QA and only QA, or Jack of all Duties? Crossing Departmental Boundaries

[Eredhel]

There is also another side to this. In our shop production wears quite a few QA hats. Especially when driving things through our ERP software and the eventual job traveler that hits the floor.

I really do believe context of the organization is huge, and that should be what drives that balance.

 

[Claes Gefvenberg]

I definitely qualify as a Jack of all trades. often because I have been ordered to, but also because I have seen a need and responded to it. Eredhels comment about context of the organization is spot on, imo.

 

[Wes Bucey]

In my opinion, the "silos" concept is completely contrary to Deming's System of Profound Knowledge (SoPk). If we Quality folk expect everyone in an organization to be concerned with and be involved with assuring the quality of EVERYTHING (products, processes, service, marketing, community responsibility, etc.), it follows that the quality guy can't isolate himself in a silo.

Sent from my Y538 using Tapatalk
Added in edit: I have been dragged into the smart phone era in recent months AFTER my other phone disintegrated in my hands. Tapatalk may be wonderful, but the damned smart phone insists on changing my typed words into words it is more familiar with. Then the Tapatalk can't be edited and I have to wait until I get to a laptop to make the correction. A long way of saying my original post had the word "solo" where I had typed "silo." For a fuss budget such as I, the prospect of it laying there for all to see forever was enough to give me angst most of the day.

 

[Tyler C]

I think there are some pros and cons to this. Everyone has done a great job of pointing out the pros, most of which I do agree with.

However, what your original instructor may have been warning you of is the possibility of failure in your QA/QC duties if the 'other' duties become too overwhelming.

For example, when I moved into the QA Manager role, that was my only role. After awhile, I had several more roles added. At first, it was working great, but due to (in my opinion) incompetence in some of the other management roles, it has become overwhelming.

I basically have three jobs - QA Manager, front line supervisor (for inspection staff) and a company 'executive' which requires me to spend about half of my day in meetings.

What I have found wearing these three hats, my meetings are mandatory and take roughly 50% of my day. We have a lot of issues in production at the moment that the (in my opinion) incompetent managers are failing to address. So, when I am released from a meeting, I have at least three people who had called and are waiting on me. As I walk to the floor to address these three questions, I get bombarded with several more questions. This takes up the other half of my day.

What this means is that my QA/QC responsibilities are suffering and our QMS is not being managed appropriately. So, when it comes time for our re-cert audit, I will be isolated in a conference room for about three weeks to get us 'ready'.

This is not an effective QMS, and I believe this is what your instructor is warning of. If you can avoid these issues, I don't see any problem with accepting extra responsibilities, and as others have pointed out, it gives you more value come hard times.

 

[normzone]

[Tyler C], you are spot on regarding that concern.

But only time will tell. So far sorting and organizing the haphazard structure of the data and process I inherited has been a major time soak, and the transition to the 2015 standard must still go on.

 

[tonefordays]

I think there are some pros and cons to this. Everyone has done a great job of pointing out the pros, most of which I do agree with.

However, what your original instructor may have been warning you of is the possibility of failure in your QA/QC duties if the 'other' duties become too overwhelming.

For example, when I moved into the QA Manager role, that was my only role. After awhile, I had several more roles added. At first, it was working great, but due to (in my opinion) incompetence in some of the other management roles, it has become overwhelming.

I basically have three jobs - QA Manager, front line supervisor (for inspection staff) and a company 'executive' which requires me to spend about half of my day in meetings.

What I have found wearing these three hats, my meetings are mandatory and take roughly 50% of my day. We have a lot of issues in production at the moment that the (in my opinion) incompetent managers are failing to address. So, when I am released from a meeting, I have at least three people who had called and are waiting on me. As I walk to the floor to address these three questions, I get bombarded with several more questions. This takes up the other half of my day.

What this means is that my QA/QC responsibilities are suffering and our QMS is not being managed appropriately. So, when it comes time for our re-cert audit, I will be isolated in a conference room for about three weeks to get us 'ready'.

This is not an effective QMS, and I believe this is what your instructor is warning of. If you can avoid these issues, I don't see any problem with accepting extra responsibilities, and as others have pointed out, it gives you more value come hard times.

You describe my situation exactly.
At first I was excited about all the responsibilities I had, because I was involved in many areas of the business. However, as time has gone on, and business has grown, managing the QMS has become extremely difficult, to the point where I feel it has become ineffective at times because I can't properly maintain it. I feel that often times, other members of management look at me, the quality manager, as the catchall for anything that goes wrong.. So things get overwhelming all the time. And it's very frustrating to me, because I feel like I can't do my job effectively at times.
It can be a good thing in the sense that you get to learn and experience many things, however too much of a good thing.........not so good.

 

[normzone]

You describe my situation exactly.
... managing the QMS has become extremely difficult, to the point where I feel it has become ineffective at times because I can't properly maintain it. I feel that often times, other members of management look at me, the quality manager, as the catchall for anything that goes wrong.

In a previous life I've had potential customers scouting us out, and inquiring as to all the hats my boss was wearing (safety, etc), and they commented to the effect that the Quality guy is always the one this stuff gets dumped on. It's a common occurrence.

Yeah, I'm determined to fail at my secondary tasks if need be, but go out in a blaze of glory as regards the responsibilities I originally signed on for.

My plan is to get the mess organized and sufficiently documented that somebody else can readily do it. That's always my modus operandi ...

 

[QAMTY]

Tonefordays

Depending of your QMS, but most of the time the management of NC´s, CA´PA´s Management reviews, normally is done by the QA, so in this ways you "catch all the problems"

Regards

 

[normzone]

When something goes south and somebody tells me "we have a quality issue" I respond with "all problems are quality problems".

 

[Tyler C]

Tonefordays, 'tis a shame, but I'm glad I'm not alone on this.

normzone, I definitely agree with your statement. I know I won't be around forever and if I truly created an effective QMS, someone else should be able to pick up where I left off. And I will also do this at the expense of my secondary responsibilities, so long as the failure of them doesn't cause major issues with the QMS.