The Quality Issue That Was Really a Management Issue

A friend of mine, Andrew, is a Quality Engineer at an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). His job boils down to detecting and flagging quality issues in the parts his company produces.

The Quality Issue

Quality issues pop up often at this OEM. Parts frequently fail Andrew’s inspections because they’re malformed, damaged, or defected. And when one part has a quality issue, the entire batch typically does, too.

Detecting these problems is important because this company manufacture vital automotive systems, including chassis, interiors, seating, and and electronics. A defect in any of these parts can create a major safety hazard.

The Management Issue

Whenever Andrew reports these failed inspections to management, he hears the same response:

Send it out anyways.

In an attempt to save time and money, management will sell faulty parts in the hopes that they’ll be unnoticed. The team has assured Andrew that they’ll still investigate the quality issues, but several months have passed with seemingly no progress made.

I think this case is a prime example of how symptoms can be misleading.

Let’s say enough clients complained about the recurring quality issues and sparked an internal investigation at this OEM. An investigator might be inclined to only look into the quality control system, but this is a problem with the management system.

Quality control has successfully detected and flagged the problems; SPAC was violated when management stepped in.

And, I’ll reiterate, the management system needs further investigation, not the management team. Middle management might feel pressure to meet strict quotas, or they might not have the analytics to understand the full scope of the problem.

The Normalization of Deviation

The Normalization of Deviation, sometimes called the Normalization of Deviance, is the idea that human performance issues are the gradual result of unanswered violations.

If management can sell a few faulty parts without any consequences, what’s stopping them from selling a few more? If the quality control team should pass along some parts that failed inspection, what’s the big deal if some more slip through the cracks?

Any leniency in Standards, Policies, or Administrative Controls (SPAC) invites new deviations and new normals. The line will continue to be crossed until a major incident occurs.

In this case, that can range from the loss of a frustrated customer to the fatality of a driver sold faulty interiors.

The Solution

When problems are deeply integrated into our work systems, they won’t go away with simple corrective actions like discipline.

TapRooT® RCA allows your investigation team gain a full understanding of the problems within your work system and provides effective corrective actions. Our guided process helps you ask and answer the right questions.

If you’re interested to learn more about root cause analysis, let’s chat. We’d be happy to set up a free, 1-hour briefing and demo with you.