Quality problems and production issues from other areas show up in your workstation

Continuous improvement requires teamwork, and that means working together to solve quality problems. In a poor culture, people blame each other for mistakes, or have a ‘that’s not my problem’ attitude. But when teams are focused on continuous improvement, they help each other eliminate problems once and for all.

Problem

Quality problems and production issues from other areas show up in your workstation.

How this affects you

You are already working hard, so it doesn’t take much to get overwhelmed and discouraged when additional problems end up in your lap.

As Lean gets going, your leaders will place an increasing emphasis on highlighting quality issues and correcting problems. Your boss will expect you to help solve whatever difficulties you discover, even if you didn’t cause the defect.

That extra work makes your job harder and hurts your relationship with upstream coworkers.

Action to Take

The real solution starts from a general attitude that quality is everyone’s responsibility. Many major problems can trace their way to small, correctible errors upstream. 

It can be tempting to take the easy way out and pass on poor quality, especially if it didn’t originate in your area. Instead, follow the andon process and call for help to get problems fixed. If you do provide a quick fix on something, make sure you notify whoever is manning the station at the source of the problem. If defects persist, record them and become a bulldog to get the issues resolved. Stand-up meetings at the start of a workday provide you a great opportunity to keep attention on the problem.

Why this works

The Why this Works section is only available in print copies of Whaddaya Mean I Gotta Be Lean?