One Team on All Levels, 2nd Edition

Chapter 6

Our Thinking Minds: Stories of Quality Circle Activity

Many companies hire consultants to come teach them lean manufacturing and then wonder why it didn’t work at their facility. Sure, they can save large amounts of money by using our kanban systems and reducing inventories. In most cases, I would guess that the work culture doesn’t change.

Quality circles are a key to our work culture. We come together as a team to fix issues or reduce cost. For example, last year I worked with a team that wanted to do a simple theme. The idea was to fix some small imperfections in the floor. We had previously hired a contractor to fix areas where concrete would chip away. These chips in the floor would grow and become a potential injury to a team ...