No Quality Professional vs Having a Quality Professional

[Cari Spears]

They make cables and aerospace parts of various types. Apparently they are single sourced. The customers can't find any other suppliers who make those parts.

What kind of defects are they being issued SCARs for?

 

[Cari Spears]

Here in these examples we have one supplier with ISO certification who does not have a QM, QE or QAS. When there is a SCAR the Chief of Operations answers the SCAR with not very robust RCCAs. Then we have another supplier with a Quality Manager who does not know understand what robust RCCAs are. Both suppliers refuse to either hire someone who has Quality background or go get training.

There is nothing wrong with ISO registered organizations that don't have the word "quality" in someone's title. If their corrective action process is ineffective, I would think that that would come to light during their ISO audits.

I am assigned to work with these suppliers to help them "improve"
I am not sure how to help people who refuse to knowledge that they even need any help

Because they didn't ask for your help, they aren't paying your company for your help, and it appears that they don't have to bother, because their customers will continue to buy their product because they're the only source.

 

[normzone]

It's an interesting challenge you've been given - " Improve the supplier that doesn't want to improve ". I've been asked to do that before.

As for compelling them to have a Quality person, that's not usually a solution. I've both had suppliers and worked with employers who assigned their top "excuses" guy to wear the Quality hat, and many sad things were witnessed.

As [silentmonkey] said, "how does your organisation handle poorly performing suppliers?"

Sometimes your organization has no willingness to disqualify a supplier - in that case all you can do is document the supplier's shortcomings, endeavor to get them to improve, then report that the supplier doesn't want to improve. It's an exercise in futility, but it needs to be on the record.

 

[normzone]

Usually when I hear "single source" that means that nobody wants to go to the trouble to find out who else does this as well. It's rare that only one outfit is capable of making something.

Usually the case is really "they are cheap, geographically convenient, and we don't want to put effort into changing".

 

[outdoorsNW]

Other reasons customers can't find more than one supplier to make parts (a) is an awful almost impossible to manufacture design, (b) unrealistic expectations and requirements, or (c) not being willing to pay what an expert in the product type, who has great quality, charges.