Why is it important to develop a good quality awareness?

Quality awareness is the understanding and recognition of quality and quality work by everyone in an enterprise, from the leadership decision-makers to every employee. This plays an extremely important role in influencing and restricting quality behavior.

In an enterprise, 20% of the employees create 80% of the wealth!

Irresponsible work --- poor quality --- uncompetitive products --- no sales --- no profit for the enterprise (even bankruptcy) --- how to increase wages, benefits, or pay salaries?

Why should we develop good quality awareness?

Developing good quality awareness not only improves product quality but also enhances our production efficiency, reduces product costs, increases product pass-through rate, and improves the competitiveness of the enterprise. Why is this so?

Example:

The customer places an order for 20 tons of products. Let's analyze the impact of focusing on quality versus not focusing on quality.

First scenario: Our production goes very smoothly, strictly following the operating procedures, and the packaging and shipment can be completed within about 8 hours.

Second scenario: If one or two processes have quality abnormalities, we need some time to handle them, which invisibly affects our production efficiency and the overall quality level of the company's products. If quality issues affect the customer's delivery schedule, the company's reputation is invisibly damaged.

Third scenario: If our employees do not detect product quality problems and these issues reach the customer, this not only affects the company's reputation but also the customer's satisfaction with the company. More seriously, it will affect the company's order volume and reduce the income of the company and most people (especially those paid by piecework).

Some understanding of quality

Is quality something that is inspected?

Wrong!

Quality is made, not inspected. Inspection is generally sampling, which carries certain risks; products are made one by one by operators, who not only produce but also judge each product.

Is quality something abstract that requires profound knowledge to master?

Wrong!

Quality can be seen anytime and anywhere, such as quality of life (eating, clothing, housing, use), work quality (effect, speed, method), product quality (dimensions, performance, appearance), etc. They can be described as (good, bad; qualified, unqualified, etc.). For products, dimensions and performance may be difficult for on-site operators to grasp and control, requiring special inspectors to use some testing methods for control. But appearance, as a quality characteristic, is very intuitive and obvious, and operators should be able to grasp and control it. Even new employees can do so after a period of familiarization and understanding. Every product is made by the operator themselves; it can be said that in terms of appearance inspection, operators have more experience and knowledge than inspectors.

Quality is around us, in our lives, in our work, and is reflected in everything we do and in every product we make.

Does a 99% good product rate mean the company's quality level is already very high?

Wrong!

Raising quality goals or achieving 100% quality goals means reducing costs and increasing profits. Any company’s quality goal should be 100% or zero defects. If it is not achieved, it means we have not done enough or well enough. Measures should be taken to improve and strive to enhance and perfect.

By everyone doing every task well and making every product well, the 100% and zero-defect quality goal can be achieved. Customers' demands and expectations are for 100% satisfaction. If you don't reach 100%, I won't trust you or I won't want your products. Imagine if we go to a store to buy something, whether a TV, microwave, or other items, if the seller tells you their product is only 80% good, or even 99% good, would you feel assured to buy it?

This small problem is okay—

Wrong!

For example, when making a product, if the previous process has a small problem, it's okay; if my process also has a small problem, still okay; the next process also has a small problem, still okay. In the end, the product has many small problems, which are no longer small problems but become big problems.

To solve a problem, first find the cause. Causes are often many because there are many small problems. Problem solving must start from solving these small problems one by one, eventually achieving complete resolution.

Therefore, small problems cannot be ignored. In daily work, once a problem occurs, even a small one, we should immediately eliminate it. Never ignore or delay! If every task is done well and every small problem eliminated, no big or long-term problems will arise, and our work and products will be good.

It was like this before, it's okay—

Wrong!

The products produced by the company are important safety parts that affect people's life and property safety. When joining the company, one should treat new work with a brand-new quality mindset. Everyone, everywhere, and at all times must tightly hold the string of product quality. When encountering problems at work, do not treat them with the old attitude, do not think the company's previous requirements were not so high or strict, and that it doesn't matter.

At work, any problem that can be solved or improved should be actively addressed and improved. Do not be complacent or stagnant. Even if it was like this before and worked, if now there is a way to solve or improve it, we should actively do so.

Treat the product as if you made it for yourself!

Story: The house you built yourself

An old carpenter was about to retire. He wanted to tell his boss that he was leaving the construction industry to go home and enjoy family life with his wife and children.

The boss was reluctant to lose his good worker and asked if he could build one more house for him. The carpenter agreed. But everyone later saw that his heart was no longer in the work; he used soft materials and did rough work. When the house was finished, the boss handed him the key to the front door. "This is your house," he said, "a gift from me to you."

He was shocked and dumbfounded, ashamed beyond words. If he had known earlier that he was building a house for himself, how could he have done that? Now he had to live in a poorly made house.

We are no different. We carelessly build our own lives, not actively but passively coping, unwilling to strive for excellence, and unable to give our best at critical moments. When we realize our situation, we are already deeply trapped in the house we built ourselves.

Think of yourself as that carpenter, imagine your own house, every day you hammer in a nail, add a board, or raise a wall, use your wisdom to build it well!

A positive mindset is half the success.

We must always remember:

Quality is closely related to everyone, maybe directly, maybe indirectly. For example, procurement—purchasing qualified materials; sales—selling qualified products; HR—recruiting and training qualified employees (only qualified employees can produce qualified products), etc. Without good quality, the company might go bankrupt tomorrow, and we will lose our jobs.

No matter what work you do, there are requirements and standards. When we arrive at our job or start a new job, we should clearly understand our work requirements and ensure that everything we do meets those requirements. This is a contribution to quality.

By doing every task correctly, our quality will improve. If every task is done well and every product is qualified, our quality can very likely, even reach 100% qualification, achieving zero defects.

Establish the awareness that quality comes first.

What should we pay attention to in developing good quality awareness?

1. Do not step on products (raw materials/semi-finished products/finished products).

2. Do not sit or lie on products (raw materials/semi-finished products/finished products).

3. Do not throw products.

4. Do not place products directly on the ground.

5. Do not operate without following the operating procedures.

6. Do not operate without a first-piece inspection.

7. Do not place products randomly.

8. Do not block product pathways.

9. Do not operate machines when they are faulty.

10. Do not take products without authorization.