• Culture and management support are the number one issue. To succeed over the long haul, companies must embrace fact-based management and create policies, procedures and guidelines that foster following rigorous quality methodologies.
• Projects for improvement must have adequate resources, a multi-disciplinary team, and be focused enough to accomplish results.
• Know your goal with the project—use analysis to understand the problem first.
• Business processes may need to change before major benefits will occur.
• Technology projects must stay focused on what you need, and be as simple as possible. Leverage what the vendor knows, but take responsibility internally.
•培训在新工艺成功的关键,with new technologies, and in keeping technology working to fix real quality problems and accomplish real business goals.
• Management needs to see business results to stay committed, so set up processes to include measurements before and after a major change, and on an ongoing basis.
• Audit internal operations regularly. This not only makes customer and government audits easier, it produces better business results. Many quality software systems have an audit module.
• Prevent backsliding through ongoing training and education, plus ensuring the people using the system actually see benefits to their job and to the company.
• Leverage quality data and processes in all improvement initiatives. From Six Sigma to Lean, there are ways to link all of these programs effectively.
• Continuous improvement means just that—it’s a journey that is never done. Do not expect a project, program or new technology system to keep providing benefits on its own. Diligence is required to keep the business improving and competitive.
See the story that goes with this sidebar: Quality Breakthroughs: Many Paths, Common Themes
