31st International Conference of the TOC Practitioners Alliance - TOCPA www.tocpractice.com
KukonAskel 9 March, 2017 – Helsinki, Finland
Why quality work sucks? And how this waste can be analyzed and eliminated with TOC
Rami Saajoranta, Leo Lauramaa, Finland 9 March, 2017
Presenters Rami Saajoranta M.Sc.(eng.), Jonah, TOCICO Certified TPP, LSS GB, has more than 15 years’ experience of different development positions. Long career as Quality Manager and the last years in strategy development in Gasum Oy (Nordic Gas company) have motivated to dig deeper into the conflict in the presentations title. Rami has especially concentrated on utilization of Thinking Processes both in strategy and development work. Leo Lauramaa M.Sc.(econ.), Kukonaskel Oy, is experienced management and operations development consultant. He has more than 35 years’ experience on international trade, supply chain management, strategy work and participative change management. Leo is representing the Finnish translations of TOC developer Eli Goldratt’s books and he is utilizing constantly TOC Thinking Processes and other TOC-related methods in his consultancy engagements. www.tocpractice.com
KukonAskel RS/LL
31st International Conference of the TOC Practitioners Alliance - TOCPA
2
The initial audience
Half day workshop on Theory of Constraints • Presentation was “pre audited” by the members of Finnish TOC community • Audience: 10 Finnish development professionals from well known organizations – only two had some knowledge of TOC before • An example of the feedback received: “The best presentation in the whole conference” www.tocpractice.com
KukonAskel RS/LL
31st International Conference of the TOC Practitioners Alliance - TOCPA
3
Different views • • • • • •
Management Quality / development people Employees ISO9001 Standard Internal auditor External auditor
“Road to hell is paved with good intensions” www.tocpractice.com
KukonAskel RS/LL
31st International Conference of the TOC Practitioners Alliance - TOCPA
4
www.tocpractice.com
KukonAskel RS/LL
31st International Conference of the TOC Practitioners Alliance - TOCPA
5
How is quality work seen in our current reality? Quality work brings very seldom real verifiable and measurable added value for business and it’s development Business units/areas reject quality work coming from ”outside” and is not supporting it actively The management is perceiving quality system as paralyzing the organization and does not grant the required high level support
The efforts of the quality organization are focused on tinkering with secondary things from business viewpoint
The instructions are not serving the needs of the organization
Usually quality system is standard-oriented
www.tocpractice.com
KukonAskel RS/LL
31st International Conference of the TOC Practitioners Alliance - TOCPA
6
Evaporating cloud / Conflict resolution diagram
B. Avoid nonproductive overresourcing
D. Management is weakly committed to internal quality work
C. Ensure smooth operations
D’. Management is strongly committed to internal quality work
A. Ensure that company succeeds now and in the future
www.tocpractice.com
KukonAskel RS/LL
31st International Conference of the TOC Practitioners Alliance - TOCPA
7
Quality work is not effective In the worst case management is playing an act with quality work – an emperor with no clothes
Business units/areas reject quality work coming from ”outside” and are not supporting it actively
Management needs to pretend that they take the requirements of standard seriously
The management is perceiving quality system as paralyzing the organization and does not grant the required high level support Quality work brings very seldom real verifiable and measurable added value for business and it’s development
Quality people may (unintentionally) sub-optimize their work as they are not able to see the big picture
The external auditor acts as a judge ”keeping the certificate on the wall”
The efforts of the quality organization are focused on tinkering with secondary things from business viewpoint
Usually management is not willing to set real business goals as quality targets
The requirements of ISO standard are giving peculiar impression of the reality from management and value creation points of view
The instructions are not serving the needs of the organization
Usually quality system is standard-oriented
ISO Standard outlines quality work Quality organization is working isolated from the business on it’s own corner
Quality manager seldom has comprehensive real-time business viewpoint
Quality work and corresponding know-how is focused on conventional operative work on grass roots / shop floor
www.tocpractice.com
KukonAskel RS/LL
Management is weakly committed to st internal quality work
31
Instructions are visible sign of quality system
Quality system is usually few steps behind from current reality and is not supporting the development
Quality manager is seldom involved when important business changes are being prepared
International Conference of the TOC Practitioners Alliance - TOCPA
8
www.tocpractice.com
KukonAskel RS/LL
31st International Conference of the TOC Practitioners Alliance - TOCPA
9
TOC thinking, quality and competitiveness • Couldn’t the kind of quality work, which is really building the competitiveness, be the special expertise of the quality/development organization? • Then this expertize could be spread wider into the organization. • Focused quality assurance • Also to not to take actions which are not contributing to the bottom line
www.tocpractice.com
KukonAskel RS/LL
31st International Conference of the TOC Practitioners Alliance - TOCPA
10
What kind of future do we want? Quality work brings very seldom real verifiable and measurable added value for business and it’s development
Quality work brings substantial visible added value for business and it’s development
Business units/areas reject quality work coming from ”outside” and is not supporting it actively
The business units / areas utilize quality work to reach their own business goals
The management is perceiving quality system as paralyzing the organization and does not grant the required high level support
The management is supporting quality work by giving its own strong contribution
The efforts of the quality organization are focused on tinkering with secondary things from business viewpoint
The organization in all levels is utilizing the focused toolset, applications and know-how of the quality organization
The instructions are not serving the needs of the organization
Each employee finds the needed instructions effortlessly in different work roles
Usually quality system is standard-oriented
The requirements of different standards are followed in most practical, simple way
www.tocpractice.com
KukonAskel RS/LL
31st International Conference of the TOC Practitioners Alliance - TOCPA
11
www.tocpractice.com
KukonAskel RS/LL
31st International Conference of the TOC Practitioners Alliance - TOCPA
12
Evaporating cloud / Conflict resolution diagram
B. Avoid nonproductive overresourcing
D. Management is weakly committed to internal quality work
C. Ensure smooth operations
D’. Management is strongly committed to internal quality work
A. Ensure that company succeeds now and in the future
www.tocpractice.com
KukonAskel RS/LL
We will shift from standard based quality work to Strategic Quality Work (SQW)
31st International Conference of the TOC Practitioners Alliance - TOCPA
13
What kind of elements the SQW could contain? We must rethink the content, targets and organizing of the • Money making quality, flow • Quality/effective methods belong to everybody • The formal quality system is authorized to stay in secondary role
We have to be able to identify and justify the gained competitiveness and benefits (strategy process) of the quality / different tools & approaches • We have to create a culture where one is allowed and also required to question the prevailing restricting paradigms. A culture where new breakthrough solutions are welcomed, if they increase competitiveness. • Compare with Peter Drucker in 2001: “it is not your job to tell your business leaders what to do!” – we do not agree…
www.tocpractice.com
KukonAskel RS/LL
31st International Conference of the TOC Practitioners Alliance - TOCPA
14
What kind of elements are not in the core of SQW? • ISO standards? • EFQM? • Malcolm Baldridge?
Aiming at “Balanced line”
Can these be the dominant continuous improvement frameworks for ever improving organizations? …maybe not?
www.tocpractice.com
KukonAskel RS/LL
31st International Conference of the TOC Practitioners Alliance - TOCPA
15
SQW roadmap
Strategy and holistic system view
Focus and priorities
Application toolkit (TOC applications, DDMRP, TLS, LSS) not only operations management view!
www.tocpractice.com
KukonAskel RS/LL
31st International Conference of the TOC Practitioners Alliance - TOCPA
16
The solution We will shift from standard based quality work to Strategic Quality Work (SQW)
• Management becomes aware of importance of high quality work and actively supports only internal activities to gain knowledge. • Higher internal knowledge will lead to higher throughput and especially a steeper learning curve of the organization. • Requirements of quality standards will be fully achieved with benefits for the whole organization.
www.tocpractice.com
KukonAskel RS/LL
31st International Conference of the TOC Practitioners Alliance - TOCPA
17
Is this an utopia? • Such companies do exist and they are very profitable. (comment provided also by Fredrik Nordström on May 2016)
• According to experienced though seasoned quality work seniors these companies represent some 10-15% of all companies … which is depressingly small number • The new ISO9001:2015 is established to demand approach which is close to what we have presented
www.tocpractice.com
KukonAskel RS/LL
31st International Conference of the TOC Practitioners Alliance - TOCPA
18
Quality work is effective – quality shotgun has been converted into sniper rifle
The management is supporting quality work by giving its own strong contribution
Quality work is not causing waste
Quality work brings substantial visible added value for business and it’s development
Audits bring more added value than just ”the certificate stays on the wall”
The business units / areas utilize quality work to reach their own business goals
Audits are based on the goals and strategy of the company The organization in all levels is utilizing the focused toolset, applications and know-how of the quality organization
Internal and external audits are focused based on the existing business needs
Quality work is based on the comprehensive up-to-date system view
Quality organization has a consultative role on applying effective quality tools (i.e. TOC, TLS, DDMRP)
The requirements of standard and the practices of company have been linked We have switched from the measurement of resource efficiency to flow efficiency (TIC TOC)
Each employee finds the needed instructions effortlessly in different work roles
When preparing the instructions the different work roles and respective instruction requirements are considered
Quality manager ensures that management system meets the external requirements of quality standard
We have shifted from standard based quality work to Strategic Quality Work (SQW)
Quality work has been integrated to business development (no separate quality management system development)
KukonAskel RS/LL
The requirements of standard are fulfilled regardless where they have been documented (vs. comprehensive Quality management system)
Quality measurements support the achievement of business goals
Quality work and corresponding knowhow are based on the goals and strategy of the company
The know-how of quality tools is constantly developed based on potential gains (i.e. TOC, TLS, DDMRP)
www.tocpractice.com
Quality measurements help people to understand what is expected from them
The requirements of different standards are followed in most practical, simple way
SQW empowerment is ensured by management and organizational resourcing (i.e. COO)
It is allowed and required to challenge dominant paradigms that are constraining development
The management and line organization are internalizing ever st better the added value potential of the quality work
31
1. Only critical and relatively stable matters are included in the instructions 2. DSUI-practice (Destruction Sessions for Unnecessary Instructions) 3. Those who are using the instructions are engaged to prepare them
International Conference of the TOC Practitioners Alliance - TOCPA
19
The Choice, chapter 18
www.tocpractice.com
KukonAskel RS/LL
31st International Conference of the TOC Practitioners Alliance - TOCPA
20
Discussion about the solution and the implementation • The next steps of the thinking processes …NBR, PRT, implementation plan • Solving the flying pigs • What was good, what should be developed further, what other elements we might need? • Where could we start?
www.tocpractice.com
KukonAskel RS/LL
31st International Conference of the TOC Practitioners Alliance - TOCPA
21
Thanks!
Rami Saajoranta and Leo Lauramaa
www.tocpractice.com
KukonAskel RS/LL
31st International Conference of the TOC Practitioners Alliance - TOCPA
22
