#QualityMatters

The Kepner Tregoe Decision model is a useful tool to find the best possible choice, not a perfect solution. Your first step in this model is to identify the situation, define concerns and choose a direction. The next step is determining the problem and it’s root cause. I personally feel like root cause is often left out of the equation. Next you list alternatives and perform an analysis on each. The last step is to identify possible problems with the alternatives. Once you have created...

COVID-19 is still a very hot topic in the United States. Of course, we like to share with you how quality matters in all aspects of your life. Whatever you feel about COVID, masks, lock-downs, back to school, and the government, COVID affects you. We came across a Deming Institute blogpost about a man in India that used control charts to put into perspective the information that residents were getting daily. India is one-third the size of the United States, but about 4 times the people. As...

Matt Sands joins us as we discuss continuous improvement and quality and their importance when the oil and gas industry in a downturn. Don’t do the wrong things righter! Quality shouldn’t be something else that costs you money. Quality is getting your processes and procedures on paper and doing what you say you’re going to. This is important anytime, but especially during a downturn when you might be facing a shut down. Having your procedures in places helps to track everything from how much...

The title says it all folks, Mask Wearing & COVID-19 - Risks, Benefits & Requirements. What are risks and what are the OSHA requirements? Listen in as we discuss the very relevant topic of Covid-19 and the use of mask. In this episode, we review some literature from different sources assessing N95, P95, surgical masks, and cloth/fabric/cotton masks. We are releasing today's episode early in light of recent requirements in the state of Texas for masks in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and...

Who hasn’t heard of Deming’s Red Bead Experiment? A lot of people, probably. However, if you’ve ever worked somewhere that you’ve done your best, followed the procedures, and your performance still wasn’t good, you may be trapped in a red bead system. This episode shows us how important a system is that includes opportunity for employees to offer input on continual improvement. Deming, in a workshop, “hires” a few employees. Their job is to fill a small paddle with all white beads. The...

Today we discuss continual improvement through top management change for the good of all interested parties. Darci absolutely loved this blog post. Kyle and Darci, in both personal and professional life, are improvement seekers. They both believe that change begins with you. This blog discusses that very phenomenon through Mike Duggan who was at the time the CEO of Detroit Medical Center. Deming Institute & Mike Dugan as CEO of Detroit Medical System Being the CEO, top management, Duggin was...

In this episode we discuss a blog post from The Deming Institute on why the Toyota production system is more effective than others. To fully understand this, you have to understand ‘part’ vs. ‘part of’. Darci had to have Kyle’s help understanding this one, but once she caught on, it was as simple as it sounds. The blog starts with a story of a Ford Motor Company assembly plant manager buying competitor’s cars to disassemble them and learn how they were assembled by reassembling them. In...

Mayo Clinic Part 3! In our last episode of sharing the case study of Mayo Clinic, we come to putting some quality measures in place. Mayo standardized one process after another with two ideas in mind: standardization prevents harm, eliminates waste or both and it would move Mayo to more perfect outcomes. We discuss how they standardized practices as simple as hand hygiene and as difficult as correctly dosing the blood thinner, Warfarin. As Mayo Clinic continued to grow, they realized they...

In our first episode of this mini-series, we discussed what led Mayo Clinic to developing a quality program and how they decided a blend of methods was best. We ended with Mayo Clinic assessing their system and knowing that to get standardized best practices across 50 locations, they would need fundamental changes toward customers, workforce, operation, and information and knowledge management. In this episode, we discuss all of that, and a little more. Customers: Mayo Clinic realized the...

This week we begin a quality journey with Mayo Clinic discussing a case study posted by ASQ and written by Mary Beth and James Buckman. This introductory episode teaches us about Mayo clinic’s innovative mindset from their beginning in the 1880’s. Mayo Clinic decided from the beginning that they were going to be a physician led organization with a team approach. Early in the 1900s one of their pioneer physicians, Henry Plummer, pushed for “pooled resources,” wanting one place to keep all...

People Will Meet Your ExpectationsSo be careful what you wish for, you just might get it. Story of self-fulfilling prophecy from England when a computer mixed up the “bright” and “dumb” kids. The teachers taught according to the report and when admin found the error, they retested them. Results found that the actual group of “bright” kids had gone down significantly and the actual group of “dumb” kids had increased. The bright kids labeled dumb created the paradigm for the teachers to teach...

Covey was asked to consult on a project with a large banking institution. They needed to evaluate and improve their management training program. At the time, they selected college graduates and put them through two-week assignments in each of the 12 departments, creating a 6-month training program. At the end of the 6 months, the trainees were assigned as assistant managers in different branches. To start, Covey’s consulting team tried to nail down objectives. What did the execs want the...

"Efficient' scheduling and control of time are often counterproductive. The efficiency focus creates expectations that clash with the opportunities to develop rich relationships, to meet human needs, and to enjoy spontaneous moments on a daily basis." - Stephen Covey Learn more about #QualityMatters & Texas Quality Assurance LLC:LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTubewww.qmcast.com | Texas Quality Assurance |QMS Bootcamp

I think it’s safe to say we’ve all had an unpleasant car repair experience. In this episode, we share an experience we had, but through the lens of leadership vs. management. Within the same company, the manager was lacking, but the leader was not. We really aren’t using our platform to complain, although it’s a grand and unbelievable story, we see most of our experience through the lens of quality and where the breakdown is. It was amazing to both of us the difference in the two supervisors...

Leadership and management are sometimes used interchangeably. Covey puts a lot of emphasis on putting first things first and he defines these two words with that in mind. Leadership decides what things are first, management puts those things first. Leadership vs Management... lots to learn. Steven Covey - Leadership vs Management - The 7 Habits for Managers The quality of the people you hire can not be stressed enough. Your business should start with a meaningful mission statement, your...

Mission statements aren’t meant to be generic words to fill a checkbox. Listen in as we continue our mini-series on The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and share Covey’s experience with a hotel chain and their mission statement. In "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" Steven Covey checked in late to his hotel where he was presenting in a convention room. He asked if room service was still available. It wasn’t, but the desk clerk immediately offered to get him a salad, a sandwich or...

Albert Einstein said, “The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” In this episode, we discuss the importance of using fresh eyes to solve your significant problem.

Borrowing Strength - a Seven Habits podcast. The simple fact is that you have very little control over others, but you have enormous control of yourself. So what to do when you need to influence the behaviors of others? It’s a tough one. It boils down to really, we just have three options. We can exert force or a threat. IE: to your child, you’ll be grounded if you don’t… or an employee, you’ll be fired if you don’t… We can reward, such as offering a child a snack or an employee a bonus. And...

A Study on Starbucks Starbucks started in 1971 and Howard Shultz joined in 1982 with the intent to make Starbucks the 3rd space, somewhere between work and home, but lets be honest, something has gone wrong since Shultz left in 2000. In the 80’s and 90’s you could get a REAL ceramic cup, but you know nothing says stay and enjoy yourself like a paper cup that is too hot to touch. What happened? The chairs are sill there, but they are metal and scrape the floor, the tables are smaller, and the...

“What Gets Measured Gets Done” that sums it up. So what you measure matters. Be aware that folks will sacrifice their time, their effort, and your customer’s time and effort, so be certain your measures that your people are held accountable to drive not just the results but the behaviors to get there while supporting your organizations WHY. Simon Sinek's Start with Why Take the example from Simon Sinek's book Start With Why of Bridgeport Financial. https://www.bridgeportfinancial.com/ Who...