In this article taken from LEI's Design Brief, Jim Morgan talks about the often overlooked topic of building quality into new products. Learn how a customer-centric approach in development can prevent costly rework and build lasting trust.

Words: Jim Morgan, Senior Advisor, Lean Enterprise Institute

This Design Brief article was previously published on The Lean Post. To subscribe to the Design Brief, click here.

Challenge for Improvement of Product and Process Quality.

This month's Design Brief is a challenge to improve the quality of your new product and process. I realize that this may not be a particularly popular topic right now. Many would rather talk about breakthrough innovation or shipping minimally acceptable products. But the news is full of stories about serious quality problems in almost every industry. Boeing, Ford, Tesla, and many other companies constantly struggle with quality problems and recalls for which some even publicly blame their customers and others, predictably, fall back on the "5 Who's" blame protocol. Frankly, this discussion is long overdue.

Those of us in the Lean community understand that basic quality is meeting or exceeding customer expectations and is fundamental to a Lean business. We also know that the cost of rework and returns can be enormous. Worse is the blow to your reputation. Some organizations never recover.

Quality Problem Solving in Development

The place to start a "quality first" and "customer first" mentality is not on the shop floor - it is in development. Development has far more impact than any other place in the organization - not just on the effectiveness of the product for the ultimate customer, but for everyone along the value stream. Development can make it easy for people to do their jobs correctly or nearly impossible. Lean Product and Process Development (LPPD) principles, practices and tools are powerful enablers of high-quality, reliable products and processes. Improving your design practices, design reviews, quality control system, testing, knowledge capture and reuse through LPPD methods are very effective in improving quality. But your people will determine your ultimate success.

The Heart of the Case

Consistently high-quality products come from organizations that focus tirelessly on their customer. That starts with leadership. Leaders get the culture they demonstrate and tolerate - and that is especially true of quality. And I believe many leaders flat-out fail their organizations on quality.

Good leaders demonstrate quality as a priority. They provide the time, resources, quality operating infrastructure, training and decision-making that enables their people to deliver. They lead by example and embody the customer-first mentality. They roll up their sleeves, know their stuff, and do the little things right - showing the required discipline and attention to detail - every day. Bad leaders try to get away with a sincere-sounding press release and a feel-good speaker at a management off-site. It doesn't work. Such leaders fail their organizations and customers. Consider how millions of auto customers should feel.

Don't wait for your own quality crisis to act. Once a major spill has occurred, it can be almost impossible to dig out from under it. Just ask the leadership at Boeing or Ford. Start now, and start in development, focusing on your customer to improve the quality of your products and processes. Begin your own return to basics as suggested by Saito, "There is a need for reform and return to basics when we first started in the auto industry of thoroughly emphasizing that 'quality comes first' and 'the customer comes first.'" Your customers will certainly thank you, and you will be amazed at the positive changes in your organization.

In this Month's Design Brief

• Fabrice Bernhard, co-founder and CTO of Theodo, a global Lean software consulting firm, contributes an essential piece on applying Toyota's dantotsu (Japanese for "radical") quality improvement methodology to software development. Fabrice reveals pioneering improvement practices for an industry in dire need of rethinking with regard to quality.
• Matthew Savas and I share a summary of our remarkable discussions with Tatsuhiko Yoshimura, PhD, former Toyota engineering and quality executive and creator of the pioneering Toyota quality method known as mizenboushi GD3, for detecting and solving latent problems in designs.
• Steve Shoemaker, former vice president of engineering at Caterpillar's Earth Moving Division, shares his experiences on how Lean principles were applied within Caterpillar and, in a span of less than five years, quality improved by more than 50 percent while warranty dropped by $90 million. New product introductions were no longer firefighting events but methodical marches to market with few surprises.
• And finally, Matthew Savas has a conversation with my good friend and former colleague, Jeri Ford, vice president of quality at electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors, about ensuring quality through the value stream, from design to supply chain and manufacturing.

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