Quality Customer Service is All About The Quality of Design

On ASQ’s Blog, President Paul Borawksi asks what the role of quality is customer service.

When you think of “quality,” do you think of customer service? What do you think is the role of quality—whether the “big Q” or the “little q”—in customer service?

Customer satisfaction is one of the most important aspects of any organization. If customers aren’t satisfied, they will take their business elsewhere and the organization won’t last.

The responsibility of delivering quality products and services to customers lies on the shoulders of every single individual who is even remotely associated with the organization. It is not only the management but also employees irrespective of their designation, suppliers, clients, customers who need to come up with improvement ideas to make foolproof systems and processes to deliver quality products which meet and exceed the expectations of end- users.

The meaning of quality differs depending upon circumstances and perceptions. For example, quality is a different concept when focusing on tangible products versus the perception of a quality service.

Fundamentally, there are three levels of quality customer service:

First level: Conformance to Customers basic requirements, includes safety /health.

Second level: Customer satisfaction with Customer's expressed requirements.

Third level: Customer delight with unexpected new quality achieved by meeting customer's latent requirements.

Remember that long term profitability isn’t as much in winning customers as in keeping customers. Each individual customer’s perception of your company will determine how well you do and that perception will depend on the level of customer service you provide.

Big Q and little q is a term coined by Dr. Juran and is key in fully understanding quality. It contrasts the difference between managing for quality in all aspects of business process, products and services which is Big Q – or quality of design.  While little q relates to a much more limited capacity of quality of manufacturing (e.g. quality control activities).

Quality of design: Thoughtfulness and processes that lead to user delight, that make it likely that someone will seek out a product, pay extra for it or tell a friend.

Quality of manufacture: Removing any variation in tolerances that a user will notice or care about.

To survive and thrive in a very competitive landscape, companies need to focus on the Big Q – or quality of design. Quality of manufacturing is important to control defects, but remarkability can only be built into the design. These are emerging views on quality, and the ones we cannot afford to ignore.

Customer satisfaction is a very important part of quality management because it directly involves the products and services that are made available as well as what goes into the manufacturing process. That is why companies strive to offer products of the highest quality and work hard to maintain that level and make improvements or change where ever necessary. That is what managers work very hard to do and why teams are constantly learning new techniques and processes.

I’m part of the ASQ Influential Voices program. While I receive an honorarium from ASQ for my commitment, the thoughts and opinions expressed on my blog are my own. 

The 20 Second Rule of “Lean” Change

Change is one of the most difficult things for humans to readily accept. People commonly resist change for a variety of reasons. Although you intend for the change to result in a positive outcome, change is often viewed as negative. Anyone who has worked in or led an organization's transformation understands change is not easy. We are so ingrained in the way that we do things that to do it a new way, or to stop doing something causes us to feel uncomfortable. We equate uncomfortable with wrong, instead of different, and there's a tendency to go back to what was comfortable.

One key to changing a habit is to put desired behavior on the path of least resistance, so it takes less energy to do it than to avoid it. It often takes more than 20 seconds to make a difference, but the strategy is universally applicable: Lower the activation energy for habits you want to adopt and raise it for habits you want to avoid. In physics, activation energy is the stimulus required to cause some sort of reaction. With human behavior, it’s the energy we must first expend in order to do something new.

In his book, The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Achor talks about his experience with activation energy when he was trying to practice guitar more frequently. In his description of what he calls the 20-Second Rule, Shawn put the guitar closer to the couch and moved the television remote further away – about 20 seconds away, to be exact. “What I had done here, essentially, was put the desired behavior on the path of least resistance, so it actually took less energy for me to pick up and practice the guitar than to avoid it.” He calls it the 20-second Rule, “because lowering the barrier to change by just 20 seconds was all it took to help me form a new life habit.”

Sustainable behavior change is not something that occurs as a result of doing a 30 or 90-day program, nor is it something that you master after doing it for a year. Change takes a daily commitment to put in the time and energy, knowing that the return on that investment is great. The more we are able to reduce the resistance to, the better we are able to focus on things that matter most to us.

Sustaining lasting change often feels impossible because our willpower is limited. And when willpower fails, we fall back on our old habits and succumb to the path of least resistance. This principle shows how, by making small energy adjustments, we can reroute the path of least resistance and replace bad habits with good ones.

Change should be ongoing and employees should be a critical part of that process so there is not fear of change but a willingness to embrace it because it’s a part of the everyday process in the organization.

Look at the good habits you want to develop and see if there’s a way you can make them easier to begin by 20 seconds. Conversely, want to stop a bad habit? Increase the time it takes to initiate it by 20 seconds.

The Benefit of Being Part of a Team

Highly empowered and effective teams are the key to compete in today’s world of high technology processes, six sigma quality and continuous innovation. We all have roles in our organizations but it is the power of teamwork that makes our endeavors successful. It takes everyone working together on a common goal to be successful in Lean. Teams are the engines that deliver successful process improvements.

A team of people can achieve far more than the sum of the total of the individuals skills alone. In business teams can achieve: 

They can generate a wider range of ideas and innovation than individuals; 
They are able to motivate themselves; 
They can bounce ideas off each team member; 
They often take more risks than individuals; 
They have a range of personalities such as workers, thinkers, leaders who contribute the right balance of skills necessary to achieve high performance; 
They support each other and are not just task-orientated; 
They can be a support mechanism which provide mentoring and allow others to grow in self-confidence. 

I used the following video at a company meeting last week to illustrate the benefits of team work.  This funny video is pretty effective at showing it is smarter to work in teams.



If you have individuals with the potential to create a high performing team, just imagine what they could achieve for your sales, productivity or bottom line!

Lean Quote: Problem Solving Begets Problems

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.

"All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem." — Martin Luther King Jr.

If you are seeking a quick and successful lean implementation, forget it. Quite simply, lean implementations frequently are referred to as lean journeys for good reason: They take time, and they are not always straightforward.

It is not unusual to observe the phenomenon of how solving one problem begets more problems.  BUT, is this a reason to not solve the problem at all?  No, we are all faced with problems to solve in our workday. The problem for most people is that they do not use a process to solve problems or to make decisions. Another problem is that people are not consistent in how they solve problems. They do not find something that works and then do it the same way over and over to be successful.

A simple, pragmatic problem solving methodology is the Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) approach. It begins with a Planning phase in which the problem is clearly identified and understood. Potential solutions are then generated and tested on a small scale in the "Do" phase, and the outcome of this testing is evaluated during the Check phase. "Do" and "Check" phases can be iterated as many times as is necessary before the full, polished solution is implemented in the "Act" phase.

The PDCA cycle model is built as a continuous loop and this loop ensures that processes are frequently revisited. This is very beneficial to organizations because if something changes or isn't working to satisfaction it can be changed. It also reduces the chance of something that isn't quite working to be inadvertently overlooked.

I can’t emphasize enough the importance of checking that your solutions do in fact address the root cause. When you solve problems in your business remember you are not done until the testing is conclusive. The beauty of the PDCA beyond its simplicity is the iterative problem solving cycle which if followed gets to the root of the problem.

Striving for excellence is an ongoing process that requires persistence. I often say that it is the Lean leader who must apply constant gentle pressure if they want Lean to be a success. Dogged persistence will assure that Lean actually happens.

 

Guest Post: The 5 Best Ways To Get Your Employees To Compete

Healthy competition among employees increases productivity and can even boost employee morale, but many companies have a difficult time effectively encouraging their employees to do their best work. Supervisors and managers of the past used to use threatening tactics to obtain high performance levels from employees, but that approach did not often result in the desired outcome. Sour working environments erode employee motivation, and studies have shown that motivated workers are the most productive. If you are trying to inspire your employees to produce their best work, remember that the key to good performance lies in creating and maintaining high levels of employee morale. Following are five ways to help your work force become more motivated. 

1. Create a Positive Work Environment 
People naturally work faster and better in a positive environment, and part of that involves allowing employees to personalize their work spaces. For instance, many modern companies forbid employees to place family pictures or other personal items on their desks. This creates a bleak working environment that does not serve to inspire optimal performance.

2. The Importance of Rewarding Success 
Setting reasonable goals and rewarding employees who successfully reach them is highly instrumental in fostering a work environment that is conducive to a good production output. If you are looking for inspiration for corporate gifts and reward programs, O.C. Tanner has achieved global recognition in the field of employee appreciation development.

3. Foster Teamwork 
Most people respond well to being a valued member of a team by putting forth their best efforts. Human beings are hard wired to work cooperatively with one another to achieve common goals, so keep remember that not all performance rewards need to go to individuals. Incentives can be provided to the team as a whole for working efficiently together to reach goals.

4. Let Employees Share in the Success of Your Business 
Offering a profit sharing program to employees is an excellent way to keep them engaged in your business in a positive way. People are much more likely to be motivated to do their best when they have an investment in the outcome of their labor.

5. Provide Timely Salary Increases 
Money frequently motivates people who work for a living more than anything. Although other factors do have significance impact on performance and morale, keeping good employees is dependent on financial compensation and benefits. Most people have no choice but to closely consider the bottom line when making career decisions.

About the Author:

Annabelle Smyth is currently a loving and caring mother of two children. She lives outside of Milwaukee, WI and loves cheering for the Bucks and Badgers. She is a blog enthusiast and loves writing, if she is not writing she is cleaning up after her two lovely angels.

Quality: Going Beyond To Bring Value Added Solutions To Customers

It appears my post last month on defining quality success has sparked some discussion from Paul Borawski on defining quality. Paul asks the influential voices of ASQ to define quality.

“What do you use as the best, most inclusive, and illuminating definition of quality?”

"Quality" means different things to different people. We use the term but the concept and vocabulary of quality is elusive. If you ask someone to define the word "quality", you will get a variety of answers.

The definition of quality often depends on the stakeholders. Stakeholders are, as the name implies, people with some stake or concern in the process. In manufacturing, the definition of quality can be fairly straightforward. Products should work as intended with a minimum number of faults or failures. This concept applies to services as well as products.

Quality must go beyond our product or service. We cannot add it at the end of the line or inspect it into the product. At best that is only a false sense of security. If we want a quality product it must be made with quality processes by quality minded people. A focus on quality must be intrinsic to the company culture and practices for the customer to take notice.

Manufacturing-based definitions are concerned primarily with engineering and manufacturing practices and use the universal definition of “conformance to requirements.” Requirements, or specifications, are established design, and any deviation implies a reduction in quality. In service industries, customer satisfaction is often the primary measure.

A modern definition of quality derives from Juran's "fitness for intended use." This definition basically says that quality is "meeting or exceeding customer expectations." Deming states that the customer's definition of quality is the only one that matters.

Quality is an ever evolving perception by the customer of the value provided by a product. It is not a static perception that never changes but a fluid process that changes as a product matures (innovation) and other alternatives (competition) are made available as a basis of comparison.

Excellence in quality is not necessarily in the eye of the beholder but rather in the standards set by the organization. This approach has serious weaknesses. The consumer’s perception of quality is equated with conformance and hence is internally focused. Emphasis on reliability in design and manufacturing tends to address cost reduction as the objective, and cost reduction is perceived in a limited way–invest in design and manufacturing improvement until these incremental costs equal the costs of non-quality such as rework or scrap.

The objective of “Quality" is to satisfy the ever-changing needs of our customers, suppliers and employees, with value added products and services emphasizing a continuous commitment to satisfaction through an ongoing process of education, communication, evaluation and constant improvement.

In manufacturing, a measure of excellence or a state of being free from defects, deficiencies, and significant variations, brought about by the strict and consistent adherence to measurable and verifiable standards to achieve uniformity of output that satisfies specific customer or user requirements. ISO 8402-1986 standard defines quality as "the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bears its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs."

The Baldrige Criteria doesn’t mention the word quality because every activity and decision contained in the structure of the criteria must be a quality activity or decision. Under this assumption, quality is built in to the very fiber of the organization. This is the preferred way to conduct the business of the organization.

A quality organization understands that the realization of quality must be continually energized and regenerated. Successful implementation of a quality focused organization requires commitment and patience, but the rewards are substantial. Beyond the obvious practical benefits, organizations become empowered to solve persistent process and performance challenges while raising the expectations they set for themselves.

Excellence in quality improves customer loyalty, elevates brand position, reduces cost, attracts new customers, and draws the best and brightest talent. A strong orientation for quality helps to achieve business goals. Achieving excellence in quality provides significant momentum for the business and is a source of pride for all employees. A comprehensive quality management system is a key attribute to the longevity and success of an organization.

Quality is important to businesses but can be quite hard to define. The meaning of quality differs depending upon circumstances and perceptions. For example, quality is a different concept when focusing on tangible products versus the perception of a quality service. The meaning of quality is also time-based or situational.

Unfortunately, there are not enough organizations that understand that quality is the means to bring value to customers. As quality professionals and the like it is our responsibility to continuously improve how we bring value to the customer. Going beyond quality brings true, lasting value.


I’m part of the ASQ Influential Voices program. While I receive an honorarium from ASQ for my commitment, the thoughts and opinions expressed on my blog are my own.

Don’t Blame the Operator, Ask One More Why

Operator error is often used in corrective action as a cause of failure. Although operators can make errors, operator error is not an acceptable cause of failure because it is not actionable. It is very often overused by the lazy or those who don't know any better but human error can almost always be mitigated.

Processes must be designed to expect that operators wish to do the correct thing. Training and providing work instructions and procedures are not robust enough for repetitive processes. Poor training and / or work instructions are inadequate secondary choices to operator error. The real issue is the operator discovers errors made in the process design. The process designer / engineer must strive to engage operators into the process and help reduce the number of possible errors available for operators to find.

We must approach operator error by considering the interfaces of the process that the operator is engaged in. The process should be designed to permit communication between the process and the operator.

With the process interface in mind, we must ask why one more time to cascade from operator error, down to specific actionable topics. Here are some examples of these actionable topics:

Actionable Topics to Replace "Operator Error"

Work Station Design

• Bench/Table Height
• Organization of work tools (5S)
• # of tools and placement
• Component Positions
• Quantity
• Similarity
• Extended Reach (occasional)
• Lighting
• Comfort Features
• Foot rests/seat position
• Standing work bench position

Ergonomics

• Height and Reach
• Work type
• Weight
• Lifting
• Motion
• #of steps
• Degrees of freedom
• Work station interface
• Blind operation
• Posture
• Insertion force
• Static insertions
• Plastic deformation of end source
• Tool
• Vibration
• Tool design

Documentation and Training

• Illustrations Process Documentation
• “A4” One page
• No Documentation
• Validation of Standard Work Practices
• Testing
• Demonstration
• Frequency of validation
• Training
• Definition
• Measurement of Success
• Complexity of documentation
• Labeling
• Legibility of work instructions
• # of pages
• Understandability (5 second rule)
• Fonts size and type

Assists and Tool Design

• Error proofing features (lack of)
• Tool calibration
• Pallet compliance
• Correct tool
• Multiple look alike
• Life of tool
• Wear out
• Fixture control
• Maintenance
• Clamp pressure
• Inadequate
• Too great
• Cycle completion/interruption
• Locators / proximity sensors
• Life expectancy
• Measurement instrument degradation
• Environment

Cognitive Attention and Concentration

• Audible Noise (Interruption)
• Environment
• Temperature
• Humidity
• Sensitivity to Interruption
• Repetition
• Motion
• Trance/Zone Inducement
• Sound Quality
• Harmonics
• Vibration/cyclical noise

Processes designed with operators in mind provide feedback to the process status. This process interface can be passive or active. Passive interfaces use visual cues, such as seeing parts remaining in a kitted bin or tactile feedback when installing a part or engaging a clamp. Active interfaces use logic, sounds, lights, process interruption or lockouts as feedback. Ultimately, Poka Yoke (error and mistake proofing) are deployed in order to eliminate or reduce errors discovered by operators.

Operator error is not actionable but the causes of operator error can be addressed by process and product changes. Don’t take the easy way out and blame the operator. Ask why, and then improve the process. Show Respect for People.