Understanding the Mostly Importance of Quality in Manufacturing and Services

Why it should be foremost given the current political atmosphere.

It's something that's heard all the time now: "They don't make 'em like they used to" or "Another product made outside of the United States." Indeed, to some degree, there's a ring of truth to these sentiments; unfortunately, many areas of commerce - notably the aforementioned electronics sector - are being outsourced to countries such as China on a widespread basis, so much so that many consumers feel value has paid the ultimate price. Case in point: 

The home audio enthusiast market saw a resurgence of turntables over the past decade or so, driven by a millennial demographic just getting their feet wet in the "vinyl resurgence" pool, but in the mad scramble to compete and churn out these record players as fast as they were being purchased, many major companies outsourced their specs to Asia-based entities that ended up cutting corners to meet a price point.

As a result, more than a few series of turntables from this particular brand suffered from poor build, unreliable drive motors, design snafus such as warped platters and more - all of which compromise a vinyl playback system's performance in critical ways.

Of course, this is just a broad, random example, but our point is that quality in manufacturing and services, especially in our current somewhat heated political atmosphere, should be first and foremost - a sentiment that has not been lost on President Donald J. Trump, who has given US manufacturing representatives a different viewpoint to consider when it comes to consumer manufactured products.

In short, President Trump wants American manufacturing to step up to the plate, and it begins and ends with "the Q word."

Why should this be first and foremost when taken in a manufacturing context? It is easy to falter in an optimistic market and revel in manufacturing optimism; to be blunt, it is the only sustainable pillar that drives excellence in business. Value in a company that manufactures goods not only helps the economy meet customer and industry expectations, it can keep costs down. 

Managing excellence is crucial for small businesses in particular, because well-built products help to 

maintain customer satisfaction and loyalty while reducing the risk and cost of replacing faulty goods.

Let's take a quick look at the primary elements of this subject:

• Meeting Customer Expectations - Customers expect a company to deliver great products, and when it doesn't they quickly look for alternatives. Distinction is critical to satisfying customers and retaining their loyalty so they continue to buy in the future. 

• Managing a Reputation - Excellence influences a company's reputation, as poor build or a product failure (like the turntable example we mentioned earlier) can create negative publicity and damage a reputation. 

• Meeting Industry Standards - Accreditation to a recognized standard may be essential for dealing with certain customers or complying with legislation. 

• Managing Costs - Poor characteristics increases costs, as we alluded to, because without an effective control system in place a company may incur the cost of analyzing nonconforming goods or services to determine the root causes.

For manufacturing firms, it's important to ramp up process training, management commitment and involvement in all teams when improving purity control, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to take a look at suppliers, as well. Researching, studying and evaluating alone will improve this area - and parts - and top-shelf products equal sales for the long-term, all while eliminating consumer mistrust in manufacturing.

President Trump has set us on the right course... now we need to all do our part to improve US manufacturing.

In need of help because you don't know where to start? CALL ME!

Qualaco, Inc. is a Houston consulting company that focuses on providing clients in the in manufacturing and service with quality management systems. 

The experienced and knowledgeable professionals work closely with clients to help them achieve ISO 9001 certification, and many other standards, the company's primary mission in working with clients being to help businesses understand the value of aligning to an International Standard and the importance of Quality. The batter for business.

Designing For Data Quality Technique

The quality of data across and in your enterprise systems.

Most, if not all, data quality problems are caused by human error.

Approximately 80% of errors are simple data capture errors - users entering the wrong information - with the balance largely arising through poor data integration.

Over the last fifteen years I have delivered multiple data quality audits and assessments, in different environments and, based on my experience, suggest that a few simple design choices can have a dramatic impact on your ability to manage information quality at an holistic level.

1. Plan to capture the User and Date that information was captured, or modified.

Data profiling and discovery tools uncover interesting patterns of behavior in your systems. If this behavior can be linked to specifics users, groups, or time periods then it can be managed.

For example, we may identify that x% of our information has an incorrect link between supplier and product code. We can now go ahead and fix the problem but we have no real insight as to when, or why, it occurred. Data governance, and root cause analysis, require context for our information.

Date of Capture information gives you important context.

Is this an old problem that has subsequently been resolved?

System validation may have improved but we have been left with a legacy of erroneous, poor quality records.

Or maybe the errors can be tied back to a historical event. Do these records link back to the migration of information

from the previous ERP platform into the current one?

Maybe the errors have started recently - have there been any recent system changes that may have allowed users to capture faulty records?

 Similarly, User information gives you context

Can you track patterns of behavior to specific users or teams?

Users will develop certain patterns of behavior, or work around, in order to bypass system restrictions where these are considered to be onerous, or where they do not allow the task to be performed.

For example, a system may require a Client Account ID to be captured before allowing a call to be completed. If the client does not know, or will not share, this information the call center agent, under pressure to complete the call timorously, may capture another Client's ID instead.

Patterns in behavior by specific users, or groups of users, are a key indicator of a broken business process.

Further investigation will need to be done by the data stewards.

Maybe the problem can be tied back to overly ambitious system validations?

Do the users need training or additional support? In many cases, these errors can be solved by education.

Do your user's KPIs need adjustment? Many data quality errors are caused because users are measured on volume of data captured rather than on quality of data captured.

Quite possibly there will be a combination of some or all of these factors.

Designing with data quality in mind means giving context to errors! You may want to add additional information to your systems.

2. Use a "soft" delete / merge

Another issue we may uncover in your information is that of so-called "orphan records" - records that have lost their partner.

Two simple examples - a delivery note that does not have a delivery address, or an order that does not have a customer.

In some cases, these records are simply captured incorrectly - the user accidentally types in a non-existent customer number.

In this case, you can do root cause analysis as per point 1.

However, in many cases this issue is caused by one of the records being deleted after the event. Your user linked the order to an existing customer and, later, another user deleted the customer record.

Deletion and merging are important tools for managing data integrity. If you want to reduce faulty or duplicate records you must give users the tools to sort out these issues.

A deletion is used when a record is no longer relevant. There can be a number of good business reasons to delete a record
- for example, a legal requirement to cease doing business with a particular client. A so-called soft delete provides you with a means to treat the record as deleted, without losing any information.

A soft delete means that, instead of physically removing the record from the underlying database, the record is marked as deleted. This means that users will not be able to access or use that record, but that it will still be available for audit purposes.

A merge is used when you identify that two or more records exist for the same entity. This is an extremely common problem, most efficiently picked up through the use of automated data cleansing and matching tools.

For example, the supplier records for "Mr J Bloggs, CDO at Widgets Co" and "Joseph P. Bloggs, Chief Data Officer, Widgets Company Inc." represent the same supplier.

In order to clean up our system we need to merge these records to create a single, unified supplier records.

A soft merge would link both records via a common key, allowing us to maintain the integrity of all linking transactions, before soft deleting all but one of the set.

Your system should be designed to facilitate soft deletes and soft merges.

Plan to allow the addition of linking keys to group similar or related records, as well as for the use of a soft delete.

When used in combination with a data quality metric program these simple tips provide a solid foundation to solve most data quality issues.

Hollow Steel Door And Quality Door Locks

Don't worry you can spend all the time in the world choosing a high-quality commercial steel door for your business, but it doesn't mean much unless you have a quality door lock as well. Sure, commercial steel doors are sturdy, and are designed to protect your assets from natural disasters as well as unsavory folks. However, without a top-notch lock, your door is nothing more than an opening into your business.

Obviously you're not about to install a door without a lock. We're not assuming that's your intention. However, have you put any conscious thought into the type of door lock you want installed with your door? You have as much say and freedom about the type of door locks you want as you do with the color you chose for your office.

The right lock for your hollow steel door

One of the most trusted names in locks is PDQ, which is an American-based company that strives hard to keep their prices low. They offer a rather wide variety of locks to meet your needs, including the following.

Auxiliary lock - Auxiliary locks feature a latch bolt or deadbolts. These bolts are operated by a key or a thumb turn, or at times, both. Usually you'll find auxiliary locks used in conjunction with other locks.

Cylindrical lock - This is your standard lock, requiring boring a hole through the door in order to make way for a key-in-knob, key-in-lever, or deadbolt.

Series Exit Device - You'll see these exist device systems in high-traffic areas such as schools and government buildings. They are in compliance with life safety and fire code requirements. These are the push-bar devices that will open/unlock a door when needed, but keep it secure all other times.

Interconnected door locks - Interconnected door locks feature an internal device that unlocks the deadbolt lock if a knob or lever is turned. This type of lock is a requirement for group and retirement homes, as well as for some municipalities.

Sometimes you don't have an option in the type of lock you can install (as is the case with interconnected locks). Fire and safety requirements might dictate your decision. However, other times you do have a choice in the matter. It's important to look at all of your options (and there are many) before you come to a final decision. Working with a trusted lock seller or distributor might save you time and money in the long run.

Your steel commercial door can't do its job all by itself. In order to truly be a security device, your door needs a trusted lock that can handle the job you ask of it. But choosing the right lock isn't always easy. It's a matter of determining what (if any) regulations exist, what type of traffic your door will see, and what kind of existing decor your space features. Amazing Doors & Hardware offers one of the widest selection of commercial door locks sure to match your needs and satisfy.