GEMBA WALKS Marching ORDERS Get Your Gemba Walk Off on the Right Foot P

QUALITY PROGRESS Putting Best Practices to Work www.qualityprogress.com | March 2015 | MARCH 2015

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GEMBA WALKS Marching ORDERS Get your gemba walk off on the right foot p. 18

Plus: Quality and process ﬂ ow: Better together p. 38

Consumer products and calibration p. 46 VOLUME 48/NUMBER 3

The Global Voice of QualityTM

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TRAINING CERTIFICATION CONFERENCES MEMBERSHIP PUBLICATIONS The Global Voice of QualityTM Contents Putting Best Practices to Work | March 2015 | www.qualityprogress.com

FEATURES LEAN 18 18 Walk the Line Take the right steps to get the most from your gemba walk.

by Michael Bremer

CASE STUDY 24 Inside Job A ﬁ nancial services company relies on an internal team of experts to advise and guide business units on improvement projects.

by Keith Wagoner and Rizwan Khan

STATISTICS 32 Being Smart About Parts Advice on performing gage repeatability and reproducibility studies with baseline data.

by Nathaniel T. Stevens, Stefan H. Steiner and R. Jock MacKay

PROCESS MANAGEMENT 38 Better Together Ways to merge ﬂ ow solutions and quality sciences to maximize your process improvement efforts. ONLY @ by Richard J. Schonberger www.qualityprogress.com

• Details on Data Collection Additional tables to illustrate eight steps to improve your data 32 collection process, the topic of this month’s Back to Basics column, “Eight Simple Steps,” p. 64. • Volviendo a los Fundamentos Back to Basics translated into Spanish.

• Done in Digital Read this month’s QP in digital form—the perfect way to access the issue on your computer, phone or tablet. • Ready Reference Brush up on quality fundamentals and your vocabulary with our handy glossary. DEPARTMENTS 6 LogOn • Vinyl records article just scratched the surface. QUALITY PROGRESS Expert Answers QP 8 • Reasons to certify to ISO 9001:2015. Mail Quality Progress/ASQ 12 Keeping Current 600 N. Plankinton Ave. • Food makers relying more on robots. Milwaukee, WI 53203 Telephone Fax • Car buyers still fi xated on fuel 800-248-1946 414-272-1734 economy. 8 414-272-8575 15 Mr. Pareto Head Email Follow protocol of fi rst initial and full last QP Toolbox name followed by @asq.org (for example, 58 [email protected]). 60 QP Reviews Article Submissions Quality Progress is a peer-reviewed publication with 85% of its feature articles written by quality professionals. For information about submitting an article, call Valerie Ellifson at 800-248-1946 x7373, or email [email protected]. COLUMNS Author Guidelines To learn more about the manuscript review 5 Up Front 46 Measure for Measure process, helpful hints before submitting a Dealing with the details. Calibration and today’s crush manuscript and QP’s 2015 editorial planner, of consumer electronics. click on “Author Guidelines” at www. 44 Innovation Imperative qualityprogress.com under “Tools and What you need to lead innovation 48 Quality in the First Person Resources.“ efforts. Weighing the risks of a career Photocopying Authorization move. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use or the internal or 50 Career Corner personal use of specifi c clients is granted by Preparing for the new ‘project Quality Progress provided the fee of $1 per economy.’ copy is paid to ASQ or the Copyright Clear- ance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. Copying for other 52 Statistics Roundtable purposes requires the express permission Tips on presenting statistical data. of Quality Progress. For permission, write Quality Progress, PO Box 3005, Milwaukee, Standards Outlook WI 53201-3005, call 414-272-8575 x7406, fax 54 414-272-1734 or email [email protected]. Revisiting the recent revisions to ISO 14001. Photocopies, Reprints And Microform 63 BONUS Article photocopies are available from ASQ One Good Idea at 800-248-1946. To purchase bulk reprints Ishikawa diagrams in selecting (more than 100), contact Barbara Mitrovic at ASQ, 800-248-1946. For microform, contact 54 statistical tests. ProQuest Information and Learning, 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106, 800-521- 64 Back to Basics 0600 x2888, international 734-761-4700, Eight steps to improve data www.il.proquest.com. collection. Membership and Subscriptions For nearly 70 years, ASQ has been the worldwide provider of information and learning opportunities related to quality. In addi- NEXT MONTH tion, ASQ membership offers information, - QUALITY GOALS - UNDERUSED FMEA networking, certifi cation and educational Tools and principles turn around The case for the continuous use of the opportunities to help quality profession- youth soccer team. popular risk management tool. als obtain practical solutions to the many problems they face each day. Subscriptions to Quality Progress are one of the many benefi ts of ASQ membership. To join, call ASQ’s Vision: By making quality a global priority, an organizational imperative and 800-248-1946. a personal ethic, the American Society for Quality becomes the community for everyone List Rentals who seeks quality technology, concepts or tools to improve themselves and their world. Orders for ASQ’s member and nonmember buyer lists can be purchased by contacting Michael Costantino at the Infogroup/Edith Quality Progress (ISSN 0033-524X) is published monthly by the American Society for Quality, 600 N. Plankinton Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53203. Editorial and advertising offi ces: 414-272-8575. Periodicals postage paid at Milwaukee, WI, and at additional mailing offi ces. Institutional Roman List Management Co., 402-836-6626 subscriptions are held in the name of a company, corporation, government agency or library. Requests for back issues must be prepaid and or fax 845-620-1885. are based on availability: ASQ members $17 per copy; nonmembers $25 per copy. Canadian GST #128717618, Canadian Publications Mail Agreement #40030175. Canada Post: Return undeliverables to 2835 Kew Drive, Windsor, ON N8T 3B7. Prices are subject to change without prior notifi cation. © 2015 by ASQ. No claim for missing issues will be accepted after three months following the month of publication of the issue for domestic addresses and six months for Canadian and international addresses. Postmaster: Please send address changes to the American Society for Quality, PO Box 3005, Milwaukee, WI 53201-3005. Printed in USA.

4 QP • www.qualityprogress.com UPFRONT

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EXECUTIVE EDITOR AND ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Forest, Meet Tree Seiche Sanders ASSOCIATE EDITOR Get there by getting into the weeds Mark Edmund ASSISTANT EDITOR REVIEW TIME. Regularly, we perform a “check” on our processes, make sure they’re Amanda Hankel working OK and tune up anything that may have experienced a performance slip. This MANUSCRIPT COORDINATOR Valerie Ellifson time around, this improvement opportunity surfaced: Can QP article authors give final approval on their articles earlier, to prevent more edits and minor changes at the end COPY EDITOR Susan E. Daniels of the magazine’s production process? Sounds good in theory, right? But when I really CONTRIBUTING EDITORS started thinking about this tune-up to our timeline, I realized that it wouldn’t mean Tyler Gaskill editors were working on the original proofs any sooner, just that the authors would be Amy Klinkhammer Chelsea Kolterjahn providing feedback before articles were final, which would lead to different, but just-as- serious problems with multiple rounds of reviews. ART DIRECTOR Mary Uttech Thinking through this, I had a renewed appreciation for getting at the basic facts of a GRAPHIC DESIGNER situation, which so many quality tools help us do. In the case of gemba, this is defined as Sandy Wyss going where the action is. I love this concept: getting down to brass tacks, in the thick of PRODUCTION it, some might even say “in the weeds.” Cathy Milquet But in the case of gemba, the weeds are where it’s at. ADVERTISING PRODUCTION Big-picture, high-level strategic thinking is valuable, of course. But I would argue the Barbara Mitrovic detailed, consistent “work” at the most basic levels is just as critical to overall success. DIGITAL PRODUCTION SPECIALISTS Someone has to produce, day-in and day-out, products that meet the highest-quality Julie Stroik Julie Wagner standards. Gemba walks, the improvement technique described in this month’s cover MEDIA SALES story, “Walk the Line,” p. 18, help connect leaders with the people actually producing the Naylor LLC products. Lou Brandow Krys D’Antonio By nature, people in any camp tend to get mired in “what they’ve always done” and Norbert Musial fail to see the forest for the trees. Gemba walks clear the brush and let workers and lead- MEDIA SALES ADMINISTRATOR ers observe things in new ways by asking the tough questions. Give it a try. New perspec- Kathy Thomas tives can be illuminating. MARKETING ADMINISTRATOR Matt Meinholz

This issue is packed with other ideas and information to get your spring off to a fresh EDITORIAL OFFICES Phone: 414-272-8575 start. “Inside Job,” p. 24, explains how a financial services firm assembled an internal Fax: 414-272-1734 team of consultants to facilitate change. The knowledge and internal relationships ADVERTISING OFFICES present among this diverse team helped the organization develop methods to maximize Phone: 866-277-5666 impact internally, and also with outside consultants that were necessary along the way. ASQ ADMINISTRATION How could you leverage internal teams similarly? QP CEO William J. Troy

Managing Directors Ajoy Bose Brian J. LeHouillier Laurel Nelson-Rowe

To promote discussion of issues in the field of quality and Seiche Sanders ensure coverage of all responsible points of view, Quality Progress publishes articles representing conflicting and minor- Editor ity views. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily of ASQ or Quality Progress. Use of the ASQ logo in advertisements does not necessarily constitute endorsement of that particular product or service by ASQ.

March 2015 • QP 5 LOGON Seen&Heard Great tribute to a quality guru No question about Tune In I worked with Armand Feigenbaum for 31 article‘s worth years, and knew him even longer. In “Total In response to “The Art of Root Cause Quality’s Leader” (January 2015, pp. 16-22), Analysis” (February 2015, p. 64): Best ﬁ ve Greg Watson has written a tribute that Dr. whys article I’ve seen!

QUALITY PROGRESS Putting Best Practices to Work www.qualityprogress.com | January 2015 Feigenbaum would William R. Corocan | JANUARY 2015 ﬁ nd, as have I, factual, Windsor, CT QUALITYP knowledgeable and REMEMBERING FEIGENBAUM well thought out. In response to “The Art of Root Cause

1920-2014 The latest episode of ASQ TV ARMAND V. Watson has put Analysis” (February 2015, p. 64): The value FEIGENBAUM The leader of the focuses on ASQ’s newest certi ca- ‘total quality’ movement together Dr. Feigen- of reading some topics or articles never p.16 baum’s history and diminishes, no matter how many times tion: the Yellow Belt (YB). Explore

VOLUME 48/NUMBER 1 infl uence in the qual- you repeat. the YB body of knowledge, and Plus: Manage your Is CAPA The Global Voice of QualityTM FMEA better p. 23 evil? p. 38 revisit the most essential tool that ity fi eld, which shows This is one of them: A well-written, YBs need to know: the de ne, Watson’s knowledge of quality, Dr. Feigen- short and complete article, capturing measure, analyze, improve and baum and Dr. Feigenbaum’s role over many both strengths and weaknesses in the control method. Also, hear advice years. From all of us here, thank you, Greg. practice and application of the technique, about taking a Leslie J. Warren without losing the positive tone. Thank certi cation exam. General Systems Co. you! Watch for the next Pittsfi eld, MA Nadarajah Ravindrakumar episode, which Zionsville, IN covers risk man- Story needed different spin agement, available March 3. In response to “Music to Whose Ears?” Breaking it down (February 2015, pp. 14-16): As someone In response to “Dissecting the Differ- who never abandoned vinyl or tubes for ences” (January 2015, pp. 30-36): Nicely solid state, I was attracted to this article and done. You have taken an extremely dif- StayConnected disappointed when reading it. fi cult topic and broken it down into easily Find the latest news, quips and targeted What was it doing in QP? The only refer- comprehendible segments. content from QP staff. ence to quality was the quote from James In fact, I have recommended the Paul Sain, a University of Florida professor of article to several of my medical device Executive Editor & Associate Publisher Seiche Sanders: composition. There is so much more to this clients. @ASQ_Seiche story that was missing. The importance of EN ISO 14971 and Associate Editor Mark Edmund: Given the demographic of QP readers, the associated risk management tools @ASQ_Mark there could have been a great story about will continue to grow as ISO 13485, the Assistant Editor Amanda Hankel: customer satisfaction and how customers medical device directive, in vitro diagnos- @ASQ_Amanda don’t always choose the best technology— tic medical device directive, and active

think Beta vs. VHS. implantable medical device directive are [email protected] The story could have addressed the need revised, impacting the medical device

to segment a customer base as required in industry in the European Union. www.facebook.com/ the Baldrige criteria and address the needs You have accurately identiﬁ ed all of groups/43461176682 of a targeted segment. Instead, it was just a the proverbial moving parts and provided fashion statement saying vinyl is back in style. insight into their importance. Thanks again. www.linkedin.com/groups/qualityprogress-magazine-asq-1878386 Bill Osburn Christopher J. Devine Mason, MI San Jose, CA

6 QP • www.qualityprogress.com QP ONLINE QQUALITYP PROGRESS EXTRAS@ www.qualityprogress.com PAST CHAIR • Teams and leadership on ASQ TV Stephen K. Hacker, Transformation Systems Learn more about this issue’s topic—teams and leadership. One ASQ TV episode International, LLC (http://videos.asq.org/asq-tv-episode-10-teamwork) is devoted to what makes a team work successfully to accomplish goals and deliver results. Another episode (http:// CHAIR videos.asq.org/soft-skills-leadership-and-management) focuses on leaders and the soft Cecilia Kimberlin, Kimberlin LLC (retired – Abbott) skills they need to be effective and drive change. CHAIR-ELECT Patricia La Londe, CareFusion • What are you thinking? Voice your opinion about the content in this month’s QP by rating and commenting on TREASURER the issue’s feature articles. You also can send letters to the editor to [email protected]. Eric Hayler, BMW Manufacturing Your comment could appear in an upcoming issue of QP. SECRETARY William J. Troy, ASQ PARLIAMENTARIAN QUICK POLL RESULTS Sue Campbell, ASQ Each month at www.qualityprogress.com, visitors can take an informal survey. Here are the numbers from last month‘s Quick Poll: DIRECTORS Donald Brecken, Ferris State University Heather L. Crawford, Apollo Endosurgery What is the most common mistake when launching a lean and Six Sigma program? Raymond R. Crawford, Parsons Brinckerhoff Ha C. Dao, Emerson Climate Technologies Inc. 49% Too many projects. Benito Flores, Universidad de Monterrey 31% Unclear prioritization of projects. Julia K. Gabaldón, Quality New Mexico 15% The wrong people working on the projects. Edwin G. Landauer, Clackamas Community College Not enough people to do the projects. David B. Levy, Tekni-Plex Flexibles Division 5% Sylvester (Bud) M. Newton, Jr., Alcoa Daniella A. Picciotti, Bechtel Visit www.qualityprogress.com for the latest question: Steven J. Schuelka, SJS Consulting Kush K. Shah, General Motors James B. Shore, Quality Lean Solutions, LLC What is the most important to you and your career? Jason Spiegler, Camstar Systems Inc. Joal Teitelbaum, Escritório de Engenharia • Job security. G. Geoffrey Vining, Virginia Tech, Department of • Pay and beneﬁ ts. Statistics • A challenge. QP EDITORIAL REVIEW BOARD Randy Brull, chair Administrative Committee Brady Boggs, Randy Brull, Jane Campanizzi, Larry Haugh, Jim Jaquess, Gary MacLean, QualityNewsTODAY R. Dan Reid, Richard Stump Recent headlines from ASQ’s global news service Technical Reviewers (All URLs case sensitive) Andy Barnett, Matthew Barsalou, David Bonyuet, Da- vid Burger, Bernie Carpenter, L.N. Prabhu Chandrasek- Audi Tests Self-Driving Car on U.S. Roads aran, Ken Cogan, Linda Cubalchini-Travis, Ahmad The Audi A7 piloted driving concept uses technologically advanced systems and relieves Elshennawy, Mark Gavoor, Kunita Gear, Daniel Gold, T. Gourishankar, Roberto Guzman, Ellen Hardy, Lynne the driver of driving duties, speeding between 0 mph to 70 mph. The car can initiate lane Hare, Ray Klotz, Tom Kubiak, William LaFollette, Pradip changes and passing maneuvers and uses a combination of various sensors, many of which Mehta, Larry Picciano, Gene Placzkowski, Tony Polito, are close to production ready. (http://bit.ly/auditestselfdrivingcar) Peter Pylipow, Imran Ahmad Rana, John Richards, James Rooney, Brian Scullin, Amitava Sengupta, Mohit Sharma, A.V. Srinivas, Joe Tunner, Manu Vora, Keith Hospitals Turn to Patient ‘Passports‘ to Boost Communication Wagoner, Jack Westfall, Doron Zilbershtein Many hospitals now issue “passports“ to patients to bridge common doctor-patient communication gaps. The documents contain a patient‘s essential medical information, such as current prescription drugs and medical diagnoses, as well as treatment preferences. (http://tinyurl.com/hospital-passports)

WANT THE LATEST QUALITY-RELATED NEWS AND ANALYSIS? The QNT Weekly enewsletter, available exclusively to ASQ members, delivers it every Friday. Subscribe now at http://email.asq.org/subscribe/qntwk.

March 2015 • QP 7 EXPERTANSWE RS

Reasons to certify adjusts the QMS’s approach to PA from a to internal audits creates little more than Q: My organization will soon decide detached, discrete activity to a foundation- a string of reports confirming compli- whether it wants to obtain the revised ISO al, interwoven requirement of the decision ance to clauses, the 2015 revision is an 9001 certification. What are some advan- process in several important clauses. opportunity to apply the process approach tages of certifying that I should consider in The logic of this approach begins with and thereby improve the significance of my proposal? the understanding that organizations have internal auditing. been applying risk-based thinking all along, Perhaps a better way to express A: Perhaps a more pointed question is: and the 2015 revision is now recognizing the difference in approach would be to “How can the 2015 revision of ISO 9001 this vital and ongoing component of how to ask: Are you conducting internal audits correct or improve those systems and processes within my organization that consistently fall below expectations?” Remember that it is within your The easy first answer—the low-hanging fruit—is probably your preventive action power to create value in the (PA) process. It is consistently problematic for most organizations I visit as a third- face of mediocrity. party auditor. During the management review portion best manage business affairs. primarily to satisfy the standard’s require- of the audit, I often ask the management So, if your internal analysis uncovers ment to do so, or to benefit your organi- group to rate the effectiveness of the six PA as worthy of improvement, the 2015 zation? elements of their quality management revision will (finally) open new avenues of Compliance and effectiveness are system (QMS) that must be documented enhancement, upgrade and clarity regard- equally important, but when the approach in ISO 9001:2008 with the typical result of ing this entire subject. is restructured to “processes first,” audits preventive action at the bottom of the list. It’s important, once again, to ask some become far more relevant and important; The discussion that follows often leads difficult questions about the current state improving output and significance when to one or more suggestions as areas of of your QMS. For example: How effective assessing resource distribution. improvement. is your approach to internal auditing? Are If your internal examination uncovers a The 2015 revision of ISO 9001 replaces your audits still mired in compliance to split between your organization’s business PA with risk-based thinking, and does so the requirements of the standard, or do objectives and quality objectives, the 2015 in many areas of the standard. It properly they provide a robust examination of the revision is clearly poised to eliminate such effectiveness of practices. Far too many organizations your organization’s still employ a system best described as processes? Internal a bolt-on QMS. QMS output is reported audit requirements to top management as a separate entity in the 2015 revi- through management review, often as an sion are not much annual progress report in which objec- different from the tives—while certainly supporting busi- current 2008 revi- ness success—still remain subordinate to sion; however, the top-level business goals. The 2015 revision text is consider- simply ends this practice by “ensuring the ably improved and integration of the quality management structured.1 system requirements into the organiza- If your approach tion’s business processes.”2

8 QP • www.qualityprogress.com ANSWE RS

Support from the top standard clarify, simplify or otherwise of- audits. ISO 9001:2008, clause 8.2.2, The 2015 revision’s efforts to unite busi- fer a new approach or set of activities that does, however, require a documented ness and quality objectives are a long improve the current state? procedure be maintained and that the overdue concept offering several improve- So the answer to the original ques- frequencies for conducting internal au- ment drivers, starting with senior manage- tion is based on having first asked more dits be determined by the organization. ment involvement. There’s no secret that questions about your current QMS and In addition, ISO 9001:2008 requires without top management support, the its effectiveness. And if there is a single- audits to be planned, to take into ac- QMS struggles to be truly relevant. most important component of that inquiry, count the importance of the processes Without direct top management in- I would offer this: “Are we doing this to or areas to be audited, and to consider volvement, the strength and character of improve or to pass the next audit?” the results of previous audits con- the quality program becomes more or less For every clause that fulfills little more ducted. a support function. than maintaining a plaque on the wall, As a common practice, most orga- If the QMS is, instead, designed to remember that it is within your power, let nizations schedule all quality manage- directly improve and achieve top manage- alone part of your job description, to cre- ment system processes to be audited at ment’s business expectations, it can no ate value in the face of mediocrity. least annually (12 months). longer be considered separate, but instead QMS processes that have been a full partner in the organization’s success, REFERENCES identified by previous audits to require 1. International Organization for Standardization, ISO solidifying—in fact, demanding—top man- 9001:2015 Draft International Standard—Quality manage- improvement or where negative trend- ment systems—Requirements, section 9.2. agement’s involvement. Needless to say, 2. International Organization for Standardization, ISO ing is found should be audited on a more this can be a significant improvement for 9001:2015 Draft International Standard—Quality manage- frequent basis to verify: ment systems—Requirements, clause 5.1.1 d. those organizations still operating bolt-on • Past corrective actions taken were QMSs. Paul Palmes effective in preventing recurrence of Advantages to upgrading your organi- Chairman, ISO technical committee 176, nonconforming conditions. zation’s QMS to the intent and require- Subcommittee 1 • No additional nonconforming condi- ments of the ISO 9001:2015 revision are President and principal consultant tions have resulted from the corrective therefore subject to your unique applica- Business Systems Architects Inc. actions taken. tion. Fargo, ND, and Prescott, WI Process audits are intended to assess This will require discussion with all specific QMS processes. ISO 9001:2008 concerned—starting with top man- Annual audit event? does not require every QMS process to be agement. Search for and define your Q: How many ISO 9001 internal audits assessed as a part of each audit. constraints and your unique needs—along should companies perform each year? It’s completely acceptable for an orga- with your strengths. After they are identi- Should they audit all their processes every nization to conduct a full system audit that fied, enter into a three-way discussion time they perform an internal audit? may be followed later by an audit on only about the ISO 9001:2015 revision with the certain process areas in which noncon- affected parties and QMS management. A: It’s important to know that ISO forming conditions were found. How can ISO 9001:2015 assist in each of 9001:2008, clause 8.2.2, does not define It’s the organization’s decision to these areas? What clauses in the revised any frequencies for conducted internal determine whether full system or process audits are required. Bill Aston EXPERT ADVICE AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Managing director Stumped by a quality problem? QP’s subject matter experts are just a click away. Aston Technical Consulting Services LLC Submit your question at www.qualityprogress.com, or send it to [email protected], Kingwood, TX and we will help you find a solution.

March 2015 • QP 9 QUALITY COUNCIL OF INDIANA

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FOOD SAFETY Hands-free Advanced robots automating more tasks for safer, cheaper food processing The food industry is taking a hands-off Between 2001 and 2008, more advances current limitations of robotics in food pro- approach to improve safety and reduce allowed robot models to be washed down cessing, new vision sensors must be able production costs by using robots. with high-pressure washers and other models to read depth, an object’s orientation and With enhanced vision sensors, end-of- to be made of stainless steel, aligning them changes in lighting, and identify randomly arm tools (EOAT) and wash-down capabili- with U.S. Food and Drug Administration and sorted objects. Complex algorithms, along ties, food manufacturers will increasingly be U.S. Department of Agriculture standards.3 with cameras and software, help robots able to use lighter, more flexible robots for Today, the food industry mostly uses a distinguish what’s in front of them. Ttasks previously reserved for manual labor. combination of man and machine for its This automated system must also work The contention is that taking humans out production processes—automating high- seamlessly with its handling mechanisms in of the picture could yield fewer contamina- volume production of a single food product.4 order to avoid collisions with other robots tion risks, enable more automation in meat or objects.6 Robotic companies offer pick- packaging and slicing, and result in fewer Robot evolution and-place robots that can be integrated on-the-job injuries. Many types of food are never consistent: with a vision system that isn’t thrown off “In the industrial space alone, we expect Chicken breasts, for example, are slippery by the random presentation of products on that robots could provide up conveyor belts.7 to $1.2 trillion in value by 2025 Robots’ EOATs have become through labor-saving productiv- more flexible, and they can better ity gains,” said Dominic Barton, deal with delicate food products. a global managing director at Manufacturers are designing smart- McKinsey & Co., a consulting firm er EOATs that handle food without that has studied the issue.1 damaging it, minimize food buildup on a machine, perform packaging A man-made industry tasks and withstand cleaning. In the 1980s, the use of robotics For example, researchers at in food processing was mostly SINTEF, a Scandinavian research relegated to end-of-the-line tasks organization, are working on creat- such as packaging and palletizing. ing a robot that can remove breast The introduction of the Delta robot in the and vary in size and shape. Currently, hu- fillets from chickens. The task is normally 1990s allowed robots to move upstream in man operators perform tasks with products done by humans because of the delicacy the baking industry, and have direct contact that are too complex for robots: handling of chicken fillets, but after equipping their with food. With better motion-control multiple packaging configurations, iden- machine with flexible grasping tools and 3-D algorithms, these bots performed pick-and- tifying and removing defective products, vision, the job could become automated for place tasks, grabbing and moving food at as well as loading wrapping machines.5 the first time.8 high speeds. Delta robots are often used for Advances in robotics, however, will reduce “In the case of chicken fillets, this sorting and packaging foods like candies, these traditionally human-only tasks. also means making optimum use of the frozen foods or baked goods, and are being Vision sensors give robots “sight,” for ex- material,” said Ekrem Misimi, a technical similarly applied in cosmetic and pharma- ample, allowing them to orient an object for cyberneticist who studies how humans ceutical manufacturing processes.2 handling and inspection. To overcome the (continues on p. 14)

12 QP • www.qualityprogress.com CURRE NT

SURVEY Who’s Who in FUEL ECONOMY NAME: Jay Zhou.

RANKS NO. 1 FOR RESIDENCE: Ann Arbor, MI. NEW VEHICLE EDUCATION: Doctorate in engineering from the University of Q BUYERS Michigan in Ann Arbor in 1987. INTRODUCTION TO QUALITY: Zhou’s doctoral dissertation Despite gas prices falling to their lowest was about highway bridge reliability. He considers the doctoral levels since 2010, fuel economy—for a research his introduction to quality. His first exposure at Ford fourth consecutive year—remains the most Motor Co. was as a quality and reliability engineer. influential factor when buyers select a new vehicle, according to a recent J.D. Power CURRENT JOB: Zhou currently serves as executive technical leader for global quality at Ford Motor Co. and reports to the report. group vice president for global quality and new model launch. According to the 12th annual study, 14% In this role, he is responsible for the development of Ford’s of new-vehicle owners cited gas mileage as corporate quality strategy, global quality business planning and productivity improve- the most influential reason for selecting the ment plan. He also reports to the chief technical officer and vice president for global vehicle they ultimately purchased. research. In this dual role, Zhou serves on the technology advisory board, focusing on Gas mileage is the primary purchase the discovery, development and delivery of innovative technologies. reason among buyers of compact, small and mid-size cars, and compact multi-purpose PREVIOUS JOBS: Zhou worked for the Pratt Whitney Division of United Technologies, where he designed and analyzed jet engines for airplanes. vehicles. Consequently, fuel economy is the second-most common reason a model is ASQ ACTIVITIES: Zhou is executive champion for Ford’s ASQ enterprise member- rejected by shoppers at dealerships in favor ship. He also is secretary of ASQ Automotive Division and program chair of ASQ’s Ann of another model (16%). Arbor section in Michigan.

Exterior look and design is the top reason OTHER ACTIVITIES/ACHIEVEMENTS: Zhou is active in the Society of Automotive shoppers avoid a particular vehicle. Engineers International, serving as associate editor of its International Journal of Ma- “Consumers know terials and Manufacturing. Additionally, he is a guest professor at Nanjing University of that, although gas Technology in Jiangsu, China. prices are low today, PUBLISHED WORKS: More than 30 papers in professional journals and proceedings the cost of fuel related to quality, reliability and robust engineering. He has also been invited to speak will likely increase at national and international conferences and symposiums. during the time they RECENT HONORS: In 2013, Zhou received the inaugural Ford China Ambassador own their vehicle,” said Award for support of Ford’s plans in China. He received Taguchi Robust Design Rec- Arianne Walker, senior director, ognition at the annual Taguchi Symposium and the Total Product Development Sym- automotive media and marketing at J.D. posium three times for contributions to robust engineering. Zhou also was named the Power. ASQ Automotive Quality Professional of Year in 2010 for his leadership and contribu- “Clearly, consumers are considering the tion to continuous quality improvement. He was part of ASQ’s 2014 class of fellows. total cost of ownership when selecting their PERSONAL: Married with two children. new vehicle,” Walker said. For more about the study, visit http:// QUALITY QUOTE: “Quality is about understanding customers’ expectations and ex- tinyurl.com/new-vehicle-survey. ceeding their expectations. It does not happen by chance—there is science behind it.”

March 2015 • QP 13 KEEPINGCURRENT

Robots (continued from p. 12)

interact with machines. “A flexible grasping water and disinfecting chemicals.12 ing are just a few of the applications offered tool scrapes the carcass while pulling it off Besides the cleanliness factor, there today for robots. As their features and the fillet, removing as much of the meat as always have been challenges for workers in capabilities evolve, so will their roles in food possible.”9 food processing environments. production, giving manufacturers safer, Processing plants sometimes run at low faster production at a lower cost. Health costs or high temperatures, making long working Drawbacks, however, exist in expensive Beyond reducing production costs, robots hours difficult for operators by adding to initial investments needed for new equip- also could enhance food safety. Annu- physical and mental fatigue. The high- ment, maintenance costs, unguaranteed really, food recalls and foodborne illnesses speed, repetitive nature of production tasks turn on investments, and employee training cost the United States $77 billion.10 Direct for workers also poses health risks such as programs for working with the machines.15 contact with food by production workers musculoskeletal disorders—which can lead “Our aim is to automate absolutely results in the majority of contaminations in to muscle pain and sleeplessness.13 everything we can think of on the food pro- foodborne illnesses.11 “Work-related musculoskeletal disorders duction line,” Misimi said. “Automating this Cross contamination, bacteria and remain the leading cause of workplace work will speed up production and make it other environmental contaminants can injury and illness in this country,” said David more efficient. It will free up the producer’s be introduced into food from human skin Michaels, U.S. assistant secretary of labor capacity and make better use of the raw unless sanitary polices are strictly followed. for occupational safety and health.14 materials.”16 Unfortunately, humans don’t always follow In the end, work-related injuries, medical —compiled by Tyler Gaskill, these policies, and it’s more difficult for expenses, time off and loss of production contributing editor bacteria to stick on wash-down robots with can add up to big costs for food manufac- smooth surfaces. It’s also easier to sanitize turers. REFERENCES 1. “What Jobs Will Robots Have in the Future?” Wall Street the robotic equipment with high-pressure Slicing, portioning, packing and inspect- Journal, July 3, 2014, http://tinyurl.com/wallstrobot. 2. Austin Weber, “Delta Robots Feed Need for Speed,” As- sembly, Feb. 3, 2015, http://tinyurl.com/deltaspeed. 3. ABB Ltd., “FDA and USDA Certified Robotic Food Processing Systems,” white paper, http://tinyurl.com/abbwhitepaper. STANDARDS 4. Steve Davis, “Robotics and Automation for the Food Indus- try,” Food Safety Magazine, August/September 2014, http:// NEW STANDARD ADDRESSES tinyurl.com/roboticfood. 5. ABB Ltd., “FDA and USDA Certified Robotic Food Process- MANUFACTURING MANAGEMENT ing Systems,” see reference 3. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International says it has developed the first 6. “What is Robot Vision?” RobotWorx, www.robots.com/faq/ show/what-is-robot-vision. standard for manufacturing management. 7. “Delta Robots Improve Highly Repetitive Tasks,” FANUC, AS6500 provides tools to measure manufacturing maturity and steps to success- http://tinyurl.com/robotsimprove. 8. “Using Robots to Get More Food from Raw Materials,” The fully advance the manufacturing process. The standard also ensures more consistent Poultry Site, Jan. 5, 2015, http://tinyurl.com/robopoultry. implementation of practices throughout the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD) 9. Ibid. 10. Jenni Spinner, “Food Recalls Cost Billions Each Year,” Food industrial base early in the acquisition life cycle. Production Daily.com, Sept. 11, 2013, http://tinyurl.com/ Designed to benefit the DOD and industry, the standard is expected to improve recallbillions. 11. ABB Ltd., “FDA and USDA Certified Robotic Food Process- cost and schedule performance on contracts, helping to create robust and reliable ing Systems,” see reference 3. manufacturing systems. 12. Gretchen Edelbrock, “EPSON Robots: Wash Down Robots for Food, Medical Applications,” Packworld.com, Dec. 20, “When we talk about manufacturing, a significant amount of work is offloaded 2012, http://tinyurl.com/washdownrobo. to suppliers, and that’s where many of the problems and opportunities reside,” said 13. “Pain Management: Musculoskeletal Pain,” WebMD.com, http://tinyurl.com/muscpain. David Karr, chairman of SAE International’s G-23 Committee and technical advisor for 14. “U.S. Labor Department’s OSHA Temporarily Withdraws manufacturing and quality for the U.S. Air Force. Proposed Column for Work-Related Musculoskeletal Dis- orders, Reaches Out to Small Businesses,” news release, “This standard not only addresses in-house manufacturing management at a prime U.S. Department of Labor, Jan. 25, 2011, http://tinyurl.com/ contractor’s location, but also the management of their suppliers. The standard covers muscdisorder. 15. “Advantages and Disadvantages of Automating with best practices for ensuring that the right part gets to the right place at the right time,” Industrial Robots,” RobotWorx, http://tinyurl.com/advan- he added. tagestorobots. 16. “Using Robots to Get More Food From Raw Materials,” For more information, visit http://standards.sae.org/wip/as6500. see reference 8.

14 QP • www.qualityprogress.com SHORTRUNS DATEINQUALITYHISTORY QP occasionally looks back on an event or person that made a difference in the REGISTRATION HAS OPENED for this history of quality. year’s International Association for Food Protection conference. The annual event March 18, 1891 takes place July 25–28 in Portland, OR. For more information, visit http://tinyurl.com/ Walter Shewhart, considered the father of statistical food-conference-portland. quality control, was born in New Canton, IL, on this date. Regarding the intersection of science and quality, A ONE-DAY SEMINAR on the American Shewhart once said: “Both pure and applied science National Standard (ANS) development have gradually pushed further and further the require- process and procedures will be held March ments for accuracy and precision. However, applied sci- 24 in New York. Hosted by the American ence, particularly in the mass production of interchange- National Standards Institute, the course is able parts, is even more exacting than pure science in intended for standards developing organi- certain matters of accuracy and precision.” zation staff members who administer the SOURCE ANS process. For more details, visit http:// www.sigma-engineering.co.uk/light/shewhartbiog.htm. tinyurl.com/ansi-course.

JURAN GLOBAL, a research and consulting group based in Southington, CT, has hired Michael Glavich as executive vice presi- WORDTOTHEWISE dent of business development. Glavich’s To educate newcomers and refresh practitioners and professionals, QP background includes healthcare, financial occasionally features a quality term and definition. services, insurance, consumer products, hospitality and high-tech industries. He Cellular manufacturing received his education from the University of Central Florida before pursuing a career Arranging machines in the correct process sequence, with operators remain- in consulting. For more information, visit ing within the cell and materials presented to them from outside. www.juran.com/about-us/news.

SOURCE “Quality Glossary,” Quality Progress, June 2007, p. 42.

Mr. Pareto Head BY MIKE CROSSEN

March 2015 • QP 15 KEEPINGCURRENT

ASQ JOURNAL SPOTLIGHT ASQNEWS QP occasionally highlights an open-access article from one of ASQ’s seven other journals. NEW POST FOR PAST PRESIDENT This month, read “Remembering George E. P. Box: (Some) Anecdotes and Examples of H. James Harrington, a past president His Industrial Statistics Legacy,” which appeared in January’s edi- and chair of ASQ, has been elected the tion of Quality Engineering. president of the Altshuller Institute for In the article, author José Ramírez offers anecdotes about TRIZ Studies. The institute, based in Box’s life and some practical examples of his many innovative Worcester, MA, is one of two global or- techniques in the area of industrial statistics. ganizations that has developed a TRIZ To access the article, click on the “Current Issue” link of Quality certification process and promotes Engineering’s website: http://asq.org/pub/qe/2015/vol27-no1/ TRIZ in the world marketplace. TRIZ index.html. From there, you also can find a link to information is a Russian acronym for a problem about subscribing to the quarterly publication. solving tool developed by Genrich Altshuller. For more information, visit www.aitriz.org. BALDRIGE BOOKLETS ON LATEST BALDRIGE DEADLINE EXTENDED Organizers for ASQ’s 2015 Audit Conference have EXCELLENCE FRAMEWORK RELEASED extended the deadline for the call for The Baldrige Performance Excellence Program has released three versions of the 2015-2016 papers. Those interested in presenting Baldrige Excellence Framework—with individual booklets targeting business/nonprofit, at the conference, “Audits: Improving healthcare and education sectors. Performance, Managing Risk, Driving The 2015–2016 Baldrige framework features a renewed focus on: Customer Satisfaction and Revenue,” • Managing and leading all components of an entire organization. have until March 31 to submit propos- • Managing change. als. Presenters will receive free regis- • Dealing with data analytics, data integrity and cybersecurity. tration to attend the conference, which Each version also includes the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. To purchase will be Oct. 29 in Reno, NV. For more a copy, visit http://asq.org/2015baldrige. Each copy is $25. information about the call for papers, visit http://tinyurl.com/audit-papers.

NEW CASE STUDY ASQ’s Knowledge QP’s 2015 editorial calendar has been released, and now we’re looking for authors to Center has released a new case study write on these topics: showcasing how one school district Write HERE June September in Wisconsin used lean to improve Culture Standards

Write NOW student literacy. To download the five- October July page case study, visit http://tinyurl. Supply Chain Automotive com/school-case-study. There, you can November August The Future of Quality also access ASQ’s collection of 1,700

Innovation and December case studies. Creativity Salary Survey CALL FOR ARTICLES Six Sigma Fo- If you intend to write for a specific issue, submit your rum Magazine, ASQ’s quarterly, peer- article at least three to six months before the issue date to allow enough time for the article to be re- reviewed publication dedicated to Six viewed, revised and scheduled. Sigma, is seeking articles for publica-

But if you miss that deadline, don’t worry. Send the tion. For information on the review article anyway. All accepted articles will be published. process, types of articles considered

Visit www.qualityprogress.com and click on and submission requirements, visit “Author Guidelines” at the bottom of the page www.asq.org/pub/sixsigma. for more details.

16 QP • www.qualityprogress.com Connect With Other Like-Minded Professionals

Learn and share best practices while expanding your opportunities at one of the many ASQ networking platforms. By connecting with others in the ASQ global quality community, together we can increase the impact of quality worldwide. Connect with others through: • ASQ Communities • Your local section meetings • Topic forums and divisions • Social media • ASQ conferences

Visit asq.org/communities and see the number of ways you can connect with other professionals in your industry.

TRAINING CERTIFICATION CONFERENCES MEMBERSHIP PUBLICATIONS The Global Voice of QualityTM Walk the Line The effective way to do a gemba walk by Michael Bremer

MOST ORGANIZATIONS become more efficient after adopting an improvement method,1 but many fail to radically transform their competi- tive positions or significantly alter the way they engage their employees. Three organizations⎯Autoliv (Americas), a manufacturer In 50 Words of automotive safety systems; O.C. Tanner, a manufacturer Or Less • Gemba walks, or going of employee recognition/appreciation products and services; where the action is, can be an effective part of and Cogent Power, a manufacturer of transformer cores and improvement activities. components⎯each followed a slightly different path toward be- • They allow management to see problems coming more effective in their improvement efforts. firsthand and coach employees in critical Gemba walks were one common element of thinking. their improvement activities. • Leaders must show respect to employees Gemba walks can be a powerful during gemba walks if they want to learn what improvement tool, but they must be is really happening. done the right way. LEAN

Gemba walks are typically defined as going to where the action is. They are a key element of the Toyota Production System. Every gemba walk is also a teaching ex- ercise. The way questions are or are not asked has a big impact on employees and the responses given. People at the worksite are also observ- ing those doing the gemba walk. Ques- tions are constantly going through their heads: “What does the leader want to know? If I share something that’s wrong, what will happen? Does this person really want to know what is happening?” So, the way the walk gets done is always important. A Harvard Business Review article listed 10 fatal flaws that derail organizational leaders.2 Gemba walks can have a positive impact on each of the items in this list, especially a key point regarding how leaders fail to develop subordinates. “Instead, leaders focus on themselves, causing individuals and teams to disengage,” the article’s authors said.3

March 2015 • QP 19 In an e-mail exchange, Jeffrey Liker, professor of We were doing a gemba walk and discovered that one industrial and operations engineering at the University station was about to miss takt time (scheduled work of Michigan, said, “Doing a gemba walk has become a pace to meet customer demand). When we asked why, common lean practice, and people assume it’s simply we were told an operator had to work outside of stan- going to the gemba to understand the work, be present, dard work and grind a coupler. We asked why, and do some coaching; in other words, sort of a random they said it didn’t fit in the coupler pocket. We asked walk to find problems.” why and nobody knew. We asked them to check the All effective leaders take the following two steps, drawing dimensions. We were back four hours later which are the primary purpose of most gemba walks: and asked what they found. They said the part was to 1. Set direction with challenging targets. spec. They were actually grinding it out of spec. We 2. Learn to more effectively see problems, abnormali- asked if the part was to spec, why would they grind it ties, waste and opportunities. out of spec? They said they had to make it fit! Great leaders move beyond the leadership basics We suggested if it was to spec and did not fit, there in their gemba walks, however, and incorporate must be an issue with the coupler pocket dimension. steps three, four and five. The additional three steps We asked them to get the drawing and check the di- increase trust levels with employees and between mensions, and we would follow up on the next walk. cross-functional work groups. They serve as power- During the next walk, we checked and they said the ful change levers if incorporated into your gemba coupler pocket was to spec. It made no sense. We walks. checked the drawing dates, and they had not been 3. Teach and coach associates to develop their abil- revised in 40 years. There was a stack-up tolerance ity to perform and to fix and improve their pro- issue. For 40 years, teams had been grinding couplers cesses. when needed out of spec to fit, and missing takt each 4. Have the tenacity to stay the course, yet balance time they did it. Possibly 40 years earlier, an operator that drive with a humility that permits them to stay could not get the parts to fit, and a foreman told him in touch with reality. to grind it and make it fit. 5. Align support systems to elevate the organization’s improvement maturity. For more than 40 years, no one ever asked, “Why?” A respectful, effective gemba walk builds trust and and people continued to do the work that way, a prac- lays the groundwork for a major transformation. It is tice that unfortunately is quite normal in most organi- amazing what you can learn during a walk. zations. Ultimately, this problem was discovered when gemba walks with senior leaders were created, and Why do a gemba walk? the people doing the work discovered the issue. It is Gemba walks can serve as a powerful tool for lead- definitely worthwhile to go see, as it provides an op- ers to drive alignment inside an organization. Metrics portunity to create an environment where more people are important, but they are limited to things that are ask, “Why?” measureable. Much of what is important is not mea- Leaders at Autoliv, O.C. Tanner and Cogent Power sureable—at least in the immediate moment—and is all seem to have one common trait. They lead with a actually hidden beneath the surface. When you walk high degree of humility and a willingness to learn. As the gemba, you have an opportunity to see below the these leaders grew from being leaders of organizations surface with your own eyes and more deeply under- that were good at improving to a much higher level of stand what is really happening inside your organiza- improvement maturity, they have radically changed tion. their perspective on how to improve. Seeing up close the reality of how a process actually True industry leaders use gemba walk methods to works versus conditioned assumptions can answer a empower an entire workforce for continuous opera- host of questions that lead to new ideas for ways to tional improvement. develop people and major process improvements. In Out of the Crisis, W. Edwards Deming wrote, A senior executive from a Fortune 30 firm recently “Management by walking around is hardly ever effec- shared this story with me: tive.”4 His reasoning was that someone in management

20 QP • www.qualityprogress.com LEAN

When you ask why and have a blame-free culture, the truth comes out.

who is walking around typically has little idea about • Why do backtracking, rework, redo loops and other what questions to ask and usually does not pause long wastes occur? enough at any point to get the right answer. Deming, however, also stated quite clearly, “Most Show respect problems (85% to 95%) are system (process) problems, When you ask why and have a blame-free culture, the not people problems.”5 Gemba walks provide a struc- truth comes out, along with all of the gaps. A well- tured approach for assessing process performance and framed question helps to develop people’s critical bringing key issues to the surface. thinking skills. Importantly, questions should not be asked to prove people wrong. The best questions help Doing the walk the person discover the answer themselves. During the on-floor, main part of a gemba walk, all All walks should help the leader learn what is re- walkers should practice active listening after respect- ally happening and, at the same time, focus on helping fully asking probing questions. When you walk the people maintain their dignity. This will only take place gemba, you learn all the things you assume are happen- if leaders create a safe place to have a conversation ing but aren’t. An open-minded walker can gain many and show respect to the people they encounter along new insights. the way. For example, you might go to the floor to follow up Why would anyone openly discuss problems in a on an injury and learn the entire new-hire training sys- work area if he or she will be embarrassed if work- tem is not being followed. Or, you might follow up on place problems are revealed or if the walker looks as if a defect and learn the cross-training standards are not he or she is trying to catch someone doing something being followed. wrong? You will see firsthand whether the workers: While a department supervisor would concentrate • Understand the purpose of their work. on effective use of standard work practices during a • Understand and follow standard work practices. gemba walk, the perspective of an executive visiting an • Use a scientific thought process for problem identi- operation for the first time should be to always show fication and root cause analysis. respect. Doing so sets the tone and expectations for It starts with going to see to gain a better under- whatever can or should happen next. standing of the work being done. Disrespecting people during a gemba walk provides Your first questions should focus on what: no real value. It makes the leader appear to be a bully • What is the primary purpose of this work activity and causes workers to hide problems and then try to (step)? show their situation in the most positive light to stay • What are the main work steps in this job/cell/func- out of trouble. tional area? • How do you know that you are doing an effective Employee development job? Helping people develop more critical thinking skills • How do you measure a successful work day? and raising their confidence and self-esteem are actu- After the walker has a basic understanding regard- ally the ultimate forms of respect. It will enable your ing the purpose of this work activity, why-type ques- workforce to more passionately embrace improve- tions can be asked. ment type behaviors. • Why is this the right way to do your job? Ideally, the walk should be used to develop the • Why do disruptions that impact the work flow hap- knowledge, skill and capability of your workers and pen? help them to clearly see the process involved, under-

March 2015 • QP 21 LEAN

stand comprehensively how it works, and identify members would share their improvement ideas. First, problems or opportunities for improvement within it. they needed to get approval for the idea from people Ask how opportunities for improvement are han- on their shift. Approved ideas on one shift were shared dled, using the walk to increase trust levels: with the other shift via department supervisors. If the • What do you typically do when a problem occurs? other shift approved it, team members would check • What countermeasures have you tried? with any appropriate support personnel (such as engi- • What new countermeasures will you try next? neering) and, if authorized, the idea was implemented. • How long will you test the solution (experiment) Autoliv increased employee idea implementation and what criteria will you use to determine whether from about 16,000 in 2004 to more than 100,000 in 2010. the experiment is a success? This shift showed a higher level of respect for employ- • Are other resources—quality, safety, maintenance ees and helped the organization do a better job of sus- or engineering, for example—needed to solve a taining the gains and improving cycle times. problem? When you see opportunities, your job becomes to Don’t try to do too much coach the team members on how to capture them by It takes practice to perfect the gemba walk. You are helping them further develop their critical thinking unlikely to change the world with one stroll. The tool skills. is more like a farmer planting seeds and waiting for The gemba walk can be used to encourage people to them to grow than a tidal wave sweeping across the op- create an environment of experimentation and learn- eration. Have some patience. If a suffi cient number of ing focused on reaching a desired future state level of seeds get planted, and they are watered and nurtured, accomplishment. there will be a harvest, but it will not happen overnight. If people understand the underlying reason their After the gemba walk work is necessary, they are in a much better position It’s highly likely you will need to make adjustments to to fi nd improvement opportunities. Developing more the management support systems (communication, critical thinking skills should ultimately be the key pur- planning, and measurement, for example) and better pose of any gemba walk. Lean transformations happen align cross-functional cooperation to support the im- only if people transform. plementation and sustainment of improvements. Effectively done, gemba walks foster the develop- If this is an issue in your organization (and it usu- ment of a shared vision where people working together ally is), have people from relevant support groups pe- can accomplish performance improvements to make riodically participate in gemba walks. This is a great any organization more successful. When people co- way to learn how effectively your support systems are own a vision, it is much stronger than nice words on a operating and the impact they have—good or bad—on wall. Creating this type of environment should be the organizational performance. core purpose of any gemba walk. QP

REFERENCES An Autoliv example 1. Michael Bremer and Brian McKibben, Escape the Improvement Trap, CRC One of the things leaders at Autoliv in Ogden, UT, could Press, 2010. 2. Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman, “Ten Fatal Flaws That Derail Leaders,” see in their gemba walks was the number of employee Harvard Business Review, June 2009. 3. Ibid. ideas on the department information boards waiting 4. W. Edwards Deming, Out of the Crisis, MIT Press, paperback edition, 2000. for leadership approval. At that time, all employee im- 5. Ibid. provement ideas were fi ltered through management, and the leadership team was becoming a bottleneck. MICHAEL BREMER is president of the Cumberland Leadership decided to open up the process for get- Group, executive director of the Chicagoland Lean ting improvement ideas approved by creating alterna- Enterprise Consortium, an adjunct faculty member for the University of Chicago’s Graham School and tive pathways for improvement to happen. When peo- chairperson of the Association of Manufacturing Excel- lence awards council. Bremer earned a bachelor’s ple had an improvement idea, they would write it down degree in business from the University of Missouri-St. and post it on their department’s information board. Louis and is a Six Sigma Black Belt. He has written four books, most recently How to Do a Gemba Walk (Chicagoland Lean Enterprise Once a week in their team meetings, department Consortium, ebook, 2014).

22 QP • www.qualityprogress.com Check out the NEW books available from ASQ Quality Press!

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TRAINING CERTIFICATION CONFERENCES MEMBERSHIP PUBLICATIONS Inside

by Keith Wagoner Job and Rizwan Khan

In 50 Words Or Less Internal team of • An internal team of experts and advisors at consultants, experts Lincoln Financial Group works with the organization’s business units to at ﬁ nancial services develop solutions on improvement projects and organizational issues. company advises • The team is not ﬁ xated on any particular quality method or approach business units on but focuses on internal relationships, engagement management, gov- improvement projects ernance and employee development. CASE STUDY

SOMETIMES, BUSINESSES have no choice but to seek advice and consultation from outside experts. One fi nancial institution in Radnor, PA, assembled a team of internal experts and advisors. The organization relies heavily on this team to guide it on different continuous improvement and organizational development (CIOD) issues. The team pushes aside typical quality methods and delivers results similar to what major outside consulting fi rms could deliver.

March 2015 • QP 25 The CIOD team at Lincoln Financial Group focuses on team learned how to work closely with these consultants internal business consulting and provides the organiza- when it needs the support of external resources and tal- tion with services for actual cost rather than cost-plus, ent. This support can be seen in terms of resource needs which occurs when Lincoln Financial does seek outside (for example, staff augmentation) or help with a particu- consultation. Unlike many continuous improvement lar expertise (that is, a niche consulting boutique). (CI) teams that struggle with definition and method, the Working with external consultants is something the CIOD team focuses on its internal client base and deliv- CIOD team knows how to do well. The team can manage ers solutions. these working relationships so when external consul- The team is committed to end results and focused tants are engaged, they are totally transparent to internal on post-implementation success. Long-term viability for clients. the team’s success means bringing needed solutions to External consultants sometimes have difficulty get- Lincoln Financial’s businesses. Business units are not ting the same traction as an internal consulting group. coerced into simply going through the motions of an im- This happened recently when the CIOD team led an ex- provement project. Instead, they want to do what’s actu- ercise involving span of control and delayering within ally needed. Lincoln Financial. The CIOD team won the opportunity The CIOD team’s structure and the way it operates to lead the project and was ultimately supported by three within Lincoln Financial demonstrate: external consulting firms, all providing a special role and • How internal consulting can provide more opportuni- all out of sight of the internal business partners. The ties to quality practitioners. CIOD team became the face of the project. • How managing external consultants in-house can ac- Many CI teams focus on delivering an improvement tually enhance the value of external consultants. method that provides the vision and direction for engage- • A strategic approach to internal planning by leverag- ment. This typically consists of a tight, vertical focus in ing a process maturity model. the organization, which can limit the appeal of improve- • A new operating model focused more on clients and ment groups by concentrating purely on improvement. less on methods. Contrast that with Lincoln Financial’s model, which • Critical success factors that support doing things dif- focuses on leveraging internal consultants to meet cli- ferently. ents’ needs. In this case, the focus is more horizontal, cutting across functional areas to enable broader deliv- CIOD team approach ery of solutions. One positive result of this approach is The CIOD team has not removed external consultants that it provides more room in the internal consulting or- entirely from the picture at Lincoln Financial; rather, the ganization for a broader base of employee skill sets. The Lincoln Financial approach enables Engagement time/complexity-value leadership to hire, develop and apply new talent in more of a broad-brush approach. continuum / FIGURE 1 The internal consulting team is positioned to hire more diverse skill sets, compared More Transformations to organizations that support traditional CI Strategic analysis methods, which usually means hiring a prac- Process improvement titioner of a particular improvement model.

Team development Change management and effectiveness Overview of team Data analysis The CIOD team has a clearly defined value Scorecards, metrics and reporting proposition: Develop and sustain partner- Organizational learning ships that drive cost-effective learning, Complexity value change and process improvement to enable Workshops business units to achieve objectives. The team’s bifurcated makeup enables a Less Time More focus on both CI and organizational develop-

26 QP • www.qualityprogress.com CASE STUDY

ment (OD). Often, the CI and OD groups work CIOD’s sweet spot / FIGURE 2 separately, depending on the client’s needs. In Decision other situations, the two groups work closely makers due to the breadth of the engagement. CEO Market study/ External consultant benchmarking Implementation The CI side of the equation drives process CIOD improvement across the organization through: LOB pres. • A collaborative approach and partnership with clients. SVP • Strategic, independent and innovative thought leadership. VP • Metric-driven analysis and solutions. • Enhancing the internal and external client AVP experience. Through the relationships the CI group has Strategy Transformation Change Data analytics Process management and scorecards improvement developed within the enterprise, the group can Service offerings identify what the enterprise wants it to do. The CI group delivers services to enterprise-level AVP = assistant vice president CIOD = continuous improvement and organizational development leaders and business-unit leaders such as: LOB = line of business SVP = senior vice president VP = vice president • Strategic planning. • Transformation and reengineering. shops in the time it takes to execute a single process im- • Process improvement. provement engagement. • Scorecards, metrics and reporting. If workshops are at the extreme end in terms of mini- • Data analysis. mal engagement time, the other extreme is business On the other side, the OD group focuses on and deliv- transformations, which are usually the most complex ers service by embedding new ways of thinking and act- and require the most time. ing with leaders and their teams. The OD group enables Another way the CIOD team looks at its services is success through: through the lens of who is engaging it. Typically, services • Facilitating a safe environment for problem solving. follow a distribution relative to the level of manager who • Serving as enterprise connectors to drive and align engages the team. The team refers to this as its sweet change. spot (see Figure 2). • Enabling rapid achievement of strategic goals. The CEO and the line of business presidents typically • Driving and measuring behavior change to support engage with the CIOD team for strategy (for example, business results. market study and benchmarking). Depending on the Enterprise and BU leaders engage with the OD group adoption of the findings, there also may be an implemen- for: tation component for which the CIOD team can provide • Team development and effectiveness. expertise. • Change management practices. A few layers down in the organization are the assis- • New leader assimilation. tant vice presidents (AVP). The team does not usually • Organizational structure design. engage with managers below this level. At the AVP level, • CIOD service delivery. the opportunity is typically more well-defined and finite Figure 1 shows the CIOD service offerings in dimen- as to the deliverable—narrower and tightly scoped. sions of time and delivered value. Service offerings can vary by complexity and time required to execute. This is Diversity of the team members a critical aspect of the CIOD organization’s service deliv- The CIOD team is comprised of many different perspec- ery because it positions possibilities for the clients, rang- tives. Team members hold many different types of cre- ing from a four-hour workshop to a four-hour process dentials and come from various cultural backgrounds. improvement engagement. CIOD has a track record that The team has Green Belts, Black Belts and Master Black demonstrates how the team can handle multiple work- Belts, and some hold other ASQ certifications. From the

March 2015 • QP 27 business and fi nancial world, there are MBAs, certifi ed stores energy just waiting to be released. public accountants and project management profes- After the rubber band is released, the tension is con- sionals. verted into positive energy, which drives creativity, inno- Team members come from fi nancial service back- vation and leadership. This stretching and releasing is a grounds and other sectors, such as manufacturing. constant cycle that is perpetually occurring on the CIOD There are also team members who were business lead- team and is a key component of the team’s success. ers earlier in their careers. Diversity of thought, mind and action are welcomed Process maturity model and embraced as diversity is a leadership expectation The CIOD leadership team spent signifi cant time creat- at Lincoln Financial. Think of diversity as a pile of rub- ing a fi ve-level CIOD process maturity model (see Fig- ber bands of all sizes, shapes and colors, each rubber ure 3). Level one is the most immature in which a state band with its own set of strengths. Just as one would of chaos exists. Characteristics of level one include a select a rubber band from the pile, Lincoln Financial dependence on heroes, few documented processes, strategically pulls from its diverse talent pool. lack of measurements, missing sponsorship, lack of ac- Given the multiperspective background of the ceptance by the organization and a team that is trying team members, leadership is able to stretch that rub- to be everything to everyone. ber band to create dynamic tension. As that rubber Contrast level one with level fi ve. Level fi ve is op- band—or team member or members—stretches, it timizing, and its characteristics are greater in number

CIOD process maturity model –– 2013 / FIGURE 3

High Engagement We are Level 5 Optimizing Client management here now relationship Level 4 • Fully accepted and Maturing assimilated into the Employee Governance enterprise development Level 3 • Fully integrated into Repeatable business • Has seat at enterprise leadership table Level 2 • Widely accepted by • Has seat at BU Ad hoc organization leadership table • AVP’s considered trusted advisors Level 1 • Limited acceptance • Mandated by senior • BU governance council Chaos by organization management drives priorities • Business’ strategic priorities • Lack of acceptance • Supported by senior • Advisory input • Valued as strategic • Success deﬁ ned by by organization management accepted by BU resource management BU KPIs • Sponsorship void • Assignments limited • Highly visible impact • Dynamic vision to second-tier • Mature and tested • Enterprise-focused CI • No clear method and mission fully projects method vision and mission • Lack of visible integrated into • Narrow view of • Some visible impact results • Service offerings enterprise

Functional maturity success metrics • Beginning to deﬁ ne understood by • Disjointed view on • Highly deﬁ ned and • Limited use of service offerings business services industry-recognized standard method • Internally recognized • Brand recognized services • Attempt to be all • Limited impact as a brand enterprise-wide things to all people • Enterprise valued • No clear • Resources aligned • Collaborative approach recognition program to resource allocation understanding of with business • Viewed as destination future • Career paths linked • Resources consistently for high potential viewed as high • Ad hoc approach to to training • Active alumni resource training potential

Low Organizational impact High Tactical Strategic AVP = assistant vice president BU = business unit CI = continuous improvement CIOD = continuous improvement and organizational development KPI = key performance indicator

28 QP • www.qualityprogress.com CASE STUDY

There are many ways for an organization to express its appreciation for employees, including on-boarding, training and career planning.

than those of level one. At level five, key characteristics dence in the consultant than might be placed in a subject include: matter expert such as a CI professional. • The team is fully assimilated and accepted into the To build trust with the client, there are four elements: organization. • Credibility and reliability, both of which depend on • The leadership team is considered a trusted advisor to delivering results. the organization. • Intimacy, or the degree to which your client knows you • The team’s success is defined by the BU. and you know your client, enabling the crucial conver- • Team membership is viewed as a destination location sations that are critical to being a trusted advisor. of employees within the organization. • The consultant’s own self-orientation. Self-orientation Creating the maturity model involved determining the is measured by the degree to which the consultant fo- characteristics for all five levels. After this was done, the cuses on the client and not him or herself. This is a team rated itself to determine where it stood. In 2012, the clear way to demonstrate and acknowledge that the team rated itself as a low-level three. By year’s end, the consultant is a true advocate of the client. team had moved to high three. 2. Engagement management. Consultants and cli- The team then can plan activities—all fact based— ents characterize their interaction in terms that reflect that will close gaps. When gaps close, the team can move what the consultant is doing for the client. It may be re- up on the maturity level continuum. This can be plotted ferred to as a project, a workshop, an event or even a as a function of measured time and progress. Everyone statement of work. Lincoln Financial describes it as an on the team is aware of the status and the progress made engagement. to improve the maturity level. Engagement management is based around a process The maturity level model is an excellent tool to use and describes how work is carried out from inception with senior leaders because it has visual impact. through final completion. Relationship management is a precursor of engagement management, with one being Operating model necessary before the second occurs and with the second Many of CIOD’s peer groups in the industry are focused being focused on the work activity. on lean, Six Sigma or lean Six Sigma. IT counterparts Critical success factors for engagement management may be focused on the capability maturity model. are scope and planning, focusing on the right projects, In those environments, the focus is on the method project results and a project pipeline. and executing against the method. For the CIOD team, 3. Governance. The CIOD team’s structure and its the focus is on client relationships, engagement manage- overall direction are determined by a governance func- ment, governance and employee development. How can tion. Governance provides the necessary oversight to this group be a CI group but not focus on CI methods? ensure interoperability within the organization. It also There are four ways: allows the team to have direction—in the form of vision 1. Client relationship. This is the core of the team’s and mission—confirmed by Lincoln Financial’s leader- focus. The team believes developing deep, meaningful ship. The CIOD leadership team defines the services that relationships with senior leaders is crucial to the success are offered, and these too are confirmed by Lincoln Fi- of the team in support of the enterprise. nancial leadership. In The Trusted Advisor,1 the authors proposed the 4. Employee development. The development of concept of consultants becoming trusted advisors to CIOD team employees is viewed as a key enabler to clients. As a trusted advisor, the client puts more confi- the ongoing success of the organization. The team

March 2015 • QP 29 CASE STUDY

understands that long-term viability and the ability to High-efficiency team garner increasingly important engagements depend on Stephen Covey tells a story about a man sawing wood. developing all of its members. The man says he doesn’t have time to sharpen the saw There are many ways for an organization to express because he is too busy sawing.2 The CIOD team man- its appreciation for employees, including on-boarding, ages to sharpen the saw for Lincoln Financial. training and career planning. CIOD continually desig- From a people perspective, the team invests heav- nates a significant portion of its budget to training. ily in training, maintains a relationship heat map (a A recognition program is another way to show management tool that monitors the progress in a client employees how they are appreciated. This can be as relationship), and is now hiring different types of indi- simple as saying thank you or sending a gift card. Lead- viduals—moving from technical to soft skills. ership tries to be consistent about providing positive As for projects, the team balances the portfolio of feedback when it is deserved. different types of projects across the BUs and lever- As employees demonstrate proficiency within the ages external consulting firms to enhance internal department, opportunities to off-board into different CIOD capabilities, using the group’s collective wisdom lines of business are possible. Part of the original mod- as new projects arise. The team attempts to learn from el for this organization was to leverage off-boarding as everyone’s past experiences. a way to embed CI into the DNA of the enterprise. Traditional approaches to CI—in which the focus has been the method—have been successful at many Enablers of CIOD success organizations. For Lincoln Financial, however, the So, how did the CIOD achieve success? Prior to 2011, CIOD team has found that executing an operating mod- the organization depended heavily on big-name con- el focused on client partners and successful drivers of sulting companies, and the CIOD team was relegated how the work is done—rather than what is done—is to doing nonstrategic projects. Internal clients were most successful. not happy spending a lot of money with minimal re- Using this approach, a highly efficient team of in- sults. They did, however, get helpful, beneficial presen- ternal consultants has emerged that delivers solutions tation slide decks from the external consultants to help to the BUs. Those solutions are generating additional them understand and digest key activities. demand for the team, allowing it to repeatedly prove Contrast that with what’s happened since 2012 and the worth of its model. QP the CIOD team’s new approach, which includes: • Providing executive managers with simple one to REFERENCES 1. David H. Maister, Charles H. Green and Robert M. Galford, The Trusted Advi- two-page presentation slide decks to communicate sor, Touchstone, 2001. 2. Steven Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Simon and Schuster, on projects and activities. 1990. • Building internal BU capability and capacity. • Taking full ownership of projects and working closely with BUs during the first two phases of a four-phase process: plan, design, implement and monitor. KEITH WAGONER is assistant vice president in life client solutions at Lincoln Financial Group in Radnor, PA. • Focusing on rapid delivery and building on incre- He holds a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from mental success. Excelsior College, Albany, NY. An ASQ senior member, Wagoner is an ASQ-certified quality engineer and a • Not avoiding difficult conversations. former Baldrige National Quality Award examiner. • Emphasizing leadership’s role in every project. • Saying no to clients when necessary. RIZWAN KHAN is vice president of continuous improve- • Leveraging HR executives to help navigate internal ment at Lincoln Financial Group. He holds a master’s politics. degree in accounting from Kansas State University in Manhattan and a master’s degree in finance from • Deeply understanding the business and issues. Penn State University in State College, PA. Khan also The approach has evolved and the credibility of the is a graduate of the Kellogg Advanced Management Program at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. An CIOD team has been greatly enhanced by leveraging ASQ member, Khan is a Villanova University-certified Master Black Belt, a CPA and a Pritchett Associates-certified mergers and these factors. acquisitions integration specialist.

30 QP • www.qualityprogress.com Do you know someone who wants to advance their career?

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TRAINING CERTIFICATION CONFERENCES MEMBERSHIP PUBLICATIONS The Global Voice of QualityTM Being Smart About Parts Performing gage R&R studies with baseline information by Nathaniel T. Stevens, Stefan H. Steiner and R. Jock MacKay

IT WAS LUNCHTIME, I was hungry, and so of course the phone rang. “Hey, it’s John from the foundry. How are you? We haven’t talked in a while.” In 50 Words Or Less John is a process engineer in a casting and machining • Gage repeatability and plant that is a supplier to automotive original equipment reproducibility (R&R) studies can be used to manufacturers. He is prone to encountering statistical emer- assess the adequacy of a measurement system. gencies. • Using freely available production data can “I’m good. How are you?” I asked. drastically improve the estimation of R&R “Fine,” he said. “I’ve got a little problem for you. I was and hence reduce the 1 number of parts and reading QP the other day and found an article that said we measurements needed should do our gage R&Rs (repeatability and reproducibility for the assessment study. studies) with only five parts instead of 10. So this morning, that’s what we did: We measured five parts, six times each.” STATISTICS

Headline Goes In This Area Deck goes here by Author Name

In 50 Words FIRST THREE WORDS are Vectora Bold 18 pt all Or Less cap. Ullamet iustrud dipit nulla alit nonsecte modolenibh eum • Text for 50 words or at, quat. Ibh eui ea faccumsan henim atue magna faccum quat. less is Vectora Roman 9 on 11 with hanging Odolortio odo dolor alit ipis at, con utatuer ad tat luptatumsan indents. • Text for 50 words or enissecte molendrem iriure er acil eu feum eummolobor iurem less is Vectora Roman 9 on 11 with hanging er sim quatet illa facidunt wisi. indents. Gait nullam quat. Ut inibh ero ex exerostrud tat nos autet ex • Text for 50 words or less is Vectora Roman ea feugiat iusto consed tatie dolorper iril utat etueraessis ex 9 on 11 with hanging indents. eugiamc onulpute modoloreet lum augueril dit vulputem venit, • Text for 50 words or sit nulput ut voloborper illa feum vendrer cincipi sisit, conse less is Vectora Roman 9 on 11 with hanging erciduis dolorperos nulputpatum dolor iusto odolore rciniat, indents. se venis ad dunt lum ip ea facidunt ea am, veleniam volortinit

2 QP • www.qualityprogress.com March 2015 • QP 33 “How many operators?” I asked. make adjustments occasionally. The data are record- “Only one. This gage is automated so operators ed and plotted automatically. How can that help?” he don’t have any effect,” he answered. “Anyway, I just questioned. did the analysis and the R&R was 34%. You remember “Can you email me with the past 100 measure- R&R is supposed to be less than 30% for the gage to ments, plus the data from this morning’s R&R study? be acceptable. Last time we did the assessment in the I think we can improve your estimate of the R&R standard way, and the gage was fine. So do you think without any extra work for you. After I get the data, we made a mistake using only five parts? Have you I’ll get back to you.” got any suggestions?” “OK. I’ll send it right away,” John answered. “But Because I was missing my lunch, I decided to have I don’t understand what statistical trick you are try- a little fun. Hungry statisticians have an odd sense of ing to play. Don’t forget I might need to explain what humor. you’re doing to my manager and our auditor. Can you “Why not do the study over? Maybe you’ll get get back to me this afternoon? Otherwise, I think lucky,” I suggested. we’ll repeat the entire study with 10 parts so the gage “But should I use five or 10 parts? If I use only five will be acceptable.” parts, I’ll get the same answer, won’t I? And what do “Fine,” I said, realizing that I had just agreed to you mean by lucky?” he asked suspiciously. missing lunch. “Always nice talking with you.” “Well, if you repeat the five-part study, the R&R could easily change by 10 percentage points in ei- Exchange of emails ther direction. So if you’re lucky, the R&R in the new John’s email arrived. study will be less than 30%, and the gage is good to “Thanks for your help with this. Here is the data go,” I said, answering the last question first. from that R&R study and the last 100 measurements “Ten percent change? That can’t be right. You stat- as you requested. All measurements are taken from isticians are always causing trouble. Why can’t you nominal, so some are negative. As always, we’re in a be more like an engineer and just give me a method rush. We were supposed to get this done last week. that works? With my luck, I’ll do the study over and Talk with you soon.” See Tables 1A and 1B for the the gage will look even worse. Give me something data included in the email. certain,” John complained. I replied shortly after in an email: “Ten percentage point difference,” I corrected “Here’s a quick analysis. I think you’ll like the re- him. “Here’s an idea: Do the five-part study over, but sult. Remember R&R is the ratio of the repeatability carefully select two small castings and three large variation divided by the total process variation. We castings to measure. This will inflate the total varia- estimate the repeatability variation from the five-part tion and make the R&R smaller,” I suggested face- study as you did this morning. Here is part of the tiously. output using the gage R&R study (crossed) menu in “We can’t do that. You’re supposed to select the Minitab2 (see Table 2). parts to represent current production,” he replied. “So the estimate of the repeatability standard “Just testing to see whether you’re paying atten- deviation is √0.06446=0.254. We estimate the tion. How about putting each part in the fixture, overall process variability using the 100 parts to and just hit the switch to measure it six times. That represent current production, just as you said on should reduce the repeatability a lot,” I said. the phone. The standard deviation of these base- “No way! You spent a long time in that measure- line measurements is 0.963. The estimated R&R is 0.254 ment systems short course convincing us that the fix- 0.963  100 = 26% so the measurement system is turing was part of the measurement system. I’d never acceptable, according to your standard. I assume get away with that. Stop fooling around and give me you made no adjustments to the process while some useful answers. I’m busy, you know!” John said. measuring the 100 parts. “OK. What is the gage used for?” I asked, knowing I’ll send a follow-up report with more explanation the fun was over. later. I’m guessing that now you won’t have to miss “Process control. We measure every sixth part and your golf game (just a little joke).”

34 QP • www.qualityprogress.com STATISTICS

‘You statisticians are always causing trouble. Why can’t you be more like an engineer and just give me a method that works?’

Reporting out The report continued. “Here we assume that there A follow-up report, titled “Planning and Analysis of are no operator effects for the measurement system Gage R&R Studies With Baseline Information,” was being assessed.”3 written. The executive summary and recommenda- 1. The gage repeatability  is the ratio of two standard r tions included: deviations. That is,  = in which r represents t • Standard gage R&R studies can be improved by in- the variability in the output if the same part is mea-

cluding freely available production data. sured repeatedly, and t represents the variabil- • Gage studies produce an estimate of the true R&R ity in the output when several parts are measured subject to sampling error. once. The goal of the assessment study is to esti-

• We recommend using 100 baseline measurements mate  by estimating r and t . The better we can to represent current production and an assessment estimate these two standard deviations, the better plan with three parts and at least 10 repeated mea- we can estimate the gage repeatability  . surements. 2. Suppose you have available baseline data from • Training is available. recent routine use of the measurement system. We

Repeatability and reproducibility study data / TABLE 1A

Repeat number Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 –0.477 –0.5295 –0.091 –0.3401 –0.6264 –0.2063 2 –0.1639 –0.6838 –0.492 –0.3063 0.0164 –0.0462 3 –1.3168 –0.8991 –1.2699 –1.5244 –1.034 –1.0203 4 0.6726 0.9742 0.4388 0.6442 0.9991 0.7584 5 –0.5716 –0.5688 –1.3187 –0.5182 –0.5771 –1.0161

Baseline data / TABLE 1B

–0.6361 0.9101 0.8607 0.5828 –0.4783 -0.0749 –0.6322 0.2489 –0.8901 0.241 –0.2871 –0.1864 –0.0648 0.1072 0.4601 –0.9693 –0.4432 –0.6032 0.9359 -0.1582 0.3547 –0.5578 0.2224 –2.1455 –1.3263 0.1094 0.0774 –0.8912 –0.0025 1.0559 –1.1014 –0.0912 0.9839 1.2873 –0.9821 –0.5467 –0.1289 0.291 –0.9965 -0.8421 –0.7664 –1.3994 –1.3912 0.3893 2.0291 –1.08 –0.9206 1.9959 0.3852 -0.5285 0.8153 –0.3306 0.4611 0.1425 –1.9489 –1.1618 0.4667 –0.2229 0.7991 -2.3185 –1.486 –0.9235 0.7156 –0.1898 –1.4444 1.5989 –1.0595 –0.6119 –0.7437 -0.2346 –2.6045 1.8591 –1.1152 –1.0762 –0.324 –0.0645 0.2632 –0.9603 –0.2483 -0.1583 –1.9074 0.5709 0.5294 –0.2713 0.7938 –0.4963 1.0401 –2.7395 –0.4853 -1.2344 –0.1868 0.8008 –0.8258 0.4118 –0.5721 –0.2509 0.154 1.1644 –1.6386 1.3121

March 2015 • QP 35 can get an estimate of t by finding the standard 7. There are substantial benefits to including base- deviation of these measurements, as in the exam- line information in the analysis. Suppose we ple. We call this the simple method. This estimate regard the Automotive Industry Action Group8 is much better than that from the usual estimate threshold of 0.3 as a decision limit. If we obtain from a standard five or 10-part plan. a value of  ˆ (we put a “hat” on  to indicate we 3. We can do even better by combining the infor- get an estimate, not the actual value of ), which

mation on t from the baseline and the standard is less than 0.3, we will say the measurement sys- plan, although the calculations become more ob- tem is acceptable. If  ˆ is larger than 0.3, we will scure.4,5 say the measurement system is unacceptable. The 4. We use the repeated measurements on the parts perfect plan would produce an estimate  ˆ that is

to estimate r . The five-part, six-repeated mea- less than 0.3 whenever  is less than 0.3 and great- surements plan gives the same information about er than 0.3 when  is greater than 0.3. 9 r as it would have had we measured one part 31 In line with the earlier QP article, we used simu- times. So, we can use fewer parts in the assess- lation to investigate the probability of accepting the ment plan when we use the baseline data to esti- measurement system (that is, the probability that  ˆ <

mate t . We recommend using two or three parts 0.3 ). We generated data from a baseline and various in the gage R&R study and measuring each part 15 assessment plans for varying values of . For each , or 10 times, respectively. we generated 10,000 data sets, found  ˆ and calculat-

5. We combine the estimates of t (from point No. 2 ed the proportion of time that  ˆ < 0.3. We used three

or No. 3 earlier in this list) with the estimate of r different plans with two methods of analysis for the (from point 4) to get the estimate of . If we use plan that uses the baseline data: the simple method, we can substitute the estimate • Ten parts, six repeated measurements per part.10 11 of t as a known historical value in the options of • Five parts, six repeated measurements per part. the Minitab6 routine gage R&R study (crossed) to • Three parts, 10 repeated measurements per part +

get the results. 100 baseline measurements, estimate of t based 6. The five-part study, as recommended by authors in solely on the baseline (simple method). the QP article you mentioned,7 has too few parts to • Three parts, 10 repeated measurements per part

produce a precise estimate of t and hence of . + 100 baseline measurements, estimate of t us- For your data, the standard error of the estimate ing the baseline and assessment study data (maxi- (a measure of the precision) is 0.106. This is why mum likelihood method). I said the estimate could easily vary by 10 percent- Figure 1 shows the results. We see as the over- age points if the five-part study was repeated. When all number of parts increases, the probability the the baseline data are included, the standard error measurement system is acceptable approaches of the estimate is reduced to 0.044. that of the perfect plan. The best plan is one in which baseline data are included. We also note the superiority of the three-part plan with 100 base- One-way ANOVA table / TABLE 2 line parts over the 10-part plan, which has twice the number of repeated measurements. Using the Source DF SS MS F P freely available baseline data means we can carry Part 4 12.3801 3.09502 48.0119 0.000 out a smaller and cheaper assessment plan with Repeatability 25 1.6116 0.06446 better results. Total 29 13.9917 Figure 1 also demonstrates the difference between the simple and maximum likelihood methods ANOVA = analysis of variance DF = degrees of freedom in the plan using a baseline.12 SS = sum of squares MS = mean square The maximum likelihood method is better when F = (found variation of the group averages)/ (expected variation of the group averages)  is near the 0.3 threshold, but given the ease and P = p-value. The probability of obtaining a test statistic at least as extreme as good properties of the simple method, it is a viable the one that was actually observed, assuming the null hypothesis is true. alternative.

36 QP • www.qualityprogress.com STATISTICS

Use what’s freely available Different R&R sizes with Many practitioners can sympathize with the problem / FIGURE 1 John faced. When conducting a measurement system various study designs assessment study, we want as precise an estimate of 1.0 the true R&R as possible so we can correctly decide 0.9 whether the measurement system is acceptable. We 0.8 are, however, faced with cost and time constraints 0.7 that restrict the number of parts and repeated mea- 0.6 surements that can be used in the study.13 By incorporating freely available production mea- 0.5 surements (baseline data), we can reduce the num- 0.4 ber of parts in the study to two or three and still ob- 0.3 tain a better estimate of the R&R than we would have 0.2 otherwise. Pr (estimate gage R&R < 30%) 0.1 To avoid bias, we must ensure the baseline data reflect the current manufacturing and measurement 0.0 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 processes. In the analysis, we assume the process True gage R&R and measurement system is stable for the time inter- Note: This figure represents the probability of accepting a measurement system val that covers both the baseline data and the gage by repeatability and reproducibility (R&R) size with various study designs. R&R study. To address this issue, we suggest check- • The dotted blue line represents 10 parts with six repeated measurements. • The broken blue line represents five parts with six repeated measurements. ing for stability in the baseline data. • The solid blue line represents three parts with 10 repeated measurements + We have focused on estimating the R&R metric. If 100 baseline parts, maximum likelihood method. interest lies in estimating other measurement system • The solid green line represents three parts with 10 repeated measurements + 100 baseline parts, simple method. 14 criteria, such as the precision-to-tolerance ratio, • The solid red line represents the perfect plan. which do not involve the overall variation t , there is no value in the baseline data. 13. Aguirre-Torres, “Parts of the Process,” see reference 1. The example in this article uses 100 baseline mea- 14. AIAG, Measurement Systems Analysis, see reference 8. surements. In another article, Nathaniel T. Stevens 15. Stevens, “Gauge R&R Studies That Incorporate Baseline Information,” see reference 3. and co-authors demonstrate that substantial improvements in precision can be realized with as few as 60 baseline measurements, and even better gains are realized for a larger number of parts. They also NATHANIEL T. STEVENS is a research assistant at the show that incorporating baseline information is ben- University of Waterloo in Ontario. He holds a doctorate 15 in statistics from the University of Waterloo. He is an eficial when there are multiple operators. QP ASQ member.

REFERENCES AND NOTE 1. Victor M. Aguirre-Torres and Maria Teresa Lopez-Alvarez, “Parts of the Process,” Quality Progress, June 2013, pp. 34-39. 2. Minitab Inc., Minitab Statistical Software, release 16, 2013. 3. Nathaniel T. Stevens, Stefan H. Steiner, Ryan P. Browne and R. Jock STEFAN H. STEINER is a professor at the University of MacKay, “Gauge R&R Studies That Incorporate Baseline Information,” Waterloo. He holds a doctorate in management sci- IIE Transactions, 2013, Vol. 45, No. 11, pp. 1,166-1,175. ence/systems from McMaster University in Hamilton, 4. Ibid. Ontario. He is co-author of Statistical Engineering: An 5. For more information on planning and analyzing a gage R&R study that Algorithm for Reducing Variation in Manufacturing Pro- incorporates baseline data, software with instructions to perform the cesses (ASQ Quality Press, 2005). He is an ASQ fellow. calculations is available at www.bisrg.uwaterloo.ca. 6. Minitab Inc., Minitab Statistical Software, see reference 2. 7. Aguirre-Torres, “Parts of the Process,” see reference 1. 8. Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG), Measurement Systems Analy- R. JOCK MACKAY is a retired associate professor from sis, fourth edition, AIAG, 2010. University of Waterloo. He holds a doctorate in sta- 9. Aguirre-Torres, “Parts of the Process,” see reference 1. tistics from the University of Toronto. He is co-author 10. AIAG, Measurement Systems Analysis, see reference 8. of Statistical Engineering: An Algorithm for Reducing 11. Aguirre-Torres, “Parts of the Process,” see reference 1. Variation in Manufacturing Processes (ASQ Quality 12. Stefan H. Steiner and R. Jock MacKay, Statistical Engineering: An Algo- Press, 2005). He is an ASQ member. rithm for Reducing Variation in Manufacturing Processes, ASQ Quality Press, 2005.

March 2015 • QP 37 Better Together Combining process flow with quality by Richard J. Schonberger

In 50 Words FOUR DECADES AGO, process improvement was in Or Less the doldrums. A global bright spot was Japan, which contributed • Many organizations are unable to successfully an impressive menu of original, borrowed, and adapted concepts merge quality and pro- and practices to quality thinking. cess flow, which results in suboptimal improve- One set of practices, grouped under the quality umbrella, ment. • Revisiting a previ- has gone by evolving labels, including statistical process control ous case study dem- (SPC), total quality control (TQC), companywide quality control, onstrates how flow solutions seem to make total quality management and Six Sigma. some quality implemen- tations—particularly A second improvement regime, focusing on process flow, mi- expensive ones—un- grated westward in the early 1980s as just-in-time (JIT) production necessary. • In many instances, flow and was later renamed lean manufacturing. Its scope expanded methods should pre- cede quality solutions. and it became known as lean management. Early on, JIT was com- monly linked as JIT/TQC and then much later as lean Six Sigma.1 PROCESS MANAGEMENT

March 2015 • QP 39 Despite the merging that has taken place, two largely and although the product was seen as a marketing suc- distinct core methods remain: the quality sciences on cess, it was headed toward being a financial failure. Out- one hand and flow methods on the other, each with its side quality assurance (QA) expertise was brought in to own separate community of professionals. address these quality issues by applying an array of core In critically examining a previous case study that quality methods, such as SPC, and advanced ones, such as focused only on quality methods,2 this article supports variation transmission analysis (VTA). The results, though the idea that separation into quality and flow camps impressive, were limited by equipment and other obstacles. can—and often does—lead to suboptimal results. For The full process for producing the pork products is the sake of more effective process improvement, each shown in Figure 1 (adapted from the case study). The camp needs to broaden its skill sets to be adept at under- precook process stages, numbered one through four, are standing and fixing processes through quality and flow in a separate but adjacent facility. Called the donor plant, methods combined. it operates as a conventional meat-packing facility, delivering intermittent batches of cut pork to the production Meat industry case study plant, numbers five through 10. I was drawn to an interesting case study, “Responsibility More specifically, in stage five an injection machine for Product Quality Problems in Sequential Manufactur- inserts marinade into each pork piece. Next (stage six), ing: A Case Study From the Meat Industry,” published in colored powder is hand-sprinkled onto pork pieces to January 2011’s Quality Management Journal.3 As I read impart a golden color when the meat is cooked. it, I decided that had I still been teaching in a university, I Batches of color-sprinkled meats go onto trolleys into would require my students to study it carefully. the oven (stage seven) for about two hours of cooking, The article centered on an Oban Foods facility in Scot- then directly into an intensive chiller (stage eight). After land, which produced partially cooked and frozen pork reaching 0˚ C, each chilled piece is weighed, visually in- products sold to grocers and fast-food restaurants. The spected for flaws and packed with others into size-one case study described daunting quality and yield prob- or size-two bags (stage nine) that go into cold storage for lems plaguing the plant. Among them were uncontrolled later shipment (stage 10). variation in cooking times, high weight losses that were As described in the original case study, a quality con- compounded as the product passed through problematic sultant had teamed up with Oban’s own staff to conduct process stages, failure to meet weight specifications for detailed quality analyses throughout the process stages. two different customer-focused weight ranges, and over- The case study presented 23 graphical figures, plus three aging issues related to off-spec weights and sizes. tables, including: Process defects totaled more than $250,000 per year, • P-charts and x-bar and S charts of product weights and

Cooked-pork production process / FIGURE 1 Donor plant: Carcasses to cut pork pieces 1 2 3 4 Receiving Deboning, 100% Storage and trimming inspection storing and carcasses cutting

Production plant: Process stages 5 6 7 8 9 10 Injecting Applying Cooking Intensive Weighing, Cold marinade color chilling inspecting storage and and distribution packing

40 QP • www.qualityprogress.com PROCESS MANAGEMENT

The food and beverage sector, while strongly concerned about quality, appears to be well behind most industries in embracing flow management.

rejects at various process stages and in combination. flows through Oban’s production stages. • Rejects before and after process changes. One disclosure appeared early in the case study: • Relationships among rejects, target weight and stan- “Usually, a cooking batch consists of four trolleys or 480 dard deviation of actual finished weight. portions [five trays per trolley x 24 portions per tray x • Scatter plots of weights between pairs of consecutive four trolleys], as the maximum number of trolleys that processes. can be loaded into the cooker is four.” The three tables, each subdivided by process stage, Batching directly opposes the flow ideal of one-piece- provided product specifications, improvements made to at-a-time processing—and here the batches were enor- reduce variation in product weight and decomposition. mous. Moreover, flow calls for right-sized equipment,5 as These graphs and tables were centerpieces in the case opposed to huge apparatuses (or “monuments,” in the study’s discussion of steps taken at Oban that followed the parlance of the flow community) that are designed for scientific method—a sequential and iterative improvement processing large quantities. process in which potential causes were subjected to mea- Although not mentioning smaller ovens cooking surement (including process capability), plotting, inspec- smaller batches, the case study did describe problems tion, conclusions and, when indicated, corrective action. with the large oven: Because it blew hot air from the top Through these steps the QA expert-assisted project down the sides of the oven with colder air coming back team reduced total finished product rejects from more up from the center, “there was a 7˚ C difference between than 22% to less than 7%. Further improvement, the ar- the [hotter] bottom and [cooler] top of the oven.” ticle concluded, “Could only be achieved by undertaking This temperature gradient was found to contribute experimentation with alternate cooking cycles or replac- to variation in end weights of cooked pork pieces. Bet- ing the current oven with a better one that cooks the ter roasting ovens, the case study noted, provide more products more uniformly.” uniform heat throughout by blowing the hot air from the The analysis stopped short of such further improve- sides, but those ovens “are more expensive.” ment, perhaps because the outside professional was hired Presumably, that assumed a similar “monument- specifically for QA studies. The case study, while describ- sized” oven. The standard flow solution would be to ing detailed statistical analyses, also included information acquire multiple smaller, cheaper ovens for cooking suggestive of efficacious flow-oriented solutions. smaller batches. Multiple ovens would allow concur- That Oban did not actually consider flow solutions rent cooking of different weights, sizes and ages of pork seems unsurprising because the food and beverage sector, pieces, thus reducing uncontrolled variation of cooking while strongly concerned about quality, appears to be well times and gaining greater uniformity of heat flow. Some behind most industries in embracing flow management.4 ovens might be set to cook faster for smaller cuts; others more slowly for larger ones. Toward flow solutions Multiple ovens could enable a customer-oriented Five actions appear well suited for changing disrup- specification set by marketing: a 75:25 ratio of two fin- tive process flows at Oban toward the flow ideal of ished weight ranges—75% of size one weighing 1,200 to single-piece processing: small lots (batches), right- 1,350 grams; and 25% of size two weighing 1,340 to 1,450 sized equipment, quick setup or dedicated (no-setup) grams. That ratio might suggest, for example, four ovens, processes, JIT deliveries from suppliers, and product- three dedicated to size one and one to size two. focused work cells with one-to-one internal flows. Each This scheme could mitigate chronic tendencies: pro- action follows from case study disclosures about balky ducing the wrong ratio of sizes leading to lost sales for

March 2015 • QP 41 lack of customer-preferred product sizes, and also to over- ovens could be scheduled to cook in a round-robin JIT se- stocks, which Oban dealt with as follows: “Because of the quence, such as within an hour of when the pork arrives— product’s short shelf life, excess product was often sold soon enough to make drip losses negligible. below cost to the company’s staff.” A shutoff timer on each oven could prevent delays in removing product from the oven that can reduce average Avoiding problems and defects product weight. That error rarely occurred, but when it A second disclosure noted the production plant had did, “it led to a huge number of rejects due to underweight been ordering meat from the donor plant in larger quan- and a disproportionate number of [size-one product].” tities than needed because: The case study did not say how frequently the donor 1. Sometimes, the donor plant was unable to deliver the plant delivered meat to cook and freeze. If delivery was full quantity ordered. in large (for example, one-day) batches, a flow regimen 2. Some donor meat did not meet weight or other quality would end that practice, replaced with forwarding small specifications and was returned to the donor plant. quantities of fresher pork pieces by simple conveyance, 3. Oban needed to make up for probable quality losses in perhaps hourly or more often. later process stages. In the meat industry, unfrozen, unpackaged meat in Cellular production storage loses weight—called drip loss. At Oban, this was Oban’s production process, after receipt of donor meat, found to be as high as 10% if held for four days. Magnify- was labeled in Figure 1 as operations five through 10. If, ing the losses, cook batches were formed of different ages in this six-stage process, cooking was done in multiple of donor meat, leading to out-of-control postprocessing smaller ovens, the door opens to another flow basic: cel- weights. lular production,6 in which the single production sequence As a fix, the QA team established new requirements: is transformed into multiple cellular clusters, each with its Batches could no longer include pork more than one own full or partial complement of equipment. day old and couldn’t be made up of a variety of ages and For example, one cell, dedicated to size two, could weight. These new requirements together reduced weight have its own injection machine, table for coloring, oven variation by 49%. for cooking and perhaps its own intensive chiller—a The QA team’s data analysis resulted in reduction of total small-capacity fast-freeze unit right-sized for small-batch finished product rejects to less than 7%, and rejects attribut- cellular production. Other cells, similarly equipped, could able to overweight or underweight product to 2.4%. Figure 2 be dedicated to size one. shows the progression of these improvements, which were In cellular production, it is sometimes prudent for a sin- developed by the QA team over four months and are shown gle piece of equipment to be shared. For example, the cells to the right of the solid blue vertical line. might share the present intensive chiller—modified with These were good solutions, but the flow solution of designated, easy-access shelves so size-one and size-two smaller ovens would likely yield even better results. The products can be separately timed: a shorter chill for the smaller size-one product, longer for size-two. This would allow for maintaining the kind of clocklike schedule com- Improvements / FIGURE 2 monly sought under flow. 0.3 Following the shared chiller, the chilled pieces could branch out again in the cell format for weigh and pack, 0.25 with scales calibrated (go/no-go zones on the scales’ dials) 0.2 for proper weights, with each pack station stocked with 0.15 only the proper-sized bag. Finally, packed bags of meat would go into a storage cooler—presumably sharing the 0.1 existing large-capacity cooler. 0.05 Being hypothetical, this discussion does not delve into Percentage of rejects 0 the availability and costs of smaller, more focused equip- Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. March April May June July Aug. ment. Speculatively, however, the cost of two or a few small Total rejects Over-/underweight rejects ovens might be no more than the cost for the large model in

42 QP • www.qualityprogress.com PROCESS MANAGEMENT

use at Oban. Small ovens are likely to have simpler controls, cause of being narrowly product-focused. heaters, fans and power sources, for example. • Easy—to operate, maintain and ensure quality. The same may or may not apply to injection machines Considering the Oban Foods case study in two different and intensive chillers. If economical, however, the ultimate ways supports the contention that process improvement cellular design would have each cell equipped with its own might be encumbered by the tendency of many organizations injection machine, color-sprinkle table, oven, intensive to separate champions of quality and advocates of flow: chiller, and weigh and pack stations. 1. The way reported in the case study, in which impressive quality-science methods considerably improved Compounded variation festering quality deficiencies. Figure 2 shows impressive reductions in rejects—off-spec, 2. The other, likely to yield even better results, by using end-product weights—attained by the QA team through best-practice solutions in flow management. data analysis and changes in the production process. Fur- It would seem, however, that Oban’s best course of ther analysis spoke to variation in weights, particularly action should have included both approaches, but for op- the compounding effects of early-stage variation on down- timal results, perhaps flow should have had precedence. stream stages. Being implemented first, the flow solutions would have The statistical method used for this, VTA,7 included col- resolved many of the most serious root causes, while sim- lecting and plotting sampling data on variation of product plifying conditions for application of the kinds of quality- weights from stage to stage—visually assisted in the case science methods presented in the case study. study with the aid of five figures and a table. While there could be a principle here—flow solutions The VTA analysis did not result in further improve- before quality sciences—one case study is not convincing ments. Rather, it clarified within Oban that further quality evidence. It seems safe to say, however, that for the ma- improvements would depend on more integrated product jority of severe quality problems, corrective action should and process designs involving joint efforts by marketing, include flow solutions and not just quality science. product design, process design and operations. For that to happen, organizations must put more effort That call for integrated planning and processing also into merging the two disciplines, and the professionals in may be seen as lending further support for advocacy of each camp must broaden themselves so that rather than flow solutions because cells, each focused on its own set working separately, they can engage as members of a team of product specifications with short time intervals be- for maximum process improvement. QP tween process stages, have highly integrative effects. REFERENCES AND NOTE 1. Lean and JIT have been around long enough to have taken on various mean- Flow and the pursuit of quality ings or interpretations. Flow has emerged as an alternative term that has the advantage of providing a mental image of the desired movement along the The flow solutions discussed in this article have quicker value chains. stage-to-stage flows as a dominant objective and result. 2. Venkateswarlu Pulakanam, “Responsibility for Product Quality Problems in Sequential Manufacturing: A Case Study From the Meat Industry,” Quality Man- Equally important, quick flow minimizes the number of agement Journal, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 7-22. 3. Ibid. process variables, thus reducing process variation, sim- 4. Richard J. Schonberger, “Can Lean Manufacturing Find Its Way in Packaged plifying quality trace-back and minimizing the number of Goods?” Target, second issue, 2011, pp.19-24. 5. Right-sizing definition: Matching tooling and equipment to the job and space product items in the total flow and, therefore, the damage requirements of lean production, right-sizing is a process that challenges the complexity of equipment by examining how the equipment fits into an overall when a product disaster occurs. vision for workflow through a factory. When possible, right-sizing favors smaller, As applied to the meat and other fresh-food sectors, dedicated machines rather than large, multipurpose batch processing ones. Source: Quality Glossary, Quality Progress, June 2007, p. 55. such quickness translates as greater product freshness 6. Richard J. Schonberger, “The Quality Dividend of Cellular Manufacturing.” ASQ and longer shelf-life availability. Seattle Section Newsletter, January 2003, p. 7. 7. J.F. Lawless, R. Jock MacKay and J.A. Robinson, “Analysis of Variation Transmis- A further advantage is obtained from flow’s mandate sion in Manufacturing Processes−Part I,” Journal of Quality Technology, Vol. 3, No. 2, 1999, pp. 131-142. for right-sized equipment. That means: • Small—for small batches. RICHARD J. SCHONBERGER is an independent researcher, author and speaker with offices in Bellevue, WA. He • In multiples—for each of the product models. holds a doctorate in business-operations management • Slow—each model-dedicated equipment unit running and information systems from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. He is an ASQ senior member and the author close to the product’s market use rate. of Best Practices in Lean Six Sigma Process Improve- ment (Wiley, 2008). • Simple—in number of components and controls be-

March 2015 • QP 43 INNOVATION IMPERATIVE BY PETER MERRILL Lead Role Essential attributes for those leading innovation efforts

LAST YEAR IN this column, I wrote a chief executive at a major U.K. corpo- The entrepreneur is a self-promoter. about the innovation leader’s job from ration. I have been through the school This is a necessary attribute for an entre- a team perspective.1 Now let’s focus on of hard knocks. Today, I find myself to preneur, but not the only one. This must three personal attributes for innovation be an entrepreneur enabler—I applaud be tempered with the recognition and leaders: entrepreneurship, being an ex- the work of people like Michael Young, collaboration with colleagues. plorer and the ability to move fast. a well-known social entrepreneuer.2 All I have a strong aversion to the concept There’s a lot of interest in entrepre- entrepreneurs are driven, and I have dis- of the “Dragon’s Den” or “Shark Tank” neurship, which is tied to interest in covered that my desire for independence reality TV shows, which pit people with innovation. Universities offer combined was my driver as an entrepreneur. good, new ideas, but limited negotiating courses in innovation and entrepreneur- As you probably know, the innovation experience against people with extensive ship. However, the two activities are defi- process breaks into two phases: negotiation experience. Good for TV, but nitely different. They are complementary, 1. A creative phase in which an opportu- bad for the country. but different. Key facets of any innovator nity is seen and a solution is developed. What is for the greater good of the are focus, creativity and teamwork. 2. An execution phase in which a working country is what matters. We know strong Contrary to popular belief, neither solution is developed and commercial- collaboration is fundamental to innova- Thomas Edison nor Steve Jobs were inno- ized. tive success. Robbing the poor to pay the vators—they were far more entrepreneurs. In truth, the opportunity seen by the rich is not a business ethic we should Edison did not invent the light bulb, and entrepreneur is more often financial. For promote. I am not comfortable with this. Jobs did not invent the MP3. They both the innovator, it’s about a new way of do- Shameless theft should not be accepted saw great ideas and built the infrastruc- ing something. nor applauded. tures for them to have value. Creative people are often poor at No individual will have all the at- commercializing their ideas. They are tributes to be both an entrepreneur and Entrepreneurship passionate about their idea and often will an innovator. This is why I come back to I have always been an entrepreneur at give up everything for their idea. They the importance of collaboration between heart from when I ran my first business— often do not manage money well and will those who are primarily innovators and handling a market stand—to becoming sell their souls to the devil to see their those who are primarily entrepreneurs. idea reach fruition. Innovation To succeed, an innovator at some point Being an explorer must become an entrepreneur or partner Clearly, entrepreneurial ability is a vital process / FIGURE 1 with an entrepreneur. Unfortunately, attribute, and that means a willingness entrepreneurs often become leaders as to take risks. This leads to the second a result of their financial skills. We have attribute of the innovator, which is also 2. Solution seen this lead to businesses’ demise when risk based: the willingness to explore 1. Opportunity the entrepreneur and the innovator have and take a team into the unknown. This different objectives. An example is the means building trust in the team. It does Innovation split between Jobs and Steve Wozniak. not mean having a vision. process Good entrepreneurs are risk takers, At the start of my project to write ISO but they are also good money managers. 10018 Quality management—Guide- 4. Delivery 3. Development They calculate risk and act accordingly. lines on people involvement and compe- Frequently, they are not committed to the tence, one of the team members asked me idea. When a business reaches a certain what my vision would be for the finished size, they will sell it for financial gain. standard. I answered that I had no idea

44 QP • www.qualityprogress.com and that the finished standard would customer. For a manufactured product, Leaders depend on the team, not me. for example, 3-D printing has become a / FIGURE 2 I had a clear objective, but that is huge asset here. connecting different. That objective was that I was The internal looping in Figure 1 shows tasked by the International Organization how we must constantly test. A critical job of Standardization with developing a for any leader is to ensure this happens. standard that would enable organizations The leader must stay close to the team and Organization to involve their people more closely in close to the customer. You should expect the operation of a quality management to have a clear identification of custom- system based on ISO 9001. Over time, the ers’ needs—not the solution—in the first product evolved, and the final product couple of months of the project. was designed to meet the needs of the The concepts you place in front of cus- end user. A clear objective or challenge tomers are to stimulate their thinking and is a critical requirement before you and demonstrate what’s possible. In a past life, Team Customer your team start exploring. I worked in the world of fashion. A fashion designer will create a collection, which leaders will say they can get it in 40 min- Mission and process is exactly that: They collect their ideas, utes. As the solution evolves, one more Amazon set the challenge of delivering its and among the ideas will be radical new issue the leader must address is the busi- products more rapidly—hence its pursuit ideas they are testing with their potential ness model for delivering the solution. of using drones for delivery. In the 1960s, customer. This is especially true with cou- John F. Kennedy set the national chal- ture. This way you test and learn through Moving fast lenge of sending a man to the moon and a continuous “what if” process to draw out Throughout all of this activity, speed mat- safely returning him to Earth before the alternatives. It is especially important for ters. This is the third essential attribute end of the decade. the leader to draw in unhappy customers at of the innovation leaders. They have to Having agreed on the challenge, a this early stage of the process. ensure the business leaders and team leader must be close to the team not only As ideas develop, the leader must chal- members understand the need for speed. to ensure all members are aligned with lenge the team. The advantage a leader has Somewhere, someone will have seen the the challenge, but also to draw on ideas is a degree of objectivity, and this enables same customer need you have found and as the journey unfolds. the leader to challenge assumptions. At will probably be working on the same The leader’s job becomes more com- the second stage of conceptual solutions solution. See Figure 2. plex: staying connected to the end goal, or ideation, there will be a lot of assump- Experience shows that 75% of innova- but also staying connected to the parent tions. The leader must ensure the ideas are tion or start-up projects fail to meet objec- organization. This means having a clear collected and challenged. Every assump- tives. This is mainly the result of having process that the team understands and is tion must be tested to find what you don’t a grand, inflexible plan at the start and used regularly as a check and balance for know and what other choices you have. failing to get customer feedback. Fail early the mission. This, again, must engage the customer and be ready to change or, using a fashion- I have described the innovation pro- and will have the advantage of strength- able business term, learn to pivot. QP cess previously in simple terms to help ening the customer relationship. develop understanding. The reality, of As assumptions are tested, the as- REFERENCES 1. Peter Merrill, “Team Sports,” Quality Progress, May 2014, course, is more complex. Figure 1 em- sociated risk will be evaluated. This is pp. 44-46. 2. Bill Bolton and John Thompson, Entrepreneurs: Talent, phasizes the iterative component of the where the leader must connect back to Temperament, Technique, Routledge, 2000. innovation process. the parent organization and ensure the

The first step in the process is to find leadership of the parent fully understands PETER MERRILL is president of Quest the opportunity or unmet customer need. what’s happening. The leader may even Management Systems, an innovation consultancy based in Burlington, On- The second step is to find conceptual have the job of ensuring the organiza- tario. Merrill is the author of several ASQ Quality Press books, including Do solutions. In the real world, we do not tion understands the innovation process. It Right the Second Time, second edi- settle on and select our own preferred This may well be a half-day or one-day tion (2009), and Innovation Generation (2008). He is a member of ASQ and solution. We test the concepts with the in-depth session, even though business chair of the ASQ Innovation Division.

March 2015 • QP 45 MEASURE FOR MEASURE BY DILIP A. SHAH Measuring Device Revolution Who monitors precision in a new world of consumer electronics?

THE ANNUAL CONSUMER Electron- ics Show (CES) in Las Vegas is inspiring, with a lot of focus on innovation. I’ve attended the show for the past four years. It is one way to get a first look at what consumer products will be available in the future. Personal fitness-tracking wearables, 3-D printers, smartwatches, and home automation and monitoring devices were highly prominent this year. A few years ago, all these technologies were either beyond most people’s budgets or didn’t yet exist. Sensors in these devices measure, report and take appropriate action. The question that kept coming to mind was: “How do we know all these devices measure and monitor vital information

precisely and accurately?” As usual, most AT THE CONSUMER Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year, a replicated 3-D caliper consumers will take the results generated (white) was made from the original caliper parts. by these devices for granted, but if you were monitoring your vital health signs Chances are that printer on the Space Who and what can we trust? for a serious health condition, wouldn’t Station is custom designed, and has been Can we trust the wearable fitness monitor- you be concerned about the accuracy and verified and validated for accuracy and ing device, the part made by the 3-D print- precision of information? precision. er or the home thermostat monitoring the At one booth, I tried two different The 3-D printer industry is now adver- temperature? How can we be sure? models of a fitness band from the same tising its ability to make production parts Previously, articles have been written manufacturer, and the results showed in mass quantities. We are already using about the shortage of metrology person- a difference of seven pulses per minute the data from mass-produced sensors nel to handle future growth and to fill the between the two units. embedded in smartphones and fitness rank and file who are retiring. We have One 3-D printer manufacturer had devices to make decisions. The 3-D print- not even thought about addressing the displayed a plastic working model of a ers can now be bought at an office supply technological revolution about to flood caliper replicated by its printer. Another store as easily as purchasing an inkjet or the consumer and industrial markets with had a working model of a torque wrench laser printer. these new devices. It begs the questions: and a gear box—both requiring the utmost Most of the time, we take for granted • Who calibrates the 3-D printer that is accuracy and precision. These artifacts measurements that affect our everyday making precision parts? were displayed to illustrate 3-D printing lives—pumping gasoline, weighing pro- • Who verifies the mass-produced sen- capabilities. duce at grocery store, telling time and hav- sors used abundantly in the fitness There is a 3-D printer on the Inter- ing cellphone conversations. So, I have no monitoring devices, smartwatches and national Space Station in case a part doubt we will embrace the new technology phones? needs to be replicated in an emergency. with the same faith, but is that wise? • Who certifies the qualifications of those

46 QP • www.qualityprogress.com who verify the 3-D printer and the mass-produced sensors? If a sensor is mass produced, enough of a sample of parts from a production run is likely tested to provide a rea- sonable specification of accuracy and precision. The test method has to be validated before being implemented. The standards used to test the samples must be traceable to the seven base units of measurements from which all other units of measurements are derived, and the measurement uncertainty must be quantified. The testing laboratory should ideally be accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 or an equivalent standard.

The issue of calibration Before a 3-D printer replicates production or sample parts, it should be A CLOSER LOOK at the functional caliper replicated by a 3-D printer with a dimensional scale. calibrated. One way to do so would be How well is the scale replicated in terms of accuracy and precision? to use a verified (traceable and calibrated) standard artifact that is scanned This becomes even more important as interpret them uniformly. and a 3-D file that is created. The 3-D we pursue these new methods of parts The next two Measure for Measure printer then replicates the artifact that is production. columns will discuss measurement verified against the standard artifact for results and measurement uncertainty accuracy and precision. ISO/IEC 17025 and ILAC basics to help facilitate understanding For measurements of repeatability The concepts of metrological traceabil- of calibration and how we can minimize and reproducibility, more than one ity, measurement uncertainty and prob- risks associated with making these mea- replication must be generated by the 3-D ability of false acceptance are embraced surements and using the results. printer to ensure confidence in its ability by ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited In the meantime, we should look for- to reproduce production parts. The wear laboratories. ISO/IEC 17025:2005 is quite ward to all these innovative devices that and tear of the printer must be taken mature at this stage, but will undergo a are supposed to make our lives easier by into account. Different printers use dif- refinement review in 2015. In the interim, monitoring our bodies, homes and per- ferent mediums—metal, powder resin ambiguous requirements in the standard sonal environments. Change is good and or plastic filament, for example—to are being addressed by the International manageable if we understand it. QP replicate parts, so the material variabil- Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation REFERENCE ity must be taken into account. (www.ilac.org) through applicable policy 1. Walter Shewhart, Statistical Methods from the Viewpoint The basics of measurement have and guidance documents. of Quality Control, paperback edition, Dover Publica- tions, 2011. not changed since 1939 when Walter As measurement requirements get Shewhart said, “Both pure and applied pushed further and further, and require- science have gradually pushed further ments for precision and accuracy get and further the requirements for accu- smaller and smaller, measurement DILIP SHAH is president of E = mc3 racy and precision. However, applied sci- practices must be more consistent to Solutions in Medina, OH. He is the past chair of ASQ’s Measurement ence, particularly in the mass production minimize the risks of false measure- Quality Division and past chair of Akron-Canton Section. Shah, an of interchangeable parts, is even more ment acceptance. Providers of calibra- ASQ fellow, is also co-author of The exacting than pure science in certain tion services will need to report these Metrology Handbook (ASQ Quality Press, 2012), an ASQ-certified quality 1 matters of accuracy and precision.” results consistently for consumers to engineer, auditor, calibration technician.

March 2015 • QP 47 QUALITY IN THE FIRST PERSON BY JANE RIPLEY-BLIN Weighing the Risk Leaving the comforts of your current job can be risky

ALMOST A year ago, I decided to make a experiences, a shorter bold career move—to begin a job search commute, more job while in the quality position I had been in flexibility and work-life for the past 18 years. balance. I had little idea where this journey The positives seemed would take me, but I knew I was ready more probable, so I felt for a change—but with change, comes an ready to accept a certain element of risk. amount of assumed risk. Would I have the skills and the adapt- Along with a willing- ability to be successful in a new position ness to accept risk, I also with a different organization? Was it worth wanted to be a role model the risk to start somewhere new when I for my children. I wanted could more comfortably stay put? Would to show them that if you my family and friends support me during want a change in life, it this transition? I had feelings of uncertain- may be worth accepting a certain level of Several months later, a quality posi- ty and doubt, as well as concerns about risk. tion with a reputable global organization potential losses. Conversely, I don’t consider myself a big became available. After several more As these questions swirled in my head, risk-taker. I don’t even like to gamble, but months of waiting, interviewing and back- I had but one prevailing notion—the belief I had weighed the risk in this situation and ground checks, it was with a deep sense that if I’m not willing to take a risk, I am was ready to roll the dice. of gratitude that I was able to accept and also hindering my ability to change and celebrate my new position as a quality grow potentially for the better. In the face of change management coordinator. What were the risks I was willing to I began the process of scanning career I was fortunate that I was hired into a assume, and what was the probability sites, local job boards and navigating my world-class quality organization and that that these would occur? I could end up way through the maze of employment my quality journey was beginning anew. It hating my new job, failing in my new role opportunities to see what career opportu- was difficult to say goodbye to the many or having less job security and growth nities lay beyond the realm of my current colleagues and friends I was leaving, but potential. organization. I knew the risk I was taking was the right one for me. I had little idea where this journey I realized at the end of my journey that if you choose to reside only within the realm would take me, but I knew I was of your own comfort zone, you are not only avoiding risk, but you also are accepting ready for a change. risk—the risk of missing some of life’s greatest challenges, rewards and joys. QP

Many of these risks were in my control I ventured into this great unknown JANE RIPLEY-BLIN is a quality and had a low probability of occur- armed with recently acquired manager of management coordinator for Hewlett Packard in Williston, VT. She has a rence—as long as I considered them quality/organizational excellence and qual- bachelor’s degree in biology from Wheaton College in Norton, MA. A during my job search. ity improvement associate certifications, member of ASQ, Ripley-Blin is an I also had to consider what I stood my years of quality experience and an ASQ-certified manager of quality/ organizational excellence, auditor to potentially gain—valuable new work underlying belief in my quest for change. and quality improvement associate.

48 QP • www.qualityprogress.com 2015 WORLD CONFERENCE ON QUALITY AND IMPROVEMENT TRANSFORMING THE WORLD THROUGH INNOVATION, INSPIRATION, AND LEADERSHIP May 4 – 6, 2015 | Nashville, TN | wcqi.asq.org

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Visit asq.org/wcqi to learn more and get continuous updates leading up to the conference. The Global Voice of QualityTM CAREER CORNER BY ROSEMARIE CHRISTOPHER Commodity or Contributor? STEM workers must be prepared for ‘the project economy’

ACCORDING TO Gallup, 70% of us are • C-suite pressure to comply with com- consultant, 77.8% of employers participat- disengaged at work, costing U.S. organiza- petitive market demands with far fewer ing in the National Association of Colleges tions half a trillion (not a typo) dollars a human resources. and Employers Job Outlook 2015 survey year.1 • General corporate inability to manage chose leadership and the ability to work If you are reading this column, you are a science, technology, engineering and in a team structure as the main attri- most likely one of the 30% of U.S. workers mathematics (STEM) talent shortage. butes they look for most in a candidate’s who are proactively engaged in their work. • Globalization. résumé.2 You are the one who will be retained • The cost of full-time equivalency (FTE) This is not surprising when consider- and promoted by your employer, or you employment created by the Affordable ing more flat organizational structures, are the one actively recruited by former Care Act, 401K and pension plans. project-by-project work assignments bosses or in-house or agency recruiters. • High-tech, work-anywhere 24/7 employ- and generational differences in work Odds are, you are not looking to make a ment models made possible by technol- style—all characteristics of the project job change. ogy. economy. This column is addressed to you, FTE, part-time and contract STEM- because while you are busy making the What is the project economy? educated and experienced professionals bottom line of your organization robust, In this new project economy, face time are key to the success of any project, there are forces that will ultimately catch is overrated. Flex time and flex place are not because of their job titles or senior- up with you. attractive to knowledge workers because ity but because more can be expected of Being unprepared for what is being just-in-time hiring and project-by-project tech savvy subject matter experts holding called “the project economy”—with its work make complete sense to them. higher-skills jobs. project-by-project work and just-in-time At the same time, there is a not-so-ob- So the takeaways for knowledge work- hiring—could radically affect your career vious but real effort on the part of some ers in the new project economy are that progress. entities to commoditize STEM profession- they must consciously and continuously These changes are the result of rap- als. improve their career plan trajectories so idly maturing global markets, exploding The result of making professional that, one professional at a time, they pre- technology, pressures of volatility in the knowledge workers mere commodities vent themselves and their profession from economy and the impact of having almost will exert downward pressure on wages being commoditized. five generations in the workforce. and cause subsequent shrinking of the Three of these generations are and middle class. Today’s desirable attributes will continue to demand adjustments and All these factors offer knowledge work- In résumés or in references, whether they new work delivery formats that reflect ers a brand new way to be engaged, work work as FTEs or as contracted remote movement from outdated industrial-age, fairly independently, enjoy a high quality workers, bosses, peers, direct reports or hierarchical work models to ones that re- of life and add significant value through clients can count them among the 30% of flect, adjust to and respect the new project increased creative productivity. engaged workers for having the following economy’s knowledge workers. What is important for knowledge work- attributes: ers of the 21st century is to use creative • Critical thinking. Streamlines work; The project economy consciousness to plan their careers. active contributor to problem solving. Pieces of the perfect storm that led to the • Is proactive. Determines how the proj- new project economy include: Leadership and teamwork ect or task at hand fits into the bigger • A stubbornly stagnant economy since Regardless of whether you work in a picture. 2008, which is finally showing signs of bricks and mortar establishment or work • Is a confident communicator. Checks recovery. remotely as an FTE, contract worker or in with peers and teammates often, re-

50 QP • www.qualityprogress.com who builds relationships based on trust, Being unprepared for ‘the project can have a meaningful impact on his or her career progression while simultane- economy’ could radically affect ously inspiring project teammates to swell the ranks of the 30% of engaged your career progress. workers. QP

REFERENCES 1. Gallup, State of the American Workplace Report 2014, gardless of whether that is a preferred pacing can unleash real creativity and www.gallup.com/services/178514/state-american- workplace.aspx. work style. productivity in oneself and others. 2. National Association of Colleges and Employers, Job • Is accountable. Earns the department • Demonstrates a positive attitude. Outlook 2015, www.naceweb.org/surveys/job-outlook. aspx. and organization’s trust, and that trust Understands what is meant by servant is returned by the department and leadership; expresses gratitude for the ROSEMARIE CHRISTOPHER is an organizational communications organization. opportunity to contribute and work consultant and the president and CEO of MEIRxRS, a family of • Shows good judgment. Values com- with talented team members. science, technology, engineering pliance, but is not afraid of disruption • Listens. Being present to others and math recruitment and staffing organizations in Glendale, CA. when change is necessary. means being open, flexible, approach- Christopher also consults organiza- able and willing to really hear others. tions on effective communication within their workforce. • Possesses work-life balance. She has a master’s degree in communication management Respects their own and others’ quality We have reached the enviable position from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Christopher is an ASQ member and chair of the ASQ Food, of life and knows taking time off and where an engaged knowledge worker, Drug and Cosmetic Division.

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March 2015 • QP 51 STATISTICS ROUNDTABLE BY CHRISTINE M. ANDERSON-COOK Impactful Presentations Ideas for effective communication of statistical results

RECENTLY, I FOUND myself in an all- of information is expected and tailor analysis are interesting to statisticians, day meeting, presenting and listening your message to match these expec- everything that you present to decision to other presentations that summarized tations. makers should connect to the message findings from many studies. Most of the In some presentations, the overall goal they are most interested in: what decision talks had a similar mandate: Describe the is to provide a definitive result (some- to make. If the details do not naturally results of a statistical analysis using data thing along the lines of, “Based on this provide a context for the decision or collected through sampling or a designed study, it is clear that this is the logical caveats for how the decision might be experiment. next step, and this is why”), while in affected, they should likely be omitted. The presentations’ goals were to share other presentations, the goal is to provide What to discuss and how to present it findings and equip a team of managers to information that facilitates an informed should all pass the relevance test. make decisions about recommended next educated discussion (something such as Prepare your primary script, but steps for a complex project. As one of the “There are several logical alternatives be prepared to adapt and respond to presenters, I found it to be a challenge that all might make sense depending on audience feedback. to prepare, and I felt constrained by the priorities. Here are the pros and cons of Having just said that preparation is tight presentation timelines. It required each …”). key, it is also essential to be comfortable careful thought to tell a coherent and As a wise colleague once told me, with a shift in focus if questions arise. relevant story that would be most helpful never go into a meeting without know- Having back-up materials with additional to the decision makers. ing what message you want the audience details for anticipated diversions can Other presenters also seemed to strug- to hear, and tailor the presentation to allow for timely discussion of key ques- gle with how to deliver the message right. match that message. In several of the tions that allow decision makers to hear As I reflected on a hectic day, several gen- presentations, there were awkward mo- details they need to allow them to act on eral themes emerged based on what had ments when one of the decision-makers the results presented. gone well and not so well. Because many asked, “So what should we do?” and the For this to happen, it is important to of us find ourselves in these types of situ- presenter clearly had never thought about think through what triggers are in the ations as part of our professional work, what the answer might be. A standard ad- main slides that could spawn additional here are several recommendations for age of excellence in communication is to discussion. Common sidebars include effectively presenting statistical results: start preparing with the question, “What statistical technical details, issues with Determine in advance what type should the audience take away from the assumptions, details about how the data talk?” and build were collected and any unusual occur- everything around rences and connections to other studies. that message. This The ability to pull up a relevant slide to cornerstone of a fill in a necessary element can allow the good presenta- planned message to continue on track. tion is particularly Ensure that the analysis matches relevant in this the study’s goals. context. Clearly, this point must be considered Connect to the much earlier than at the presentation practical impli- stage, but a clear understanding of the cations of the mandate of the analysis will help to analysis. ensure that a suitable statistical analysis While the statis- strategy is selected. For example, if we tical details of the are comparing two populations, standard

52 QP • www.qualityprogress.com hypothesis testing1 assumes that the the application and providing visualiza- jargon—with careful interpretation of population characteristics of interest are tions of their assessment are keys for the what the conclusions mean for the deci- the same until there is sufficient evidence decision-makers having a fair opportu- sion under consideration. that they are different. Alternatively, nity to evaluate any serious issues. Discuss other factors and their an equivalence test2 assumes that the Be strategic about the sequence of potential impact on conclusions. characteristics are different until there presentation of material. Rarely does a single study contain all is enough evidence to treat them as Remember getting tests back in of the information and contributing con- equivalent. school? The instructor sometimes would text for making the decision, and results Choosing the one that makes the most hand back the tests and then talk through often contain some shades of gray—not sense for evaluating the two popula- the solutions. Alternatively, they first just a completely clear outcome. While tions makes a critical difference with might talk through the solutions and then there may be a single statistical conclu- how we proceed. The type I and II errors return the tests. Human nature is such sion, other mitigating factors such as characteristics and the role of sample that order makes a difference. cost, complications with implement- size vary dramatically under the two In the first case, many students would ing solutions and logistical constraints testing strategies. Everything goes more not actually hear much of the discussion should all be presented to complement smoothly with presenting results if the about the solutions because they were the statistical result of the study. right analysis strategy has been selected. so distracted by seeing their test score Not only will presenting the broader Clearly describe how the data were that they stopped listening. Analogous to context provide a more balanced and collected, what analysis was used and getting a test back, decision-makers are realistic view of the decision to be made, assumptions for the method in the primed to hear the bottom line. Hence, it also will likely garner respect from the context of this particular study. it is beneficial to talk about caveats, as- managers about the presenter’s grasp of It’s tempting to jump right to the sumptions and fundamentals of the test the complexity of the choices available results of an analysis, but it is important before they are absorbed in processing and how the analysis fits into the big to talk about the pedigree of the data.3 what the results of the analysis mean for picture. Often, there are nuances about how the the path forward. Effective presentation of statistical data were collected that make an impor- It is natural to first talk about the results to those with less statistical train- tant difference when we want to interpret background and not leave these elements ing—including managers and decision the results. Perhaps a classic example of to a post-result footnote. When the over- makers—requires planning, anticipation this comes from survey sampling: Small all recommendation or result is delivered, and thoughtful delivery. In addition, differences in the sampling frame (the the limitations and caveats should be talking about the statistics in an ap- list of items from which the sample was included so that the bottom line is still proachable and down-to-earth manner selected) can substantially impact which connected to any reservations you may will make the message clearer. Hope- segments of the target population may have about the match of data to test. fully, some of the ideas in this column have been systematically missed. Interpret the results in the con- might help to showcase your efforts and The fundamentals of the analysis, as text of the study without statistical analyses. QP well as the assumptions of the approach, jargon. should all be itemized and discussed. More than once in my all-day meeting, REFERENCES 1. Douglas C. Montgomery and George C. Runger, Applied Rarely do we have an ideal match of all I heard the overall conclusion delivered Statistics and Probability for Engineers, fourth edition, Wiley, 2007, pp. 354-360. analysis assumptions with what was as “And so we reject the null hypothesis.” 2. Stefan Wellek, Testing Statistical Hypotheses of Equiva- present in our data. Discussing the End of story. This presentation of results lence and Noninferiority, second edition, Chapman Hall, 2010, pp. 119-126. mismatches between the two—and what is predicated on a high level of comfort 3. Ronald Snee and Roger Hoerl, “Inquire on Pedigree,” is known about the robustness of the with the analysis setup—something that Quality Progress, December 2012, pp. 66-68. results when assumptions are violated— may represent a bold assumption for CHRISTINE M. ANDERSON-COOK is should be included to provide some con- many managers—and also may contrib- a research scientist in the statistical sciences group at Los Alamos Na- text for possible issues with the analysis. ute to relegating the statistician to the tional Laboratory in Los Alamos, NM. She earned a doctorate in statistics Any limitations of the analysis also bearer of analysis results, instead of be- from the University of Waterloo in should be discussed. Framing the as- ing considered a full team member. The Ontario. Anderson-Cook is a fellow of both ASQ and the American sumptions of the method in the context of results should be clearly stated—minus Statistical Association.

March 2015 • QP 53 STANDARDS OUTLOOK BY THEA DUNMIRE The Party’s Over (Almost) The nitty-gritty of meeting the revisions of ISO 14001

IN 1967, Willie Nelson released an LP Standardization (ISO) management system • Address the concept of demonstration called “The Party’s Over.” In the title song, standards in conformance with the require- of commitment to compliance. Nelson laments, “Turn out the lights, the ments set out in Annex SL of Part 1 of the • Strengthen link to strategic planning. party’s over. They say that, all good things ISO/IEC directives.2 • Address life-cycle thinking and a value must end.’’1 According to ISO, this change was chain perspective more clearly. The most recent revisions of ISO 9001 made to facilitate the implementation and ISO 14001 are scheduled to be pub- of integrated management systems by Obvious and less lished as final revised standards in 2015. organizations that want to certify they apparent changes The revision process will be over, but then are in conformance with multiple ISO Taken together, these two drivers have the real work starts. Users will need to fig- management system standards. Annex SL resulted in a standard that is longer, with ure out how to modify their management requires that all ISO management system interactions between the clauses that are systems to conform to the new standards. standards use the same required high-level more complex. It is more prescriptive in For ISO 14001, the environmental structure, consistent defined terms and the some clauses, yet provides more flexibility management system (EMS) standard, this same “shall” clauses for core management in others. There are both obvious changes is the first major revision and restructur- system elements. and changes that are less apparent. ing since it was initially published in 1996. The second revision driver is a require- First, the obvious changes: There was a revision in 2004, but it focused ment to address the themes set out in what The most obvious change to ISO 14001 on clarifying the existing requirements. is referred to as “The Future Challenges is structural. The clauses of the previous The new revision is quite different—a total Report.”3 This document, finalized in 2010, version that are retained have moved and restructuring and rewrite, with little that sets out 11 themes to be considered or ad- been renumbered, and requirements have remains unchanged. dressed in the ISO 14001 revision. changed location within the standard Among the recommendations in this (management review, for example) or been Revision drivers report are: eliminated (record control, for example). There are two primary drivers for the • Introduce a more systematic approach The overall plan-do-check-act structure of changes currently being made to ISO for identification of, consultation and the standard is gone. 14001. The first is the requirement for communication with stakeholders on Figure 1 shows the following: alignment of International Organization for environmental issues. • Determination of the scope of the EMS is part of clause 4. • The requirements for the organization’s policy can be found in the leadership clause (clause 5). • The ISO 14001:2004 planning requirements are now split between clauses 4 (context of the organization) and 6 (planning). • The implementation requirements have moved to clauses 5 (leadership), 7 (support) and 9 (operational planning and control). • The checking requirements can now be found in clauses 9 (performance evaluation) and 10 (improvement).

54 QP • www.qualityprogress.com • Management review is part of perfor- ment system” (clause 7.3). Change from PDCA mance evaluation in clause 9. For conformance with the structure / FIGURE 1 The second obvious change is that revised standard, there- virtually every requirement to establish, fore, actual awareness on ISO 14001:2004 ISO/DIS 14001 implement and maintain a procedure is the part of each covered 6 top-level clause elements 7 top-level elements gone from the new version. In the cur- individual is the require- (based on PDCA) (Annex SL structure) rent draft, ISO/DIS 14001:2014, the only ment. 4.1 General 4. Context of the 4.2 Policy organization requirement left for a procedure is for Having procedures in 4.3 Planning 5. Leadership emergency response. place to achieve aware- 4.4 Implementation 6. Planning and operation 7. Support Requirements for procedures have ness will be less important. 4.5 Checking 8. Operation changed to performance requirements. To determine confor- 4.6 Management 9. Performance evaluation There are no longer requirements to have mance, auditors will need review 10. Improvement a specified way of carrying out particular to devise ways of deter- Annex SL = ISO/IEC directives, part 1 management system activities. The re- mining actual awareness DIS = draft international standard PDCA = plan-do-check-act quirement is to achieve a stated output. on the part of numerous Some of the requirements for a proce- individuals. In this case, it dure have been rewritten as requirements is awareness of their individual contribu- agement (leadership) engagement. to establish a process. A process is not a tion to the effectiveness of the EMS. • New requirements for engagement with procedure. A procedure is a specified way Awareness on the part of every person external interested parties. of conducting an activity. A process is doing work under the organization’s • Expanded requirements associated defined, in accordance with Annex SL, as a control may be difficult for organizations with ensuring compliance with legal set of interrelated or interacting activities to achieve—yet this seems to be what the requirements. that transforms inputs into outputs. Again, revised standard may require. • New requirements for risk-based plan- the focus of the requirements is primarily Another readily apparent change is ning and controls. on the outputs to be achieved, not the way related to documentation. In accordance • Expanded operational control require- the organization seeks to achieve them. with Annex SL, the use of the words “doc- ments—driven by life-cycle consider- ument” and “record” in the 2004 version ations. Requirement example of the standard have been replaced by the Taken together, the obvious and not-so- ISO 14001:2004 requires an organization phrase “documented information.” Rather obvious changes to ISO 14001 will present to have a procedure in place that results than separate provisions for document significant challenges to users seeking to in individuals being aware of the require- control (ISO 14001:2004, clause 4.4.5) and maintain or obtain third-party certification ments of the EMS and of their related record control (ISO 14001:2004, clause to the revised standard.5 That is likely one roles and responsibilities (clause 4.4.2). 4.5.4), the revised standard has a single of the reasons ISO has already announced For conformance with the 2004 standard, clause that covers creating, updating and a three-year transition period for confor- the focus is on establishing effective pro- controlling documented information.4 mance with the revised standard. cedures to achieve employee awareness. This change has been made in recogni- Auditors can determine conformance tion of the ongoing move to managing What now? with the standard by first reviewing the information in electronic form rather than The first inclination for many organiza- adequacy of the procedures in place, and on paper where the distinction between tions may be to take a wait-and-see ap- then sampling to determine the effective- documents and records can become proach to the revision—in other words, to ness of the procedures in achieving the blurred. do nothing until the end of the transition desired results—in this case, awareness of period draws near. For some organiza- individuals’ EMS roles and responsibilities. Less apparent changes tions that may be an option, but it might ISO/DIS 14001 states, “Persons doing In addition to the obvious changes to the be important for others to start making work under the organization’s control shall ISO 14001 standard, there are also changes transition plans now. There will be plenty be aware of … their contribution to the ef- that may be less apparent, including: to do. fectiveness of the environmental manage- • Expanded requirements for top man- At a minimum, organizations should

March 2015 • QP 55 STANDARDS OUTLOOK

begin to explore the impact the revision make the transition for all organizations— 2. Annex SL, International Organization for Standardization, www.iso.org/iso/home/standards_development/resources- will have on the scope and extent of their even if the scope of the EMS is unchanged: for-technical-work/iso_iec_directives_and_iso_supplement. existing management system. There will • Changes will need to be made to EMS htm. 3. “Future Challenges Report,” ISO Technical Committee 207, be increasing pressure from a variety of documentation. subcommittee 1, www.iso14001expert.com/wp-content/ uploads/2014/10/ST1-N-09-Future-Challenges.pdf (case stakeholders to expand their EMS to include • Individuals with assigned responsibili- sensitive). outsourced processes6 and the environmen- ties for the EMS will need to obtain the 4. For more on this change, see Thea Dunmire, “Missing in Ac- tion,” Quality Progress, September 2014, pp. 52-53. tal aspects and impacts of any products sold. required competence. 5. For more information about these changes, go to www. iso14001expert.com. This is particularly true for products • Leadership will need to be briefed on its 6. The Annex SL definition of “outsource” is to make an arrange- with important life cycle considerations and new obligations. ment when an external organization performs part of an organization’s function or process. Outsourced processes are end-of-life disposal concerns. An expanded • Internal audit protocols will need to be to be considered within the scope of a management system management system will definitely require revised. under certain specified conditions. For more information, review the Annex SL guidance available on the ISO website the investment of additional resources. Willie Nelson’s song ends, “Let’s call it a (see reference 2). For organizations with multiple certifi- night, the party’s over. And tomorrow starts cations or multisite certifications (several the same old thing again. And tomorrow THEA DUNMIRE is the president locations covered under one certification) starts the same old thing again.” of ENLAR Compliance Services, where she specializes in helping making management system changes will Even in song lyrics, the end of the party organizations implement manage- likely involve getting approvals and buy-ins doesn’t mean anything must end. It is simply ment systems. She has participated internationally in the development from multiple organizational stakeholders. the opportunity to get started again. QP of multiple ISO standards. She is currently the chair of the ANSI Z1 This may require starting the transition plan- auditing subcommittee, which focuses on alignment of ning earlier. REFERENCES AND NOTES auditing requirements across the ISO management system 1. To listen to Willie Nelson, go to www.youtube.com/ standards. Dunmire has a law degree from Syracuse Univer- Resources and time will be required to watch?v=71n3PtdQWF4 (case sensitive). sity in New York.

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56 QP • www.qualityprogress.com ACCELERATING GROWTH AND PERFORMANCE IN THE ENTERPRISE

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System data ▼ Handheld inspection ▶ Global Shop Solutions has released the Servo-Robot has launched Mobile Administration Application, which Wiki-Scan, a handheld laser- is designed to run on the web browsers based welding inspection of smart phones, tablets and other mobile system. To inspect the part, devices. By launching the app, system the inspector holds the sys- administrators can remotely access impor- tem up to the unwelded or tant system data, including: welded joint and presses • Current shop floor use. the trigger to take mea- • New support ticket notifications. surements and determine • A complete active users list, including whether there are any de- login time and active programs. fects present. The Wiki-Scan • Consolidated workstation and server allows you to inspect joint hardware specs. preparations, joint fit-up and • Server-side process status. weld bead geometry. It ac- Although the screens have been curately measures critical designed to fit the smaller viewing areas parameters such as face and of mobile devices, the Mobile Admin App root openings, mismatch and bevel angles Laser marking ▶ presents the same information system for unwelded joints, and features such as Scanlab’s basiCube 10 scan head is spe- administrators are used to seeing on their leg size, concavity and undercut for welds. cifically designed for classic laser-marking PCs. Results can be automatically com- requirements. It offers a high-speed scan- • Call: 888-851-1248. pared to the tolerances set and provide ning system specifically tailored to user • Visit: www.globalshopsolutions.com. feedback. A permanent record of the weld requirements and features a 10 mm aper- measurements, voice ture and laser marking-optimized tuning. and written com- The scan head is available with silicon ments and pictures of mirrors for three laser wavelengths. The the weld are stored most common deployment will likely in the Wiki-Scan and be for 1064 nm fiber lasers. The system can be sent to your efficiency is high. At the same marking computer. Advan- performance, less power is consumed— tages of the Wiki- which lowers unwanted heat transfer to Scan include less electrical and mechanical components. redundant inspection, This benefits the system’s positional stabil- fewer unneeded ity under load. repairs, reduced • Email: [email protected]. inspection time and • Visit: www.scanlab.de. cost savings due to reduced weld time Video probe and overwelding. GE Measurement and Control has intro- • Call: 450-653-7868. duced three models of the Mentor Visual • Visit: www. iQ VideoProbe with feature sets designed servorobot.com. for different industries and applications.

58 QP • www.qualityprogress.com The models each offer a different • E-mail: nate.pepper@ level of inspection. The Mentor Visual iQ ge.com. Inspect is equipped with a hard but- • Call: 315-554-2039. ton/joystick interface, battery pack and the option to choose from seven probe Single camera ▶ length and diameter configurations. It is BitFlow’s Karbon CL4-SP ideal for use in field conditions and suited is a single-camera ver- for pipeline and tank inspection, automo- sion of the Karbon-CL. tive quality control and general purpose It is designed to handle inspection jobs. 80-bit 85 MHz cameras, The Mentor Visual iQ Touch offers a and is adaptable with a configurable HOBO MX Series data loggers. Building touchscreen with QuickChange probes, acquisition engine. The Karbon CL4- and energy managers can wirelessly con- and has all of the features on the Mentor SP frame grabber fits original equip- figure HOBO MX1101 loggers, view data ment manufacturer environments and in graphs, check logger status and share scientific research labs. Applications data in MS Excel and other applications. include machine vision, medical imaging, HOBOmobile offers an audible log- intelligent transportation systems, high- ger alarm to notify users of problems. definition graphics and quality control. If temperatures in a data center climb BitFlow FlowThru technology—in- to an overheating point or if humidity corporated into the Karbon CL4-SP— conditions reach a point that could lead eliminates the need for on-board frame to mold growth, the MX1101 logger will buffers. The added features allow users beep and display alarm notifications so of the Karbon CL4-SP to control, acquire, users can take corrective action. reformat and transfer video data directly • Call: 800-564-4377. into an application at camera speeds • Visit: www.onsetcomp.com. with zero latency or central processing unit use. Visual iQ Inspect. The Mentor Visual iQ • Call: 781-932-2900. Touch is designed to inspect motors, • Visit: www.bitflow.com. compressors, gearboxes, heat exchang- ers, boiler tubes or welds. Data logging app ▶ The Mentor Visual iQ Analyze offers Onset’s HOBOmobile data 3-D measurement and analysis software logging app is compatible and is ideal for critical inspections such with Android devices. The as aircraft engine inspection, gas turbine app lets users graph and inspection, product engineering and analyze environmental development. data collected with Onset

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March 2015 • QP 59 QPREVIEWS

Using ISO 9001 in Healthcare: while Burney led global implementation The book is both practical in scope and Applications for Quality within the State Department healthcare filled with real-life examples. The greater Systems, Performance system. The ISO 9001 management system view of CE integrates the voice of the Improvement, Clinical offers an orderly, disciplined approach to workforce and voice of the process with Integration, Accreditation, managing a healthcare organization and VOC. In this context, advanced analytics and Patient Safety achieving stated goals. This book is an capabilities linking these three perspec- James M. Levett M.D. and Robert G. excellent start down that path and is most tives can have an important impact on CE. Burney M.D., ASQ Quality Press, 2014, 160 valuable for current and aspiring health- I highly recommend this book in that it pp., $26 member, $44 list (second edition, care leaders. provides accessible and useful concepts book). James Kotterman and tools. It is an important source of infor- There is little Plymouth, MI mation for service and quality managers. argument that U.S. Ron S. Kenett healthcare faces Customer Experience 3.0: Raanana, Israel many challenges. High-Profit Strategies in the The triad of patient, Age of Techno Service Redefining Operational payer and provider is John A. Goodman, Amacom, 2014, 256 Excellence: New Strategies for complex, convoluted pp., $24.95 (book). Maximizing Performance and and confusing. Levett This book reflects Profits Across the Organization and Burney decided practical experi- Andrew Miller, Amacom, 2014, 256 pp., their respective ence and insightful $27.95 (book). healthcare organizations would benefit retrospectives. A Miller sees opera- from implementing a structured quality good place to start, tional excellence not management system (QMS). The QMS actually, is the last as a destination but they chose was ISO 9001. Since a lot has chapter devoted as an objective and changed since the first version of this book to the customer a mindset that will in 2011, the authors decided to update experience (CE) func- adjust as required readers on how and why to implement tion in organizations by world econom- and use ISO 9001 in the current healthcare and the role of the CE leader. Once you‘ve ics. This book is environment. grasped the essentials in this chapter, the recommended for The book is not a step-by-step tutorial. previous chapters will give you tools, meth- managers across an It does, however, succinctly explain the ods and processes for managing CE. Some organization from the floor to the board- rationale and path for implementing a QMS examples include: room. Readers learn how speed impacts within a healthcare organization and why • Quantifying the revenue cost of inaction: profitability, the difference between re- ISO 9001 should be the standard of choice. How to assess payoff of an improved CE. sponsibility and accountability and how to Additionally, the authors do an excellent • Do it right the first time (DIRFT): Building balance the tensions between quality and job of explaining ISO 9001 technical con- a culture that delivers DIRFT and related growth. Managers will realize operational cepts, implementation, application, tools, metrics. excellence becomes a constant pursuit for problems and suggestions for how to start. • Voice of the customer (VOC): Build- improved performance and profitability in Both authors have clearly “been there, ing blocks of effective VOC processes, all areas of the organization. done that.” Levett led ISO 9001 implemen- sources of VOC data, enhancing the By constantly redefining operational ex- tation at a multi-specialty group practice, impact of VOC processes. cellence, a culture will become established

60 QP • www.qualityprogress.com to help increase profitability, effectiveness, goal. To address this gap, the ISO 50001 Chapter 7 outlines elements of the act personnel retention, customer retention, Energy Management System (EnMS) stan- phase. Periodic management reviews are stakeholder engagement, empowerment, dard was published in June 2011, based on a key aspect of this phase. The author innovation and performance to maximize the ISO 9001 Quality Management System specifies both the inputs necessary and financial and performance goals. Readers and the ISO 14001 Environmental Manage- outputs expected from these reviews. The will learn how companies like Disney, BMW ment System standards. last chapters of the book provide more and GE have achieved great success by EnMS is based on the popular plan- practical advice to readers, such as how finding new opportunities to increase their do-check-act (PDCA) cycle, and consists to integrate EnMS with other ISO stan- performance and profitability. of 23 elements that need to be achieved dards, potential pitfalls organizations may This is an excellent book to be read and documented to meet the standard. encounter and countermeasures to deal by managers in all types of businesses Howell uses the PDCA cycle as the basis with them. and services. Miller has clearly articulated for organizing the chapters in the book, The book is well-organized and well- how to make needed cultural changes for and details the salient points pertaining to written. It uses simple language allowing operational excellence, ensuring a com- ISO 50001 implementation. The beginning readers to focus on key themes. Sample petitive advantages for the 21st century. chapters provide a framework for the forms, templates and checklists are It will become clear why the journey to plan phase. They outline general require- included in every chapter. This book is a operational excellence has no specific set ments for an EnMS including the manage- must-read for all quality professionals and of goals. As the economic environment ment responsibilities, forms, templates others that are involved in the implemen- changes, businesses will need to make and processes. tation of an ISO 50001 energy manage- appropriate changes to their operations to Chapter 5 focuses on the do phase. In ment system. remain profitable and viable. Hence, opera- this chapter, the establishment of opera- Rangarajan Parthasarathy tions will undergo continuous changes tional objectives that are the key elements Harvard, IL requiring continuous improvement. of this phase are discussed. Chapter 6 John J. Lanczycki, Jr. discusses the check phase. The author RECENT RELEASE Creative Planners details the specific elements of monitoring and measurement routines that must be The Scorecard Solution: Effective Implementation of an instituted to ensure that the plan contin- Measure What Matters and ISO 50001 Energy Management ues on track against identified goals, and Drive Sustainable Growth System discusses how barriers can be identified Dan E. King, Amacom, 2015, 288 pp., Marvin T. Howell, ASQ Quality Press, 2014, and addressed. $29.95 book). 192 pp., $48 member, $80 list (book). Optimizing energy consumption is a key business and social goal for organizations today Advertisers Index regardless of the ADVERTISER PAGE PHONE WEB industry they are in. CyberMetrics Corp. OBC 800-777-7020 www.cybermetrics.com However, what is typically lacking is a EtQ Inc. IFC 516-293-0949 www.etq.com framework that establishes both opera- Minitab Inc. 1 800-448-3555 www.minitab.com tional and legal guidelines to fulfill this Quality Council of Indiana 10, 11 800-660-4215 www.qualitycouncil.com

March 2015 • QP 61

ONE GOOD IDEA BY MATTHEW BARSALOU Fishing for an Answer Ishikawa diagrams help select the correct statistical test

THE SELECTION OF the correct statistical test is a critical ele- continuous data. Attribute data, also called discrete data, have ment when conducting statistical analysis––plugging numbers into “categories that can take on only certain values.”4 Such data the wrong test will deliver the wrong answer. The consequences of include the number of parts found to be defective or the number an incorrect conclusion could be as simple as mistaking process A of employees absent on a specific day. There can be eight defective to be better than process B and lead to a financial loss. Or it could parts, but there can’t be 8.5 defective parts. be as critical as determining a medicine to be better than a placebo Continuous data, also called variable data, are data that “can take and result in loss of life because a medicine that doesn’t work was on any one of an infinite number of values within a given range.”5 used in place of one that does. Continuous data include the length of a part or the weight of a bag of Assistance in test selection is available in the form of decision material, as well as numbers such as 124 kilograms, 14 degrees or 37 trees and reference books with descriptions of various tests. The millimeters, and can be parametric or nonparametric. Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Handbook1 uses flowcharts as a Parametric data depend on assumptions regarding the param- decision tree for statistical test selection. Other books such as eter estimation, such as the shape of the distribution. A parametric Engineering Statistics2 provide tables for statistical test selection. statistical test will lead to false conclusions if the assumptions are Quality Engineering Statistics3 simply describes the statistical violated. Nonparametric tests are distribution free6 and do not as- tests and their uses within the text. sume that the data have a normal distribution. Another way to determine which test to use is via the Ishikawa Each of the three branches on the diagram has lower-level diagram, also known as a cause-and-effect diagram or fishbone branches based on the type of test needed. This is determined by diagram (see Figure 1). This quality tool is used for displaying the the number of samples and the property being evaluated, such relationship between an effect and possible causes of an effect. The as variance, mean, median or proportions. Below the lower-level same concept also can be used to display possible statistical tests branches are more branches listing the actual tests that can be that can be used to achieve the effect––a correct hypothesis test. used for the given conditions. An Ishikawa diagram divides statistical tests into three catego- An advantage of an Ishikawa diagram approach to selecting ries, or branches, based on the type of data that will be analyzed: statistical tests is the speed and ease at which the correct test attribute data, parametric continuous data and nonparametric can be selected. The tester can quickly zero in on the correct test after the data type, distribution, property being evaluated and Ishikawa diagram / FIGURE 1 sample size are known. The entire concept can be displayed on one page, and the tester no longer needs to go fishing through Nonparametric continuous (variable) data reference books to identify the correct procedure. QP Determine if sample is from given distribution Attribute (discrete) data Statistical dependence of two variables Kolmogorov-Smirnov Difference between Spearman’s rank paired proportions correlation coefﬁcient Anderson-Darling test REFERENCES McNemar’s test 1. Tom M. Kubiak and Donald W. Benbow, The Certified Six Sigma Handbook, Two sample: mean, median One sample: mean, median One sample Two samples second edition, ASQ Quality Press, 2009. Mann-Whitney U One-sample sign test One sample proportion test One-sample Wilcoxon Two sample 2. Douglas C. Montgomery, George C. Runger and Norma F. Hubble, Engineering proportion test Two or more sample: mean, median Statistics, second edition, John Wiley and Sons, 2001. More than one More than two sample proportion test Mood’s median test Friedman sample: variance 3. Robert A. Dovich, Quality Engineering Statistics, ASQ Quality Press, 1992. Contingency table Chi-square test Kruskall-wallis Levene’s test Correct 4. Allan G. Johnson, Statistics, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1988, p. 22. hypothesis 5. Ibid. Two sample: variance test 6. John F. Early and Brian A Stockhoff, “Accurate and Reliable Measurement Systems F-test Two sample with equal variance: mean Two sample t-test and Advanced Tools,” in Joseph M. Juran and Joseph A. Defeo, Juran’s Quality Handbook, More than two sample: variance sixth edition, McGraw-Hill, 2010. Two sample with unequal variance: mean Bartlett’s test Paired t-test One sample: mean MATTHEW BARSALOU is a statistical problem resolution master black One sample t-test (Sigma unknown) More than two sample with equal variance: mean belt in the global engineering excellence department at BorgWarner One sample z-test (Sigma known) One-way ANOVA Turbo Systems Engineering GmbH in Kirchheimbolanden, Germany.

One sample variance More than two sample with unequal variance: mean He has a master’s degree in business administration and engineering Chi-square test Two sample t-test (analyses one pair at a time) from Wilhelm Büchner Hochschule in Darmstadt, Germany, and a master’s degree in liberal studies from Fort Hays State University. He Two sample mean with Sigma one and Sigma two known is an ASQ-certified quality technician, Six Sigma Black Belt and quality Z-test engineer. He is also an ASQ senior member, a technical reviewer Parametric continuous (variable) data for Quality Progress, editor of the Statistics Division’s Statistics Digest and the ASQ country counselor for Germany. ANOVA = analysis of variance

March 2015 • QP 63 BACK TO BASICS BY MOHIT SHARMA Eight Simple Steps Improve your data collection process with a concise plan

COLLECTING DATA is a critical and important step in putting a proj- limits for Project Y before you proceed on the data collection plan. ect together. In experience reviewing projects, I have seen Black Belts Step four: Identify potential X’s set for Project Y. Again, it is impor- often make mistakes in collecting data. This affects the overall result. tant to collect data on X’s set along with Y in one attempt. A Six Sigma practitioner must first create a comprehensive plan Step five:Write down the operational definitions for X’s set as to facilitate data collection. Simply stated, the beads must be with well. you before you sit down to string a necklace. Here is my eight-step Step six: Identify a statistically validated sample through Minitab process for data collection. We will call our example project “Project or any other similar tool. Remember, a selected sample must repre- Y.” (Steps one through five are shown in Table 1). sent the characteristics of the population. Using different sampling Step one: Identify whether Project Y is continuous or discrete. techniques to identify a sample is acceptable. (See Table 2 for steps Step two: Write down the operational definition of Project Y. six and seven). This is important because everyone involved on the team should Step seven: Create the data collection plan: 4W1H is a simple lean understand Project Y in the same way. For example, a project on Six Sigma (LSS) tool that can be used to create the data collection reducing the cycle time of a transaction can have different interpre- plan. The 4W’s are: What?, When?, Where? and Who? The H is How? tations by different users if the operational definition of “cycle time” or, the method used. is not clearly articulated. Importantly, if required, the operational Step eight: After the data collection plan is ready, create a data definition must have a mathematical formula to ensure uniformity. collection template in which the data will be captured (Online Table Step three: Identify unit, defect, opportunities and specification 1, which can be found at on this article’s webpage at www.qualityprogress.com). Effects of reducing the cycle of time / TABLE 1 To ensure uniformity in data capture: Measure Cycle time each wire Branch Associate Break time Shift 1. Capture the unique wire transfer number in name column one (Online Table 1). Measure Y X1 X2 X3 X4 type (Y or X) 2. Capture the account number and relevant details Data type Continuous Discrete Discrete Continuous Discrete of the same wire adjacent to “Wire No.” in the (continuous/ same column (Online Table 2). discrete) Operational Time taken to process a wire Office in Officer Any break taken Shift in 3. Repeat the same process for the rest of the wires definition Start point: When account which who is by the associate which the picked in random sample (Online Table 3). number is keyed into the the wire processing is considered. It associate system. transfer the wire. could be a break received This is a simple eight-step process, but following is from work for the request End point: When account is initiated. query resolution (morning/ it provides remarkable results in the analyze phase closed in the system. or tea/coffee. evening). of any define, measure, analyze, improve and control project; it’s a tried and tested, practical solution / TABLE 2 What, when, where, who and how? that avoids rework in data collection. Aside from Measure Wire transfer Branch Associate Break time Shift name cycle time preventing added work, it also provides authentic What is to Capture data Capture data Capture data Capture break Capture data results. It is a solution that is all about putting the be done on cycle time on branch on associate time data on shift horse before the cart. QP When it is Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily to be done EDITOR’S NOTE Where it is Data collection Data collection Data collection Data collection Data collection A bibliography for this column can be found on this article’s webpage at to be done template template template template template www.qualityprogress.com How it is Extract Extract Extract Extract time Record the to be done international international international on system time of MOHIT SHARMA is assistant vice president for wire transfer wire transfer wire transfer report to processing report and report where report in capture break that wire, Genpact in Gurgaon, India. Mohit earned his exclude out-of- branch ID is which agent ID time per which can give master’s degree in marketing from Symbosis scope requests. captured. is captured. associate. us the shift University in Pune, India. He is an ASQ member data. and a certified Six Sigma Black Belt. Who will Member 1 Member 1 Member 1 Member 2 Member 2 do it

64 QP • www.qualityprogress.com What’s Online in the ASQ Knowledge Center?

CASE STUDY Reengineering Packaging Lines Using DMAIC A project team at Boston Scientific, Heredia (Costa Rica), used a DMAIC roadmap to help identify and BENCHMARKING implement an efficient continuous-flow packaging Innovation Benchmarks line in its Amplatz Super Stiff™ Guidewires area, resulting in a cost saving and cost avoidance. See a collection of innovation benchmarks for organizations. Metrics provided include total research and development cost, number of new businesses launched in the past three reporting periods, average time to market for new WEBCAST products/services, and more. Preventive Action and Its Linkage to Risk Management In this installment of his Quality Snapshot webcast series, Mark Ames introduces preventive action and discusses its linkage to risk management.

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