Articles by Jim L. Smith

Discover what your customers expect and consistently deliver. This remains a guiding principle for any quality system and should apply to product- and service-based environments.

In part 1, we explored the linkage of quality and lean. In this segment, we will discuss how quality and lean should be married together in product and process redesign and improvement.

The relationship between lean manufacturing and quality management has evolved to focus on balancing efficiency with product quality. Initially, lean practices sometimes compromised quality, but now there's a more integrated approach that reduces waste while meeting customer expectations for excellence.

The phrase "time is money," often attributed to Benjamin Franklin, originally appeared in his 1748 essay "Advice to a Young Tradesman" as "Remember that time is money." This concept highlights how critical business processes can create bottlenecks that negatively impact efficiency and capacity limits.

When errors occur in manually entered data for project reports, it’s crucial to communicate with your supervisor and request more time to correct them. Acknowledging that mistakes happen, the priority should be on identifying and validating any unusual entries to ensure the report is reliable.

My career in employee involvement initiatives has shown me that while top management commitment is essential for successful quality programs, gaining middle management buy-in is equally important for translating that commitment into action.

A component supplier sought to improve quality and reduce costs by studying principles from quality experts. Leaders embraced continuous improvement and formed a kaizen team to analyze their primary product.

Unlocking success requires a positive mindset, clear goals, and a willingness to embrace challenges. Discover the key principles that can elevate your journey and help you achieve your dreams.

Today, organizations face various risks like cyber-attacks, data breaches, system failures, service disruptions, and natural disasters. Identifying and managing these risks at acceptable levels is crucial. Failing to acknowledge these risks can leave organizations unprepared to handle their potential impact.

Management at a company didn't allow blaming employees for incidents. For instance, an employee got injured while not following safety rules. The root cause was identified as the lack of motivation to follow procedures, leading to more effective corrective action.