Quality Vs. Plant Utilization. Which one to choose?
+ 2 Quotes and 1 Quiz to kindle your thoughts.
Will you stop the production line, if there is a Quality issue in the process? Lean Mfg suggest to stop the line immediately and fix the process. However, I find that many production managers in India hesitate to stop the line to fix the issue.
The reasons are:
Top management forces the continue the production in other machines or they do not listen to the production manager for stopping the line. Plant Utilization Rate has highest priority.
Production manager is not aware of the impact of running the other operations - impact of the WIP
Operators are in contract - they cannot stop production, as they are paid based on their production
Repeated issue - No point in stopping the line. This means Root Cause Analysis has not been done and no Corrective and Preventive Action has been taken.
Process demands that the remaining pieces are completed - e.g. Food Processing industry where the line cannot wait once the process started.
What are your thoughts? Please Share it in the comments.
2 Quotes for the week:
Quality is everyone's responsibility - Edward Deming
Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort. - John Ruskin
1 Quiz for the Week:
In Quality Management, what does a control chart monitor?
a) Employee productivity
b) Process stability and variation
c) Inventory levels
d) Machine setup times
Share your answer in the comments and get featured in our next week’s newsletter.
Thank you Mr. Manoj Kumar for sharing the correct answer for the last week’s quiz.
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Stop the line if the process is producing defects. Fixing the problem at the source protects the customer, builds long-term efficiency, and reflects a culture of operational discipline and respect for quality.