer Kirley- thanks for highlighting there is still a way out & I certainly will look at the "ost-calculator" to see how I can come out a plan to achieve it
- For Harry - I can agree with u that in my industry (printing) - the variable is many. Setup, material consition, ink, skills, equipments etc ... but in realistic - how many company can jump into huge investment on high tech machinery ? As u said, even with that - there is still some variable (skills, m/c tolerance, cost margin etc.. ) - to be considered.

Anyway, our Mr.Director is tough - as this is also his performance KPI measurement from the CEO to him. So u see - it goes top down.
I hope I can have some tips or examples on how to plan the path to achieve this zero waste. (& it must be realistic & workable)

thanks

So, what do you intend to do in the interim? I think setting up a QMS based on ISO 9001 as a 'stop-gap' measure is a good idea based of the fact that printing industry traditionally employ less technically qualified people.

Also bear in mind that your Director is not really that 'stupid'. As another poster put it - aim for the stars, even if you fail, you still get to the moon. Unless somebody has plenty of '$' to splurge, incremental improvement is the way to go!

Therefore, if you have no choice and the Director insist, you can have zero defects as a 'long term' goal (when it will be achieved is not important right now). In the mean time, institute continuous improvement plans.

Good luck.

Therefore, if you have no choice and the Director insist, you can have zero defects as a 'long term' goal (when it will be achieved is not important right now). In the mean time, institute continuous improvement plans.

Good luck.

Harry, very rightly said

Goalout - pls get back if u need help. Additionally, if you tasted some success, let us know.

Thanks Harry ... will take your points & study a few options.

To build on what Jennifer had to say about Crosby, "zero defects", according to his philosophy, is NOT, IS NOT, a specification. IT IS NOT!!!!!

It is an attitude. If something goes wrong, we are not supposed to accept it as the normal way of doing business. We should try to figure out why the defect occurred and find a way to first "fix" it with a short term cure, then we should find the cause of the problem and remove it.

As with many philosophies, and IMHO especially with Crosby, it is helpful to borrow from others as well. I especially like Deming.

OK, so zero defects in this case is now the specification (sheesh). The advice given earlier to prioritize the list of improvements is a good one. The best approach IMO, would be to get a measurement of the types of problems and their associated costs, and decide where the biggest improvements can be made for the least amount of investment in time and money. As noted before, trying to change too many things at once can lead to chaos.

What Craig said. :agree: :applause: Craig was more clear about the true Zero Defects doctrine than I was. Mr. Director needs to also gain clarity if he has not already done so.

This thread (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=9927&highlight=basic+quality+tools) contains a presentation of the seven basic quality tools. These tools can be used, along with the calculators, to help decide which types of defects to target first. You can use ISO system structures to help set up policies, procedures and practices to achieve the goals. After having achieved notable gains in one area, it usually becomes easier to pursue subsequent goals.

What Mr. Director said he wants is "Zero defects" and what you can present toward that is a plan for achievement of targeted defect reduction. Mr. Director needs to understand that organizational turnarounds do not happen quickly, and in most remarkable success stories the line workers are empowered to take on responsibility and authority. If the operators in your organization are not permitted to make certain decisions for high quality, possibly this cultural change may be your first, and most challenging, task.

Good luck and keep visiting!

Reading your post reminded me of this post:

http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=13669

It's not quite the same as your goal but it is a great achievement.

Now just because Toyota managed to pull something like this off doesn't mean everyone can but it does show what is possible with the appropriate mindset and management support.

Good luck with your KPI.

Hi all
I need some advice.
I am having a new director who recently joined our company - and the first KPI that he want our Mfg waste target to be at Zero. No make-up or re-issue material if there is any defect found in process.
I am stuck with this target "Zero" waste KPI.
Perhaps I am too inexperienced to argue.
Is it possible to set the waste target "Zero" in Mfg ?
I have to come out with a realistic plan & I have no clue how to bring down the waste to zero.
And worst, this has become my performance KPI.
Hope some expert can help.

Thanks.

Does "waste" = "defect"?

One way a former company I worked for (PVC extrusion) targeted "zero waste" was through recycling. All process waste was either recycled in house or sold to a recycler.
So physically there was very little waste material accounted for.
Of course, there was still monetary loss, but it didn't count toward the "waste material KPI".

Seems to me that in printing you can't possibly eliminate process waste because each machine needs a certain amount of set up material.
If this material can be recycled you may be able to get it out of the overall waste stream, though.

Managing by numbers!

I like what Craig has pointed out that having too many changes can create chaos. And that is exactly what my Mr Director did when he came aboard. He start changing things so fast ... it is creating tension all over the place.
And because he is Mr Director, everyone is helpless ... i am hoping he will "bounce" to this forums (one fine day) to have a better understanding.

The problem with changing too many things at once is that it can be hard to tell what is working and what is not.

That's why we recommend settling on specific goals based on their value, level of criticality or perhaps their ability to contribute to another process that brings value.

When a new manager comes into position it can be terribly tempting to create a flurry of improvement. We want to look good, but again I stress that it can be hard to know what is working and why, or why not. Chaos.

Money usually talks very loudly to Directors, which is why I sent you the calculators. Such calculators can also measure effects like people leaving and replacement costs: turnover, if they become fed up with Mr. Director's methods.

If your Director is deaf to this advice, there may be little you can do except to document your best efforts to bring the company's success.

... i am hoping he will "bounce" to this forums (one fine day) to have a better understanding.

Pl give me his email address and I shall refer this wonderful website to him ;)