Machine Operator turned Quality Manager Needs Help!!

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DJCRAI

I just wanted to raise my voice here in the Cove and say "Thank You" to all for the invaluable information that is available here. I stop by every day just to see what is being discussed. I am the Quality System Manager for a company of 55 employees, manufacturing precision turned components. We are an ISO certified company. I have been with the company for 8 years. I am the 4th Quality Manager the company has had since I started. Now, I consider myself to have a lot of aptitude, a high intelligence, and a lot of common sense, so when I applied for the position, I really thought I could handle the responsibilities. What I am finding is that I lack a great deal of the "Quality" education. Also, "Executive Management", which consists of 2 people, lacks the understanding of a Quality Management System. They are "doing" ISO just for the certification. Just the fact that they gave the position to me is a statement about their commitment to the "Quality System". I guess what I am looking for more than anything is some support, because I believe that I can make a difference given the right training. I am taking some online certification courses through ASQ, but my "real" problem lies with Executive Management and the culture that they create here. If I had a dollar for every time I heard the Director of Operations use the expression "putting out fires".......Any feedback from the real professionals here would be appreciated.
Craig Hanson :thanx:
 
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Craig H.

Hi, Craig, and welcome!

If they are putting out fires, maybe you can convince them that if they look for where each fire is really coming from, the next "fire" they should put out is that root cause, so to speak.

Besides that, can you give us some idea how developed your system is? What do your production folks measure, and how are those measurements tracked, for instance?

Yet another...

Craig H.
 
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qualitygoddess - 2010

Craig:

Welcome to the Cove! My advice, stop lurking (not meant in a bad way) and start posting!

If senior management gives the whole thing only 'lip service', you are in for a an uphill battle. I recall one place where I was successful at getting them to recognize the benefits of ISO by showing them how much money was being lost. We call this capturing the costs of poor quality. Now of course, we did much more than what ISO 9001 requires, but it was the "big stick" that I carried around for a year in order to get people to see that we could make things better.

If the costs of poor quality doesn't work, I think you then have to appeal to their sense of doing right for the customers. The business goal of any company should be to build customer loyalty. You do this by knowing their expectations, and working to meet them every day. Loyal customers buy more, give you the first shot at new business, tell others how great your company is, etc, etc, etc. It also helps if your customers are excited about helping your company be more successful. So, find out what your customers think about your company. See how ISO 9001 compliance by your company helps your top 10 customers be happy with your company. Tell senior management.

Just a few thoughts to get your creativity going!

--QG
 
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DJCRAI

Thanks for the quick responses. My company has been ISO certified since 1999. While I was working on the production floor, I often wondered how we maintained certification. The truth is, we have a good system, it is the implementation and maintainence of the system that hurts us. Senior management does pay just "lip service" IMO, and communicating with them is difficult. Let me try to explain further. The "President and CEO" of our company is also the owner. He is a very "hands off" kind of guy. The "Director of Operations" has been with the company for 25 years, mostly as an engineer. About 3 years ago he was given the responsibilities of the Director of Operations. (Is that title even used anywhere else now?) The owner than stepped back to focus on a new product line. Since than the owner is rarely here, and the D.O. deals with the day to day business activities. He is very "old school". As far as what is tracked on the production floor, we use SPC, but more for data collection verification than as a process improvement tool. Also, we record daily production, scrap counts, and downtime. The information is not effectively used, though. As I stated in my original post, the "culture" of our company needs improvement. :frust:
 
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RosieA

Dear DJ....

Changing the company culture is a big task and takes time. So first invest in some patience. Persistance will be your best tool. I'm not going to tell you it can't be done, because I've seen it happen several times, but it's hard work.

I'll recommend a book that I think is a good overview of this topic. It's "Corporate Cultures, the Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life" by Terrance Deal and Allen Kennedy.

Then I'll echo what QG said. Find ways to "dollarize" what's going on with your company. You're looking at some good indicators already, like scrap, and there's a couple good threads on Cost of Quality that should help you put that together.

Another approach that you might find useful is to take a process like Returns and script it with both time and costs. When I've done this, I've called it "Anatomy of an Error". It shows the average time/cost (time x fully burdoned Labor Rate per hour) of getting an order out the door correctly, and then what it costs to bring it back in, fix the problem and reship it. Use a typical example, don't try to cost every single return. Some will be more some less. If you apply this "average" to all your returns, then you not only show the material cost, but the reprocessing costs, and it's an eye opener.

If you think your management isn't motivated by cost, (and I have had one CEO who wasn't. He was very technology driven, and things had to be presented to him in those terms) then see if you can find out what their triggers are and alter your approach to address what matters to them.
 
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DJCRAI

Thank You Rosie...I will get that book tonight!! I also will be looking at the threads regarding cost of quality.
 
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hokieman

Know where your coming from!

Just wanted to say that I am in the boat with you man! We are also a Father/Son operation (Pres/VP). I left a good engineering position to take ISO on for this company. To make matters worse, this Father/Son literally do not like each other at all, due to past family problems :mad:

I took this job in August and have made little headway. The Pres. does not care due to the proximity of his retirement. He is in and out all day. The Son/VP wants a piece of paper saying he is registered and that's it. Everyday is a battle to get even the simplest of tasks done. They have millions of $$ invested here, 45 employees, and plenty of work. Yet they care very little about anything other than the business at hand. Our leading Aerospace/Defense customer is mandating the implementation. When I came here, I ask direct questions regarding their feelings and the things that would be required to reach our objective. They were in agreement with everything I said until my first day on the job. Then it was :nopity:

I have arranged for a consultant to come in and hopefully reaffirm what I have been saying. Will they listen? Who knows!

I feel your pain!!!!!
 
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RosieA

DJ and Hokieman, I think your experiences are not uncommon. Many companies get into ISO because they're shoved into it kicking and screaming by a customer or corporate.

Take heart! Many DO progress past the point you're at, but it does take time, persistance and effort on the part of the Managment Rep. Stay on message...celebrate the wins and rub their noses in the dooky. Come b-tch to us in the Cove when you get frustrated.
 
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qualeety

hate to be negative....but

ask these questions......

are you happy being a quality manager?

do you think you are qualified to be a quality manager now?

does the company willing to wait for you to become a qualified quality manager?

if your answers are no to the questions above, why are you a quality manager?


ps. i don't mean to be disrespectable to your situation but sometimes, you gotta be realistic...a promotion ($ and power) is great but it is not the only things....hopefully you are not suffering in your new position...i remember i got a job from GE with a great boss/mentor to be....the day i started to work for GE was the day my boss to be quit.....the next 6 months was a pure ****, working 60hrs of week without any guidance / recognition / reward....money was good but i would not trade my current job for any amount of money!!!!!..well, i lied...it depends on HOW MUCH :lmao:

One small suggestion...develop a closer working relationship with the director of operation since it appears he holds all the power....you hate to expose your :ca: when s hit hits the fan....and remember to CYA (cover your :ca: )
 
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michelle8075

Hi Dj.....

As you can probably already tell, we all feel your "pain". I too started at this company thinking that I could make a difference. It wasn't until about 5 months ago that I stopped taking everything personally. I would literally pull my hair out (I am now bald. LOL). It is darn near impossible to change management or corporate culture. It would take a strong force in top management in order to change the culture. I don't want to sound pessimistic, but reality is.... it doesn't change. I have been banging my head into the same brick wall day after day. I just finally came to the conclusion that I can just jump over the top of it and move on. Just do the best with what I have and improve myself.

But, to look at the positive side of things..... You are doing a great job by utilizing the resources at hand. Think of the job you are in now as "free training". If your company is willing to invest in you and helping you in the role as QM, you can obtain vast amounts of knowledge now. It really can help you. At least, that's what I try to tell myself so I don't go insane.

:lol:

Anyway, good luck!
 
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