Too much diligence? Who'd have thought....?

Recently, I have been involved in a very interesting debate with my co-workers. Every week, the core manufacturing group meets to discuss what we shall call (for simplicity) customer complaints. We then agree (more often than not) on a root cause and corrective action for each case. Now, in certain types of part failures, root cause analysis is not so simple, and an engineer outside the group is then tasked to do some detailed research on that part. It could take months for the engineer to arrive at a conclusion for the group to use in determining the appropriate corrective action. Typically, there is no other activity on that particular case during that time, so the case would sit idle for a while. However, our new quality engineer, who was tasked with facilitating this meeting every week, felt that a culture change was in order. He felt that instead of simply sitting on a case while the analysis was being conducted, the group should continue to be proactive in identifying possible weaknesses in our manufacturing processes that could have led to that failure. Half the group agreed that the time we had until the results of the engineering analysis could be put to good use this way. The other half, however, disagreed. They felt that without knowing the exact cause of failure, we would be firing shots in the dark and wasting our efforts.

I think both sides have valid points. I strongly believe that as a supplier, we should take quality assurance seriously and be proactive in correcting any weaknesses in our processes. We should also develop the habit of asking ourselves the right questions about our processes and how they impact the final quality of the product. Most importantly, time is too precious to waste when there is a disgruntled customer who wants prompt action on our part.

On the other hand, time could be wasted either way if we force ourselves to make uninformed conclusions. Without solid information, we would basically be looking at all possible reasons for part failure and attempting to put checks in place to circumvent these reasons in the future, whether or not they were actually responsible for the failure. If we are not careful, we could end up torquing every screw, testing every sensor and every switch, and over-designing every mechanical part. This would not be a prudent thing to do at a company that makes equipment as large and complex as ours.

I do not sit on the fence on this one. I think waiting for the formal analysis is the right thing to do, even if it costs us some months. My colleagues know what a feisty proponent I usually am for proactive measures. So they would be surprised that I am against this measure that seems to be “proactive”. There is an illusion of proactiveness here. True, the investigation is indeed proactive. However, the resolution that comes out of it will still be reactive. Let’s take an interlock, for example. We know that the probability that it will fail is high. If we were truly proactive, we would act on that weakness even before we see the interlock fail at the customer site. After it does fail, the probability does not change. So if we do change our process to address that weakness just because we have an open case against that failure, it would still be a reactive measure. If we are taking reactive measures anyway, let take reactive measures that are justified by hard facts.

Thank heavens for choice

I think I’m the luckiest person on earth. I was born healthy and into a loving family. I’ve always had enough food to eat, clothes on my back and a roof over my head. My family lived in comfort and dignity in a safe, peaceful country. These are things I had no control over, and I couldn’t have asked for a better way for things to have worked out. There is, however, one thing I’m the most thankful for – choice. Whenever I reflect on my life, I realize how much control I’ve had over it. I realize that beyond what I was already blessed with, it is choice that allows me to shape my life into something I am proud of and happy in.

I wouldn’t consider myself spoiled, but I had absolutely no paucity of resources while growing up. More than the resources themselves, I’m thankful for the many choices that were available to me as a result of these resources. My most expensive choice changed my life. Leaving home to don Orange and Blue was a choice that I am very thankful I got to make.

Another thing that characterized my upbringing was the emotional freedom I had to make my own choices. Anyone whom I have told about my upbringing knows how much I rebelled against societal values, whether they came from within my family or outside of it. It was a miserable time during which I battled with confusion, disillusionment and an identity crisis. However, that experience turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because in the process, I got to choose my own values. I got to see beyond the cocoon that encased my immediate environment. In the end, I appreciate my parents letting me choose my values, even when they conflicted with theirs most of the time.

Choice is a very subtle gift that takes a lot of reflection to recognize. It is easy to recognize money, but it is slightly harder to recognize the choices available as a result of that money. It is easy to recognize the permissions that were so easy to get, but it is slightly harder to recognize the choice that one gets to exercise because of those permissions. Choice is indeed the greatest gift my parents have given me.

There are aspects of my life that I had no control over. However, beyond that, I am fortunate enough to have been able to decide my fate through my own decisions and actions. Now I am able to make choices that change my life for the better. I am also able to make my own mistakes and learn from them. Even during difficult times, I can hold my head up high and tell myself that this is the life I chose.

Introduction

As part of gracefully living out my premature mid-life crisis, I'm starting a blog. Now, two things you should know about me-

1) Being an impulsive person with the attention span of a toddler, I get tired of things as quickly as I decide to jump into them.

2) My biggest fear is for other people to get inside my head. Creeps me out...

But isn't that the awesome part of mid-life crisis? Don't you get to indulge your impulses and face your biggest fears? Isn't mid-life also the time you suddenly realize that you have all this wisdom... and no one cares? Oh boy this is a match made in heaven...

Any bets on how long I'll be keeping this up?