Pilots follow a checklist before they fly. Same thing for doctors & nurses. But, for some reason, I see very few Chinese factories follow a checklist that can help them avoid assembly problems before they make a new product (for the first time). I jotted down some important points any assembly factory should confirm before production begins in order to avoid assembly problems. (It is not very different from the points we typically check in a 'production readiness audit' for an … [Read more...]
An Introduction to Root Cause Analysis (Not Just for Manufacturing)
One of the most frustrating aspects of working with Chinese suppliers is that, for the most part, they don't want to (or cannot) conduct a root cause analysis. Let's say you found a serious issue in one of your productions and you don't want it to come back in the future. You ask for an investigation into that problem. And they come back with very superficial responses that are clearly still far from exposing root causes. Here are very common excuses: "It is due to an issue on the … [Read more...]
Fixing Problems at the Root: ‘Upstream Thinking’
I have been enjoying the book Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen by Dan Heath. It is not really a business book, as it covers many examples outside of business, but it does a great job of arguing in favor addressing problems at the root cause level. … [Read more...]