Should Quality folks be just policemen & policewomen?

[aliasJohnQ]

There are two way of thinking: Old school equals carrying a big stick
The new way equals being sensitive to the needs of the employees, and understanding what they feel while still maintaining your Quality system.
My advice: Blend the old and the new!
Eventhough my gut is telling me to just carry that big stick, and come out swinging!

[Randy]

I was a "Big Stick" cop nearly 40 years ago in Arkansas

[Manix]

In Reply to Parent Post by aliasJohnQ

There are two way of thinking: Old school equals carrying a big stick
The new way equals being sensitive to the needs of the employees, and understanding what they feel while still maintaining your Quality system.
My advice: Blend the old and the new!
Eventhough my gut is telling me to just carry that big stick, and come out swinging!

For those who still have the big stick to hand; you can always tie a carrot to the end? This could be seen as combining the old with the new!

[ChrissieO]

In Reply to Parent Post by ScottK

Who's going to tell management that there is a nonconformance?
Managment has to work through their agents. My agents are my QC Staff.

I issue NCs to the senior management team regularly as that is where the buck stops.

Cx

[CandyPoetrygirl]

It's nice to know that I'm not the only one that gets viewed as a in the workplace!
I think that if everyone takes the shared responsibility of implementing quality and it is not seen as a departmental responsibility, that helps alot!
My pet peeve is when people don't understand the role of the QA in the workplace, that is where the training and coaching aspect comes to the fore.

I love my job

[JoeDM]

In Reply to Parent Post by jeffrey_Chang

Should quality folks play a more proactive role than just be contented as policeman or policewomen?
In general, the impression I've from other departments about quality folks is one that quality only knows about complaining an issue, about rejecting a lot, about issuing CARs etc. They don't seems to be proactive in not only sharing a problem but also in providing a solution or at least be more interested in collaborating with other departments in finding a solution. Some departments also feel that they are not technically inclined and hence they are only good in complaining. Some departments might feel that they are not value adding to the company.
What's your notion on this?
thks.
jeffrey.

I think it often appears that way to others in the organization, but it shouldn't. The point made is that it may be the complainer's problem. This is sometimes true.

Keep in mind that it has a lot to do with the organization's culture. In an organization where everybody sees quality as a critical component of their job, the perception is often different. Also keep in mind that the quality people are typically looking at nonconformances. They are not looking at what went right, they are looking at what went wrong so improvement can take place. So they seem only to have bad news.

It's how you present the information. Why not present what's going right followed by some opportunities to improve.

[kgott]

In Reply to Parent Post by jeffrey_Chang

Should quality folks play a more proactive role than just be contented as policeman or policewomen?

jeffrey.

Don't make the same mistake with quality that has been made in safety. A quality person has no more control over work processess than a safety person has over them.

[David Hartman]

As a former Quality Systems Auditor I found that most of the areas within the company that I audited had some good practices in place. So I would ensure that I mentioned those up front. But, not only would I mention them at the out-brief for their area, I would also mention them as "improvement" ideas in other areas (workcenters) within the company where it appeared that they could be of benefit (a modified "benchmarking" process of sorts).

This practice, accompanied by working with each organization as a "member" of their team ("I am here to help you find the weak areas in your processes, so that we can improve them together."), worked well in establishing a role for the auditor as a mentor, resource for improvement, and someone to help keep the wheels from falling off.