Motivating
the operators of a crucial quality system to improve it.
This is an example
of Improving systems.
"Helping the people who operate
and use systems to improve them. This usually involves making systems much
simpler. People work hard to carry out their improvements."
An
organisation converted a variable and potentially hazardous natural product
into a variety of medical products. Rigorous, rapid and accurate testing of the
raw material and the products was essential to manage the production process
and ensure the safety of the products.
In
practice, the testing system was slow and sometimes inaccurate.
I
interviewed the manager, the people who worked in the Technical Department on
Quality Assurance and Control and key people in the Production department to
find out what worked and how they thought the system could be simplified and
improved. The manager added his analysis of the minimum outputs required by the
regulators. His input and my report on the interview results formed part of
workshops for all the people involved in the system.
At these workshops and afterwards people identified and implemented many ways to improve the system. Most involved them doing dramatically less work by eliminating unnecessary transcription of results and checking. The people themselves worked out how to make the system both better and easier to use.
If you would like to discuss any of this further, or meet, please call Nick Heap on +44 (0)1707 886553 or email info@nickheap.co.uk