Tag: Quality

Quality: Leadership, Systems Thinking, and Continuous Improvement

Quality doesn’t come from inspection, pressure, or choosing between speed and accuracy. It comes from well-designed systems, capable processes, and leaders who focus on learning instead of blame. This archive brings together blog posts, podcasts, and reflections on quality through a Lean and Deming lens—covering psychological safety, metrics, variation, leadership behavior, healthcare quality, and why sustainable improvement depends on fixing systems rather than managing people harder.

Putting the Burden on Patients?

6
I saw this ad (click on the photo for a larger, readable view) in the Wall Street Journal Monday. It's an ad run...

Duct Taping the Dreamliner

7
Flightblogger: Temporary Fasteners Causing Major Problems for 787 ProgramOk, so Boeing isn't using duct tape in their efforts to cobble together the first Dreamliner...

The Bloodbath to Come

2
by Mike Lopez All these lead paint toy scandals are only the beginning. On July 12, 2007, Businessweek ran a story, "Made in China:...

No, Not Spongebob!!

2
LEAD SINKS SPONGEBOB CHINA GOODSSung to the TV theme... parody words by Mark Graban"Who's covered in lead and lives under the sea?Spongebob! Squarepants!Whose...

The Roots of Lean

4
by Mike Lopez Today and tomorrow, I have the pleasure of taking part in a Lean Six Sigma summit being hosted by our corporation....

Today’s Editorial Cartoon

2
From today's USA Today, on the heels of the recent bad quality from China news, which includes:Baby bibs with lead found at Wal-MartTainted seafood"Chemical...

Management’s Job is to be Proactive

20
Running a hospital: Our Joint Commission Report The headline is my modification of a Deming expression, that management's job is prediction. Statistical process control was...

Let’s Hope They Don’t Name the Grey Paint Color "Lead"

0
China's Chery Car: Safe At Any Speed For U.S. Market? - CNBC.comI had a number of readers email me this crash test video of...

Boo Mattel, Hooray Mattel

1
Mattel is the latest victim in the "poison products from China" series (the "poison train," as The Consumerist blog calls it). Victim is...

"Root Cause" in the News

1
In my morning reading yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised to see the phrase "root cause" in two stories I've written about here:Preventable Medical Errors...

Updated: China’s Manufacturing Reputation

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As More Toys Are Recalled, Trail Ends in China - New York TimesPet food, toothpaste, childrens' toys.... (oh and let's not forget the recent...

Nissan’s Mock Assembly Lines

1
Mock Assembly Lines Work Out Glitches: Financial News - Yahoo! FinanceNissan has struggled with quality (particularly in their Mississippi plant), so they are taking...
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